Category Archives: News
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Condo Association Took Proper Disciplinary Action
On February 16, 2023, the D.C. Court of Appeals upheld a decision that a condominium association’s failure to precisely comply with certain provisions of its bylaws may not deprive a member of due process rights. In Rayner v. Yale Steam Laundry Condo. Ass’n, No. 21-VA-122 & 22-CV-58 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 16, 2023), the Association issued a written notice for a hearing ... Read More
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Arthur D. Burger to present at 2023 MWELA Annual Conference
Arthur D. Burger, chair of Jackson & Campbell’s Professional Responsibility Group, will make a presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Metropolitan Employment Lawyers Association (“MWELA”) on March 3, 2023 on the topic of Ethics in Fee-Shifting cases at The Mayflower Hotel. For more details and to register, visit here. ... Read More
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A Fond Farewell to Times New Roman: DEI Committees Recommend Changing to a Sans Serif for Accessibility
In May of 2020, Jackson & Campbell adopted a new policy for all firm communications: it replaced Times New Roman font with Calibri, a more accessible and easier-to-read font. If high-tech scanners had trouble reading Times New Roman font, chances were that some of the people reading our communications also found difficulty in reading that font. Earlier this ... Read More
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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Declines to Find Common-Law Duty for Insurer to Cover Mitigation Costs
In Ken’s Foods, Inc. v. Steadfast Insurance Co, Case No. SJC-13303 (Mass. Jan. 6, 2023), the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts issued an opinion holding that there is no common law duty for insurers to cover mitigation costs incurred by an insured when the terms of the policy at issue are unambiguous and do not provide for such coverage. The ... Read More
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Georgia Federal Court: General Liability Policy’s Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage for Claims Arising from Discharge of PFAS into Waterways
In a December 5, 2022 decision, the Northern District of Georgia determined that a total pollution exclusion in a commercial general liability policy precluded coverage for damages arising out of the discharge of PFAS chemicals into waterways. Read more here ... Read More
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Maryland and Virginia appellate courts issue decisions on statutory interpretation
In the Maryland case of Elsberry v. Stanley Martin Companies, LLC, the purchasers of a single-family home in Charles County filed suit alleging that the seller improperly imposed an amortized water and sewer charge for a period of thirty years after the date of the initial sale. The homeowners filed suit contending that Md. Code Real Prop. § 14-117 ... Read More
TAGGED: #realestatelaw #DCrealestate
Introducing Jackson & Campbell, P.C.’s New President-Elect and Member of our Executive Committee
We are pleased to announce Marie VanDam as the newest member of Jackson & Campbell, P.C.'s Executive Committee, effective January 1, 2023. Marie will take the seat vacated by Dan Lynn, who has completed three full terms on the committee. We congratulate Marie and are grateful to Dan for his years of service. For the first time ever, ... Read More
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Arthur Burger, Chair of Jackson & Campbell’s Professional Responsibility Practice Group, is quoted by Bloomberg Law in its October, 25, 2022 Litigation newsletter
Arthur Burger, Chair of Jackson & Campbell’s Professional Responsibility Practice Group, is quoted by Bloomberg Law in its October, 25, 2022 Litigation newsletter as a legal expert with respect to a ruling by a federal judge in Pennsylvania, sanctioning a lawyer for plagiarizing from an argument by opposing counsel in the same case ... Read More
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Lack of Standing: Failure to disclose dooms med-mal claim
Attorneys Crystal Deese and Sarah Godfrey recently secured a case law setting win on behalf of Northern Virginia Eye Surgery Center in the Circuit Court of Fairfax County when a shocking eve-of-trial discovery resulted in the suspension and ultimate dismissal of the entire case before opening arguments could even be heard. When defense counsel uncovered a bankruptcy petition, filed by the ... Read More
Celebrating Jackson & Campbell P.C.’s Best Lawyers in the 29th edition of The Best Lawyers in America®
Jackson & Campbell, P.C. is proud to have three lawyers named as Best Lawyers in the 29th edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Congratulations to Arthur D. Burger (Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law), David H. Cox: (Litigation - Real Estate and Real Estate Law), and Roy L ... Read More
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Jackson & Campbell’s Arthur Burger quoted by Bloomberg News regarding discovery sanctions in defamation suit by Bob Dylan
