Commercial Litigation Update

We recently participated in what the New Jersey Law Journal called the “first complex civil jury trial to be conducted in person since the COVID-19 pandemic.” Although the case settled shortly after opening statements, this experience taught us that New Jersey courts are ready to try complex civil cases safely and responsibly with new COVID protocols that may force trial attorneys to depart from their usual practices. We published an article in the New Jersey Law Journal about this experience that may be of interest to our readers.

While this post is not going to be of profound interest to most practitioners, it serves at least two purposes. First, it marks the new flow of formal opinions of the Court for the current term, and second, it is a reminder that there is a small category of cases that proceed to the Court in its original jurisdiction—one that includes suits between states.

Article III, section 2, of the Constitution provides that “In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all ...

When hospitals and doctors treat patients who are injured in car accidents, the health care providers reasonably expect that their rights to be compensated for the care they provide will not be conditioned upon their willingness to participate in their patients’ personal injury lawsuits against allegedly negligent drivers. A common pleas Court in Ohio applied this sensible reasoning in a recent decision, dismissing a car-accident plaintiff’s attempts to force the hospital that treated her to participate in her lawsuit against the driver who allegedly caused the injuries ...

As we previously reported, Judge Bough of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri denied an insurance carrier’s motion for summary judgment in K.C. Hopps Ltd. v. The Cincinnati Ins. Co. Inc., No. 20-cv-00437-SRB (W.D. Mo. Sept. 21, 2021) and sent the case to trial.

On October 28, after a three day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the insurer. The case involved claims by a group of restaurants under their insurance policies’ business income (and extra expense) coverage form. Under that coverage, the insurer is obligated to pay for the insured’s ...

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced plans to increase its enforcement of white collar crimes against individuals and corporations. Monaco made the announcement speaking at the American Bar Association’s While Collar Crime Conference. She made clear to “those of you who are counselors and voices in the C-Suite and Boardroom” that DOJ “will not hesitate to take action when necessary to combat corporate wrongdoing.”

Monaco, DOJ’s second in command, is no stranger to prosecuting corporate crimes having ...

We recently wrote about the pros and cons of the virtual deposition, a mechanism which saw its use burgeon during the pandemic. Epstein Becker & Green’s Managing Director, James P. Flynn, has taken the virtual experience to the next level having recently participated in a virtual bench trial. I asked Jim about his experience, and also received some of his big-picture thoughts on this medium.

Q: Were any aspects of the trial easier, or more streamlined, because it was being conducted virtually?

Although insurers largely have continued to have success in federal court defeating COVID-19 business interruption lawsuits, one judge – Judge Stephen Bough of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri – continues to be pro-policyholder. As we previously reported, last year he refused to dismiss several suits brought by policyholders seeking business interruption coverage for COVID-19 related losses.

Last week, in K.C. Hopps Ltd. v. The Cincinnati Ins. Co. Inc., No. 20-cv-00437-SRB (W.D. Mo. Sept. 21, 2021), Judge Bough gave policyholders ...

Medical providers preparing to engage in arbitration with payors pursuant to the just-announced No Surprises Act dispute rules should be prepared to counter some tough tactics from payors. For health care providers, the first Interim Final Rule represents a reasonable solution against arbitrary rates for out-of-network services, but raises concerns that certain policies may result in a financial windfall for insurers at the expense of providers and consumers.

On July 1, 2021, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services issued “Requirements Related to ...

On June 30, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), issued the first government-wide Priorities for anti-money laundering (“AML”) and countering the financing of terrorism (“CFT”) policy (the “Priorities”). In accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AMLA 2020”), FinCEN established the Priorities, after consulting with the Attorney General, and various Federal regulators, to assist covered financial institutions, (which include, banks, brokers-dealers, mutual funds, insurance companies, commodities ...

Our colleague Lauren Petrin of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on Health Law Advisor that will be of interest to our readers:  "DOJ's Recent Telehealth Enforcement Action Highlights Increased Abuse of COVID-19 Waivers."

The following is an excerpt:

On May 26, 2021, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a coordinated law enforcement action against 14 telehealth executives, physicians, marketers, and healthcare business owners for their alleged fraudulent COVID-19 related Medicare claims resulting in over $143 million in false billing.[1] This coordinated ...