Miscellaneous Category Archives — Page 4 of 8 — Kang Haggerty News Published By Kang Haggerty LLC

Bad-Faith Action Affirmed by PA Superior Court

April 17, 2015 | Kang Haggerty LLC

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently affirmed the trial court’s opinion involving a bad faith action in Davis v. Fidelity National Title Insurance Company (674 MDA 2014). In the bad faith action law suit brought against Fidelity in the lower court, the plaintiffs were awarded over $2 million in damages.

The plaintiffs, Richard and Maria Davis, purchased a 15 acre-plot in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania to develop a residential housing project. Three years later in 2007, a neighboring property owner, Louis Norella claimed that a part of that property, a 1.86 acre-plot, belonged to him. Fidelity, the title insurance company that had insured the Davises’ property, recognized later that year that there was a problem with the title and assured the Davises that the matter would be resolved. It wasn’t until 2012 that Fidelity finally purchased Norella’s property for $50,000. The plaintiffs claimed that this five-year delay on Fidelity’s part prevented the project from coming to fruition at the time, thus causing a lost profit damage.

In affirming the lower court’s opinion, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania stated that the “excessive delay” experienced by the Davises implicated Fidelity in bad faith action. The court also stated this excessive delay caused direct damage to the plaintiffs.

Whistleblowers and their Importance to Business Success

February 17, 2015 | Kang Haggerty LLC

1. What is a Whistleblower?

A whistleblower is a person who, on behalf of the federal government, state government or governmental authority, reports illegal, fraudulent or dishonest conduct by a person or an organization.

2. Importance of Internal Whistleblowers:

5 Steps in Evaluating Attorneys

February 17, 2015 | Kang Haggerty LLC

1. Compile a small list of attorneys that you find. It’s okay to start with an entire page of attorneys, but narrow down the list by asking friends, family, and business connections their opinions. Figure out if there are any attorneys you should consider or avoid.

2. Do a background check on the attorneys on your list. Use resources like Martindale-Hubbell, Avvo, Lawyers.com, the American Bar Association, and many other sources on the internet, including news articles. Here are some questions to consider as you do your search:

a. Has the attorney been cited for any ethics violations?

5 Tips to Transition Your Business to Next Generation

February 17, 2015 | Kang Haggerty LLC

As a business owner, you want to make sure that your company successfully continues for generations to come. So, when you eventually retire or step down from your position, it is important to consider how you want to proceed with passing on your business to the next generation. Consider the following five tips.

1. Highlight your goals. Do you plan on passing your business down to your family, or do you prefer to transition to a buyer? Figure out your goals behind transitioning your business well before you intend to pass on your business. You should give yourself ample time to prepare for any obstacles along the way.

2. Create a clear strategy. Create a clear exit plan strategy as you move forward with the transition. Always be sure you have this plan set before you start so you do not run into confusion while transitioning. Consider the following to include in your strategy as you prepare:

10 Ways to Legally Control Your Employees Social Media

February 17, 2015 | Kang Haggerty LLC

When considering creating a social media policy, it is important to keep in mind that you will never be able to completely control social media use by your employees. There are, however, a few ways that you can successfully create a social media policy that will allow you to place legal boundaries around media use.

1. Create a Policy and BE Informative: Notify your Employees that you are creating a policy. Keeping them informed mitigates future “I didn’t know” excuses. Also, employees have the legal right to be informed about any new policy change or creation.

2. BE Informed: Before you start drafting anything, be informed about recent legislation regarding Social Media policies and cases that have created different interpretations of existing policies. Three major examples are:

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Decision May Make Third Party Claims in Potential Insurance Bad Faith Actions Easier

January 29, 2015 | Kang Haggerty LLC

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has clarified the question of whether, under Pennsylvania law, an insured may transfer the right to recover damages against his or her insurance company in an insurance bad faith claim to a third party. In a recent decision in AllState Property and Casualty Insurance Company v. Jared Wolfe, No. 39 MAP 2014, 2014 WL 7088147 (December 15, 2014), the Supreme Court ultimately decided that yes, an insured may assign their rights to pursue an insurance bad faith action to a third party.

Counterclaim Survives in Qui Tam Whistleblower Action

January 5, 2015 | Kang Haggerty LLC

A federal court in Pennsylvania recently ruled that counterclaims against the whistleblower filed by the target of a whistleblower action can survive. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in United States of America ex rel. Lorraine Notorfransesco v. Surgical Monitoring Association, Inc., et al. (Tucker, C.J.) has denied a motion by the whistleblower, Lorraine Notorfransesco, to dismiss counterclaims made by her former employer, Surgical Monitoring Association (“SMA”). While the recent ruling seems to suggest that potential whistleblowers would be dissuaded from “blowing the whistle” for fear of being retaliated, the ruling is not exactly as controversial as it seems.

Floorgraphics Corporate Officers Held Liable for Appropriating $12 million

November 4, 2014 | Kang Haggerty LLC

On September 23, 2014, in Potok v. Rebh, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas held that the corporate officers of Floorgraphics, an advertising company, were held liable for appropriating $12 million from a settlement deal from the sale of their company in 2009 to News America Marketing.

Independent Fraud Claim Cannot be Forced Into Arbitration

August 18, 2014 | Kang Haggerty LLC

In its August 11, 2014 decision in Griswold v. Coventry First, LLC, et al. the Third Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decision that denied Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, and held that Plaintiff, Lincoln T. Griswold, was not estopped from pursuing his fraud claim by rejecting arbitration.

Griswold purchased an $8.4 million life insurance policy in January of 2006, establishing a Lincoln T. Griswold Irrevocable Trust for the “sole and exclusive purpose” of maintaining ownership of the policy. Shortly thereafter the formation of the Trust, Griswold formed a limited liability partnership in Georgia, Griswold LLP, as the sole beneficiary of the policy. Upon the receipt of the proceeds from the life insurance policy, this limited liability partnership would be dissolved, and the trustee would then liquidate the property, satisfy the claims of creditors, and distribute remaining property to the partners. At the completion of this task, the trustee would file a “Cancellation of the Election to Become a Limited Liability Partnership” to terminate the partnership.

GFI Group, Inc.’s Merger with CME Group, Inc. May Prove Detrimental in the Long Run for GFI Group Stockholders

August 1, 2014 | Kang Haggerty LLC

It was announced on July 30, 2014 that Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group, Inc. (“CME”), the world’s largest future exchange operator, would purchase GFI Group, Inc. for a net price of $655 million.[1] GFI Group was targeted for its two units that would boost CME’s influence in the global market, Trayport and FENICS.[2]