Legal Research

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ALERTING CARRIER IS A MUST WHEN A PC IS SUED FOR MALPRACTICE, EVEN IF CLAIM SEEMS SPECIOUS
"Forty years ago, when lawyers were first allowed to form professional corporations, there was a caveat: Unlike partnerships, PCs had to buy malpractice insurance. Now a novel question has popped up: Does having coverage require a PC to put its insurer on notice, and risk a hike in premiums, for a claim that seems frivolous and easy to defeat? A Somerset County judge said yes and ordered a lawyer to bring in his carrier to defend a suit the lawyer wanted to handle pro se."

NORRIS McLAUGHLIN MERGES WITH LEHIGH VALLEY FIRM
"Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus is merging with a 37-lawyer Allentown litigation and commercial boutique, a move that gives the Somerville firm a presence in the rapidly growing Lehigh Valley's I-78 business corridor and provides its new contingent ? Tallman, Hudders & Sorrentino ? wider expertise to meet clients' increasingly complex needs. The merger is effective on Monday, and the addition of Tallman Hudders' 24 partners, 11 associates and two counsel brings Norris McLaughlin to 151 lawyers in three states."

CLASS CERTIFIED IN INMATES' SUIT OVER PASSAIC JAIL CONDITIONS
"A federal judge in Newark on Thursday certified a class-action suit by prisoners who allege overcrowding, poor ventilation, beatings and other abuses at the Passaic County Jail. The class includes all persons who are now or will become incarcerated at the jail during the pendency of the suit, Colon v. Passaic County, 08-Civ.-4439, filed last Sept. 3. The complaint alleges severe overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, interference with religious observance and other conditions and treatment that violate inmates' constitutional rights. It asks for injunctive relief, including appointment of a three-judge panel to decide whether the jail should be closed."

AVENTIS TO PAY $95 MILLION TO SETTLE FALSE CLAIMS ACT CLAIMS
"Aventis Pharmaceutical Inc., a subsidiary of Sanofi-Aventis U.S., has agreed to pay the United States $95.5 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by misreporting drug prices to skirt its Medicaid rebate obligations, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday. The Bridgewater, N.J.-based company admitted no wrongdoing for its corporate predecessor's 'private label' agreements with another entity that repackaged Aventis' anti-inflammatory nasal sprays under a new label. The feds will recover about $49 million in the settlement. Aventis will also pay more than $40 million to the Medicaid-participating states and more than $6 million to the public health services entities that paid inflated prices."

MORTGAGORS IN DEFAULT ARE GIVEN SOME BREATHING ROOM
"With the foreclosure crisis still in high gear, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey has adopted measures to help homeowners in bankruptcy proceedings who fall behind on mortgage payments. In a pair of orders, the court smoothed the way for debtors to participate in a state mortgage foreclosure mediation program or to stave off foreclosure by negotiating debt reduction with lenders. A third order requires that mortgage lenders, in filing proofs of claim against defaulting homeowners in Chapter 13, spell out any interest, fees or other charges they seek to collect and how much must be paid to cure the default."