News & Knowledge

New Jersey partners Tom Toman and Nicole Diesa recently won a summary judgment motion in New Jersey asbestos litigation.  Despite a tentative decision to deny the motion, the Court eventually granted summary judgment and found that based upon a failure to establish causation, plaintiff could not submit a legally sufficient case against the manufacturer of electrical products represented by FormanWatkins.  Ms. Diesa wrote the winning briefs, and Mr. Toman gave the oral argument.

Malissa Wilson and Courtney Hunt won summary judgment in a case involving an uninsured/underinsured coverage dispute. The plaintiffs were seeking $3 million in uninsured/underinsured coverage. The Court dismissed plaintiff’s complaint on the ground that the policies in dispute had been properly non-renewed and were not in effect at the time of the accident.

Malissa Wilson and Taylor White obtained a favorable ruling on a motion for judgment on the pleadings in Smith County Circuit Court in a motor vehicle accident case.  The Court dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint on the ground that her claims were barred by a previous Release and Settlement Agreement, under which she accepted settlement proceeds in full satisfaction of any claims related to the accident.

The seasons have changed from Winter to Spring, but the EEOC’s position regarding wellness incentives remains the same. This year’s stalemate over employee wellness programs has increasingly caused employers to ask: have wellness incentives become more trouble than they are worth? In a dramatic shift from its former endorsement of wellness incentives, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) has invalidated the incentive provisions of its wellness program regulations. The result: since January 1, 2019, when the EEOC regulations became ineffective, employers have been in limbo when it comes to implementing their employee wellness programs, with no guidance from the EEOC to speak of.

On February 27, 2019, Win Gault and Jake Banks successfully obtained a defense verdict in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) arbitration.  The claimant maintained she received nearly 1400 unauthorized debt collection calls and sought statutory treble damages totaling nearly $2 million.  At the arbitration, both sides presented fact and expert testimony on the defendant company’s software system.  After hearing testimony and reviewing post-arbitration briefs, the Arbitrator concluded the claimant was entitled to nothing because the software system did not meet the statutory definitions under the TCPA.  Additionally, the Arbitrator addressed the claimant counsel’s call-baiting activities designed to increase the numbers of calls claimant received.  Specifically, the claimant’s counsel called the defendant company with the claimant on the call, instructed claimant to read a script, did not notify the company that he was on the calls, and secretly taped the discussions.  The Arbitrator called this conduct “deceptive”. Gault and Banks presently have TCPA arbitrations scheduled in five states in 2019.

FormanWatkins released its 2018 Pro Bono & Civic Engagement Report today.  The Firm’s pro bono efforts are led by our Pro Bono Committee, whose members include: Alison McMinn, Courtney Hunt, Erin Latuso, Margaret McLaughlin, Mimi Arthur, Mitch McGuffey, and Vernon McFarland.

Malissa Wilson and Joshua Metcalf recently achieved a rare jury trial defense verdict in Claiborne County (MS) Circuit Court on behalf of the manufacturer of an electric scooter.  The products liability case involved allegations that the battery in an unplugged electric scooter combusted and caused the complete destruction of the plaintiffs’ home.  At trial, the plaintiffs sought to recover damages for the loss of their home and its contents.  Malissa and Joshua presented testimony from a certified fire and explosion investigator, as well as the client’s director of research and development, to demonstrate not only that the scooter and its battery were safe and could not have caused the fire, but also that the most likely cause of the fire was a propane gas heater in the same room as the scooter.  Convinced by the evidence and the arguments presented, the jury returned a defense verdict in less than an hour-and-a-half.  Assisting Malissa and Joshua in trial preparation were Courtney Hunt and Taylor White.

Win Gault and Spencer Ritchie obtained a bench trial verdict in favor of an oil and gas company in a contractual indemnity action pending in the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Court awarded our client contractual damages, attorney fees, prejudgment interest, and post-judgment interest totaling more than $800,000.

On January 11, 2019, Win Gault and Jake Banks won summary judgment in an arbitration regarding claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  Claimant sought statutory treble damages and penalties, claiming Respondent made unauthorized telephone calls to her cellular phone number to collect a delinquent debt.

Forman Watkins & Krutz is proud to announce Mandi Murphy has joined the Firm as Director of Human Resources.