Gibbons Law Alert
As practitioners are aware, in February 2013, President Obama issued an executive order directing federal agencies to create a set of voluntary cybersecurity standards and procedures for critical parts of the private sector. If followed, these “best practices” are intended to reduce the risk of a cyber attack and its attendant disruption of business.
The Pennsylvania Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, 73 P.S. § 517.1, et. seq. (“HICPA”), became effective on July 1, 2009. The HICPA is designed to protect purchasers of home improvement services from contractors engaging in fraudulent business practices. It requires contractors who perform more than $5,000 of work per year, and whose company is worth less than $50,000,000, to register with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”), and comply with HICPA’s substantive requirements. The HICPA requires contractors to enter into written contracts for performance of improvements, specifies provisions which must be included in the written contract (§ 517.7(a)), and identifies other provisions the inclusion of which makes the contract voidable by the owner (§ 517.7(e)). Finally, certain acts on the part of contractors, including failure to register with the OAG (id. § 517.9) are prohibited by the HICPA, which sets forth criminal penalties for fraud (§ 517.8). Significantly, a violation of the Act is also deemed to be a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, 73 P.S. § 201-1 et. seq.
The Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology presents the Eleventh Annual Fall Lecture Series, “Justice at Stake? Patent and Other Complex Litigation: The Adverse Effects of Sequestration, Budget Cuts and Federal Judicial Vacancies.” This program will feature a panel discussion, followed by a Q&A session, with: The Honorable Theodore A. McKee, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; The Honorable Gregory M. Sleet, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Delaware; The Honorable Garrett E. Brown (Ret.), Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey; and John O’Brien, Chief Deputy Clerk, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
Starting August 31, 2013, municipalities will have to provide advance notice electronically or by mail of certain proceedings to landowners who have requested such notice in writing. Under amendments to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett on July 2, 2013, municipalities must provide landowners with the requested electronic notice or mailed notice of public hearings regarding the enactment of zoning ordinances and amendments.
The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that a party’s active participation in a lawsuit for 21 months, up to the eve of trial, constitutes an implicit waiver of its right to invoke an arbitration clause. The plaintiff in Cole v. Jersey City Medical Center was a certified registered nurse anesthetist providing anesthesiology services on behalf of third-party defendant Liberty Anesthesia Associates, LLC (“Liberty”) at the defendant medical center. The plaintiff’s employment with Liberty was governed by a contract containing an arbitration clause. Liberty terminated the plaintiff when the medical center detected that controlled substances had gone unaccounted for and plaintiff refused to submit to a drug test.
On August 29, 2013, Governor Chris Christie signed a bill that prohibits most employers from requiring employees or prospective employees to disclose user names and passwords for social networking accounts like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The new law, which goes into effect December 1, 2013, makes New Jersey the 13th state to enact legislation protecting the social networking accounts of employees. The Gibbons Employment Law Alert previously covered the proposed bill before it became law.
Last Friday in Lontex Corp. v. Oakley, Inc., 1:13-cv-05459 (DNJ), Lontex sued Oakley in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey for trademark infringement, counterfeiting and unfair competition relating to Lontex’s federally registered mark, SWEAT IT OUT, for sweatbands, headbands and other athletic apparel. In its complaint, Lontex alleges that Oakley is using the exact mark SWEAT IT OUT for a line of sweat-wicking headbands, and attaches exhibits showing that use on Oakely’s on-line store. Lontex further asserts that it has been using its mark for over 20 years, and that Oakley’s conduct violates federal and state trademark and unfair competition laws.
John C. Romeo, a Director in the Gibbons Employment & Labor Law Department, will speak at the upcoming NJBIA Employment Seminar, “HR101: An Employment Law & HR Primer,” on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at Pines Manor. Mr. Romeo’s panel, will discuss the fundamental HR topics that can affect your company. The panelists will provide insight into: at-will employment and its exceptions, dealing with difficult employees, hiring and firing procedures, and handling leaves of absence.
In a recent 6-0 opinion, the New Jersey Supreme Court has held that, going forward, settlement agreements reached during court-ordered mediation must be reduced to a signed writing before mediation ends in order to be enforceable. The Court also found that a party waives New Jersey’s mediation-communication privilege, set forth in N.J.R.E. 519, by not objecting to evidence of conversations that took place during the mediation and by offering evidence of mediation communications.
Litigants frustrated by endless discovery and skyrocketing costs may find solace in knowing that change may be on the way. Proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as recent case law, signal efforts to narrow the scope of permissible discovery and increase judicial management of issues that arise. The proposed amendments — guided by the overarching goal of the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action embodied in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 1– are aimed at reeling in so-called “fishing expeditions” in which litigants attempt to use discovery to uncover additional causes of action not previously known, or, more nefariously, foist undue cost and burden on their adversary in the hopes of gaining a strategic advantage.