Arthur Burger, Chair of Jackson & Campbell’s Professional Responsibility Practice Group, was quoted by Bloomberg Law in an August 16, 2022 article regarding discovery sanctions that are being sought on behalf of Bob Dylan in a New York defamation suit. He is quoted as an expert in legal ethics regarding ... Read More
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Christopher P. Ferragamo elected as a Fellow in the American College of Coverage Counsel
Jackson & Campbell, P.C. is pleased to announce that Director Christopher P. Ferragamo has been elected as a Fellow in the American College of Coverage Counsel. The American College of Coverage Counsel, established in 2012, is comprised of over 370 preeminent coverage and extracontractual counsel in the United States and Canada, representing the interests of both insurers and policyholders. Mr ... Read More
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When to Hang Up the Phone—Hazards of Talking to Prospective Clients
Arthur D. Burger, Chair of the Firm’s Professional Responsibility Practice Group, has an article published in today’s Bloomberg Law relating to legal ethics and law firm practices when communicating with “prospective clients.” See attached in a BLaw Insight here. Reproduced with permission. Published May 5, 2022. Copyright 2022 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. 800-372-1033. For further use, please visit ... Read More
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Court of Special Appeals of Maryland finds ambiguity in easement and reversed trial court order to demolish dwelling
This week, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland found an ambiguity in an open space and conservation easement and reversed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment. In Roxbury View, LLC v. Edward McCauley, the Court held that Maryland Environmental Trust’s victory at the trial court – mandating that a new residential dwelling be demolished within six (6) months ... Read More
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Federal court finds Art Burger “more than qualified to give his expert opinions on legal ethics…
Federal court finds Art Burger “more than qualified to give his expert opinions on legal ethics” and denies Daubert challenge to his expert report. Full Report: Daubert Order S.D. Fla. Diamond Resources March 31, 2022 ... Read More
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Mississippi Supreme Court Holds Pollution Exclusion Ambiguous
In a decision issued on January 20, 2022, the Mississippi Supreme Court held that a pollution exclusion contained in a general liability policy was ambiguous with respect to a claim for coverage by an insured for a damage caused by an explosion. The court deemed the terms “contaminant” and “irritant” within an absolute pollution exclusion ambiguous in an insurance coverage ... Read More
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Recently Signed New York Law Sets New Mandatory Insurance Disclosures
[Update] On February 25, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul passed into law Senate Bill 7882 scaling back the Act’s most stringent requirements including, among other things, eliminating the disclosure requirements for defendants in litigation pending prior to the Act’s passage, extending the time to make disclosures from sixty days to ninety days after service of an answer, and removing from disclosures information ... Read More
TAGGED: Insurance, new law, new york, insurance law, new developments, Governor Hochul
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Attorneys Art Burger and Caroline Lee-Ghosal to Present “Discussing Common Ethical Dilemmas Today’s Attorneys Face” CLE for the DC BAR
On March 3, 2022, Attorneys Art Burger and Caroline Lee-Ghosal will participate in a CLE titled "Discussing Common Ethical Dilemmas Today’s Attorneys Face" for the DC BAR from 6:00-8:15PM. The link to register for the event is below. "Discussing Common Ethical Dilemmas Today’s Attorneys Face" for the DC BAR ... Read More
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Court Allows Vaccination Mandate For Health Care Workers To Go Into Effect
The Secretary of Health and Human Services issued a rule in November of 2021 requiring all health care workers be vaccinated or have a valid exemption in order for the health care facility to receive Medicare or Medicaid funding. Certain states sued to block the mandate, and the lower courts enjoined enforcement of the rule pending a determination on the ... Read More
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Now is the Time to Prepare for OSHA’s Enforcement of the Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing
On January 7, 2022, the Supreme Court heard argument on requests to stay enforcement of OSHA’s Vaccination, Testing and Face Coverings Standard, a workplace safety standard adopted to deter the spread of COVID-19. OSHA previously announced that enforcement of the non-testing requirements would begin as soon as January 10, 2022, with enforcement of the testing requirements delayed until February 9, 2022. Unless ... Read More
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DC to Mandate Proof of Vaccination Status at Indoor Establishments- UPDATE
