Michael Riccardi

October 11, 1999 | Law.com

An author from the former Soviet Union now living in New York saw his libel suit dismissed in a case where he accused a Russian-language newspaper of insinuating he had been an agent of the former Soviet intelligence agency, the KGB. A Manhattan supreme court justice said pieces published in the world's largest Russian-language daily outside Russia were satirical and used hyperbole to illustrate their opinion of Lev Navrozov, who emigrated from the former Soviet Union in 1972.

By Michael Riccardi

3 minute read

November 24, 1999 | Law.com

A New York judge kept a key defendant in a lawsuit seeking reimbursement for asbestos abatement in New York City public schools. Basic Inc., according to Justice Stanley L. Sklar, is exposed to the potential liability faced by a manufacturer of a plaster containing asbestos since Basic bought the manufacturer in 1955. Sklar reasoned that Basic affected a "de facto merger" with its corporate predecessor, taking on its potential tort liability along with its assets.

By Michael Riccardi

4 minute read

December 16, 1999 | Law.com

Two former Bronx County Assistant District Attorneys who left the office before completing a four-year commitment have no cause of action for defamation when managers termed their departures as "firings," an appeals panel ruled. The court also said the ex-prosecutors had no valid complaint stemming from criticisms of the lawyers made by managers in the Bronx District Attorney's office and communicated to former colleagues, potential law partners and a bar admissions authority.

By Michael Riccardi

4 minute read

March 09, 2000 | Law.com

Plaintiffs who claim that their employer has failed to make a required accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act have the burden of showing that a vacancy was available for a desired reassignment, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. Only when the plaintiff can prove that an available vacancy existed as a reasonable accommodation does the burden of persuasion shift to the defendant.

By Michael Riccardi

3 minute read

December 17, 1999 | Law.com

The trial of four New York police officers accused of murder in the shooting death of Amadou Diallo was moved from the Bronx to Albany County by a unanimous state appellate court panel. In a per curiam opinion, the panel said it would impose the "extraordinary remedy" of a venue change because of the pretrial publicity. "...[T]his case has been deluged by a tidal wave of prejudicial publicity to such an extent that even an attempt to select an unbiased jury would be fruitless," the court said.

By Michael Riccardi

6 minute read

February 07, 2000 | Law.com

Separation of powers precludes a court from ordering New York's Administration for Children's Services (ACS) to file a neglect petition, a Queens, N.Y. Family Court judge said in an apparent case of first impression. In so doing, Judge Stephen J. Bogacz denied a motion by a child's law guardian that sought to compel ACS, an agency of the executive branch of the government, to file a child neglect petition.

By Michael Riccardi

3 minute read

April 06, 2000 | Law.com

A health maintenance organization's unwarranted delay and confusion in processing requests for coverage may give rise to liability for negligence, a Manhattan judge ruled in a case of first impression. Judge Herman Cahn allowed negligence and gross negligence claims to go forward against an HMO in the case of a beneficiary seeking in-patient treatment for chemical dependency. Cahn said HMOs should be held to a high standard of care in performing their contractual obligations to consumers.

By Michael Riccardi

4 minute read

April 29, 1999 | Law.com

Plaintiffs who complain of injury as a result of receiving defective pedicle bone screws may press claims against doctors who did not inform them that federal regulators hadn't approved the medical devices as safe and effective for surgical implantation, a Pennsylvania appeals court panel announced late Tuesday. The long-awaited ruling in Southard v. Temple University Hospital overturns the decision taken in the coordinated litigation of dozens of cases.

By Michael Riccardi

9 minute read

April 15, 1999 | Law.com

In a case of first impression, a Pennsylvania appeals court has ruled that plaintiffs in products liability "failure-to-warn" suits are entitled to a rebuttable presumption that the absent warning would have been followed, if it had been given by the defendant. The ruling, announced Wednesday, favoring a "heeding presumption," makes it more feasible for plaintiffs to make the causation element of a claim for strict products liability.

By Michael Riccardi

4 minute read

May 04, 1999 | Law.com

In an epic-length 107-minute debate, lawyers wrangled over how open New Jersey should be to representation by bond lawyers based outside of the Garden State. The New Jersey state AG's office yesterday asked that state's Supreme Court to disavow or modify Opinion 33 of the court's Committee on Unauthorized Practice of Law, an interpretation holding that it is improper for out-of-state attorneys to represent the state and other New Jersey governmental units when issuing bonds.

By Michael Riccardi

8 minute read