New York Noncompete, Trade Secret & School Negligence Blog

Graco Adds 403,000 Car Seats to Recall - & May Not Be Done

Earlier today, Graco added to its car seat recall - and it appears that the recall may become even larger, explains NY product recall attorney Jonathan Cooper

When School Negligence & Defective Products Law Collide

There are some occasions when the law regarding school negligence and defective products intersect, explains a NY school injury & defective products lawyer

For July 4, Some Scary Statistics About Fireworks

Long Island, NY defective product lawyer Jonathan Cooper discusses some published statistics regarding fireworks.

Risk of Ingestion By Small Children Leads to Recall of Toy Magnetic Balls

Amazon recently recalled its high-powered toy magnetic balls due to a risk of ingestion by small children.

Just Buying a Defective Product in NY Doesn't Mean You've Hit Lotto

Just because you bought a defective product in NY doesn't mean you've hit the proverbial jackpot, explains Long Island, NY defective product lawyer Jonathan Cooper

Following Several Burn Incidents, Pourable Fuel Gels Recalled

Long Island, NY defective products lawyer Jonathan Cooper discusses a recent safety recall of pourable fuel gel in response to several burn incidents.

New AAP Report Significantly Alters Car Seat Recommendations for Infants & Children

Long Island, NY defective product lawyer Jonathan Cooper discusses new car seat guidelines. For additional information, please call 516-791-5700.

Why Capping Damages in Defective Products Cases is a Bad Idea (Hint: It's Not Putting More $ in Plaintiffs' Pockets)

Long Island, NY defective products lawyer Jonathan Cooper discusses why damages caps in defective products cases are a bad idea. (www.ProductsLiabilityBook.com)

CPSC's New Flammability Rules for Carpets & Clothing to Become Effective Jan. 26

Author of the Free Guide to NY Product Liability Cases, "Why Are There So Few Successful Defective Products Lawsuits?" (www.ProductsLiabilityBook.com), Long Island & Queens, New York product liability lawyer Jonathan Cooper discusses the new flammability regulations that will go into effect on January 26. For additional information on this topic, please contact Jonathan Cooper directly at 516-791-5700.

Preemption: Why Some Failure to Warn Claims in NY Are Barred By Federal Law

In this article, Long Island, New York defective products lawyer Jonathan Cooper discusses how the doctrine of Federal Preemption effectively bars some failure to warn claims. For additional Free information on defective products lawsuits generally, and how they operate under New York law, please visit www.ProductsLiabilityBook.com, or contact Mr. Cooper directly at his Long Island office at 516.791.5700.

Sometimes those of us who litigate and try cases for a living, whether in the context of small business litigation, personal injury or defective products lawsuits,  tend to get "tunnel vision," and fail to see the forest for the trees. That's why an otherwise unremarkable jury verdict out of the Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York is important: it is a potent reminder to trial lawyers everywhere to remain mindful of the credibility of your witnesses in evaluating the viability and value your case.

In this particular case, there was a stark factual discrepancy between the plaintiff, who alleged that he was pushed off the roof of a 3 story apartment building by a police officer that was chasing him, and the police officer's claim that the plaintiff was in the process of running away from the police when the plaintiff lost his grip on the roof's ledge.

The jury sided with the plaintiff, finding more credible the claim by plaintiff. I suspect that the reason they bought plaintiff's version of events is because he conceded that the police officer did not intend to push him off the roof; according to the plaintiff, the police officer merely intended to push him off of a short 2 foot high paparet wall. And by conceding that small point, or "giving a little," he got a lot: the jury awarded him $4.6 million in damages for his personal injuries, which were quite severe: a fractured spine which resulted in paralysis.

 

Yesterday, the FDA, in conjunction with two private firms, presented a report on the findings of their research study at the FDAnews Medical Device Quality Congress. Interestingly, their research demonstrated that less than 10 percent of the more than 200 companies surveyed used any type of electronic database to record customer complaints or other product issues; in the same vein, the official recordkeeping at more than 80 percent of those companies was still maintained did so on paper, or the equivalent.

This study seems modeled after those discussed in our earlier articles, Food Manufacturers Group Publishes Proposals to Improve Defective Product Recalls and New Report Finds Government Recalls of Defective Products Ineffective, and reaches similar conclusions: in order to have any chance at improving consumer safety, defective product recalls must be brought into the new millenium, using modern technology. Unfortunately, it seems that the conclusions of this new FDA study break little to no new ground. Stated differently, tell us something we don't know that can actually help remove safety hazards from consumer's hands.

Building A Winning Case

Lawyer Jonathan Cooper talks about his favorite blog and a recent post

When Food Poisoning Lawsuits Go Too Far (Even Outside New York)

In this article, Long Island, NY product liability and food poisoning attorney Jonathan Cooper discusses how some products liability claims should never be brought for the simple reason that the evidence clearly indicates that they lack merit. For additional information on how products liability and food poisoning cases operate under New York law, please download or order a copy of Jonathan Cooper's FREE guide to New York products liability cases from www.ProductsLiabilityBook.com.

As noted in the News and Small Business sections of our site, a small construction materials supplier by the name of Screws and More has decided to go after one of the nation's largest construction materials manufacturers, Powers Fasteners, claiming that some of the parts Powers provided did not meet specs, and cost Screws a large line of business. Although the contracts between the manufacturers and suppliers are often slated in the manufacturers' favor, and expressly limit the manufacturers' liability, there are certain elementary steps that a small commercial supplier should take to assure that it does not lose any important jobs due to the failure of its manufacturer's products. To read more on this topic, click here.

In an important ruling, New York’s Appellate Division, First Department recently held that, as a general rule, a trial court may not accept trial testimony that is conducted via video or teleconferencing because it violates the other party’s constitutional right to confront adverse witnesses. Although the Appellate Court acknowledged that there were limited exceptions to this rule, such as cases where testimony was sought from children that were victims of abuse, the majority of the split court still felt that a party’s right to confront adverse witnesses “face to face” outweighed other parties’ needs to adduce testimony from witnesses that could not appear in court either due to illness or inconvenience (such as where the complainants lived in Australia).

 

This ruling was rendered in the criminal law context, but apparently applies in the civil context as well, including cases dealing with small business or commercial litigation, personal injury or defective products lawsuits.  And this can have very real economic and other consequences, such as where one of the defendants to a defective products lawsuit is a foreign manufacturer or distributor, or where the “silent” partner of a small company is a venture capitalist who lives more than 6,000 miles away.

 

In the end, I am not convinced that face-to-face confrontation is uniquely able to reveal the truth, particularly given the technological advances that would render these witnesses in remote locations to view the entire courtroom – including their adversaries. To the contrary, I think that this ruling effectively dealt the search for truth a harsh blow, because it will prevent numerous important witnesses from telling their stories before juries.

Stars' Admissions of Drug Use And Lessons We Can Apply At Trial

New York Lawyer Jonathan Cooper looks at sports and drugs