Michael Hoenig

August 12, 2013 | New York Law Journal

In his Complex Litigation, Herzfeld & Rubin partner Michael Hoenig discusses a recent Court of Appeals decision on "duty" and proximate cause, and a Second Department ruling on CPLR 2104's requirement of a writing being "subscribed" to be binding.

By Michael Hoenig

14 minute read

August 13, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In his Complex Litigation column, Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, reviews recent cases involving whether the sale of an airplane imposed a tort duty to train the user regarding risky conditions, how much of a claimant's medical records must be produced in a personal injury action, and the potential for punitive damages claims for what otherwise may have been an accident caused by mere driver negligence if the employee driving had ever received an anonymous complaint or had violations on his license.

By Michael Hoenig

11 minute read

March 12, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In his Products Liability column, Herzfeld & Rubin member Michael Hoenig writes that in two recent decisions, New York's Appellate Division, First Department, in effect, "federalized" the scope of a party's duties in the electronic discovery context. The 'Zubulake' ESI standards are old hat for federal court mavens but, for those whose home turf is the state courts and whose practice Bible is the CPLR, getting up to speed on the federal approach to ESI handling is required.

By Michael Hoenig

13 minute read

October 09, 2012 | Daily Report Online

Lawsuits are besieging the food industry. There are traditional claims by individuals who have been injured or made ill after ingesting food products. So, for example, on Sept. 5 an elderly woman sued Splendid Products, a distributor of Daniella-brand mangoes, in a Western District of Washington federal court alleging she became ill with salmonella after eating a mango produced in Mexico. Lab tests confirmed her salmonella serotype matched that of a multistate salmonella outbreak traced to mangoes. Plaintiff asserts claims in strict liability, negligence and breach of express and implied warranties.

By Michael Hoenig

12 minute read

January 14, 2013 | New York Law Journal

In his Complex Litigation column, Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, asks: Does the advent of e-filing of suits permit counsel, in a motion to renew or reargue, to simply refer to e-filed documents in lieu of annexing a complete set of the originally submitted motion papers?

By Michael Hoenig

12 minute read

April 08, 2013 | New York Law Journal

In his Complex Litigation column, Herzfeld & Rubin member Michael Hoenig analyzes the Seventh Circuit's recent decision in a securities fraud class action where plaintiffs' lawyers had made "confident assurances" about their sole confidential source in the complaints "even though none of the lawyers had spoken to the source" and the investigator "had qualms" about the source's information.

By Michael Hoenig

13 minute read

October 21, 2013 | New York Law Journal

In his Complex Litigation column, Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, analyzes a "hot off the press" ruling that declined to apply the federal 'Zubulake' spoliation standard applicable to ESI when the evidentiary material destroyed is a non-ESI audio recording, holding that New York's common law rule regarding spoliation is sufficient and "reliance on the federal standard is unnecessary in this context."

By Michael Hoenig

9 minute read

February 17, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In his Products Liability column, Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, writes that the new wave of asbestos litigation now reach out farther to more remote defendants, and often stretches proofs of exposure and causation in seeking to cast the broader liability net.

By Michael Hoenig

11 minute read

October 09, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In his Complex Litigation column, Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, writes that mounting class action warfare against the food industry's marketing practices essentially puts a few self-appointed "champions" into the role of spokespersons for millions of other consumers they do not know and who ostensibly like the products they buy and don't care for such suits.

By Michael Hoenig

13 minute read

September 10, 2012 | New York Law Journal

In his Complex Litigation column, Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, prompted by a recent decision of the California Supreme Court, revisits the issue of admissibility of computer-generated animations purporting to reconstruct a series of events or an accident.

By Michael Hoenig

12 minute read