UPDATE: On Monday February 14, 2022, Mayor Bowser announced that, effective Tuesday February 15, 2022, DC will drop the requirement that patrons show proof of vaccination status before entering most businesses. On December 22, 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced, via executive order, that the District of Columbia would join other major cities including Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, ... Read More
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Sixth Circuit Dissolves Stay on OSHA’s Vaccine Mandate for Large Employers – UPDATE
On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to take certain actions to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in their workplaces. Enforcement of the ETS was initially set to begin on January 4, 2022. Although often referred to as a “vaccine mandate,” the ETS ... Read More
TAGGED: Business Law, COVID-19
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Arthur D. Burger Will Speak at Panel During Legalweek 2022
On February 3, 2022, Arthur D. Burger, Chair of Jackson & Campbell's Professional Responsibility Practice Group, will speak in New York City at “Legalweek 2022,” Law.com’s annual conference, on a panel titled, “New Rules & New Realities: Ethically Managing Remote Work.” Joined by speaker Deborah Winokur, Esq., Professional Responsibility & Compliance Counsel at Cozen O'Connor, they will spotlight ethical challenges ... Read More
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Considerations for Employers Mandating Vaccines in a Post-EUA World
The FDA’s recent approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has ushered in a new wave of employer vaccine mandates. Private employers had the right to impose such mandates even when the three vaccines available in the U.S. – Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson – were available only under emergency use authorization (EUA). This was made clear by a memorandum ... Read More
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National Survey of COVID-19 Immunity Legislation
(as of July 23, 2021) [1] The below survey of federal and state legislation, guidance, and executive action provides information regarding enacted and proposed legislation and executive orders issued to provide immunity protections for liability, in certain respects, to health care professionals, facilities, and volunteers in the course of their treatment of individuals during the course of the COVID-19 ... Read More
TAGGED: Medical Malpractice, COVID-19
SCOTUS Opinion: Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Structure Deemed Unconstitutional
The Federal Housing Finance Agency was created under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act to have certain conservatorship powers to address the aftereffects of the 2008 housing bubble bursting. The Agency was under the Executive Branch, but the Act only allowed the President to remove the Agency’s Director “for cause.” Soon after it was created, the Agency entered into a ... Read More
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Client Alert: A New Holding in the Court of Appeals of Maryland That May Affect Enforcement of Condominium Liens
Earlier this week, the Court of Appeals of Maryland held that condominium liens perfected under the Maryland Contract Lien Act cannot secure unpaid amounts which accrue subsequent to the recordation of the lien. In in re Anthony D. Walker, the Court answered a certified question from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland which had grappled with ... Read More
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D.C. Court of Appeals Issues Decision On Condominium Lien Foreclosures And When An Appeal May Be Taken in a Consolidated Action
On March 25, 2021, the D.C. Court of Appeals issued its decision in RFB Properties II, LLC v. Deutsche Bank Company Americas (Nos. 19-CV-0529 and 19-CV-069). This decision has important ramifications on two fronts: (1) whether a party can appeal from a “final order” issued in only one of two consolidated cases; and (2) in the context of a D.C ... Read More
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Client Alert: Few Tax Exempt Organizations Examined By the IRS
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (“TIGTA”) recently issued a report about its review of the Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) examination of tax-exempt organizations.[1] (“TIGTA Report”) The TIGTA Report analyzed examinations conducted by the IRS during fiscal year 2019. TIGTA found that there are many obstacles to overcome in order for IRS’ examiners to detect noncompliance by ... Read More
TAGGED: irs, tax exempt organizations, nonprofits, TIGTA, Form 990
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SCOTUS Opinion: Judicial Review Available For Claims Under Railroad Retirement Act
In Salinas v. United States Railroad Retirement Board, a Union Pacific Railroad employee applied for disability benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974. His first three applications were denied, but he was awarded benefits on the fourth. He then moved to reopen his third application, but the Board denied the request. The employee sought judicial review, but the Fifth ... Read More