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Three Hurwitz Fine Attorneys Featured in The Harmonie Group’s 2023 Significant Cases Publication
Hurwitz Fine P.C. had three courtroom victories in The Harmonie Group’s 2023 Significant Cases Publication.
New York Proposes Legislation Conditioning a Foreign Corporation’s Authority to do Business in New York with Consent to Jurisdiction of the New York Courts For All Actions Against the Corporation
New York proposes legislation conditioning a foreign corporation’s authority to do business in New York with consent to jurisdiction of the New York courts for all actions against the corporation. Attorney Michael J. Williams explains this proposed legislation and its implications for businesses and claims in his latest legal alert.
Court of Appeals Decision Leads to More Stringent Analysis of Proof to Establish Causation in Asbestos Litigation
In Nemeth v. Whittaker, Clark, & Daniels, Inc., the New York Court of Appeals overturned a $15 million asbestos verdict, finding plaintiff’s trial proof on causation was insufficient as a matter of law. This decision took a more stringent approach to assessing the requirements of experts in establishing specific causation between alleged asbestos exposure and the cancer diagnosis. The First Department recently followed suit in a series of cases, including the vacatur of what was initially a $325 million jury verdict. No longer will conclusory assertions of experts linking asbestos to mesothelioma and lung cancer provide sufficient proof on specific causation for individual products and exposures.
PRODUCT LIABILITY SPECIAL ALERT: Lease Runs Out on “Rental Market” Exception to Defense of Strict Liability Design Defect Claims
Product manufacturers and distributors can be relieved of strict product liability in New York from design defect claims where the manufacturer offered the product with an optional safety device and the purchaser chose not to buy it. Scarangella v. Thomas Built Buses, 93 N.Y.2d 655 (1999).
