Work Product Protection Does Not Extend To Claims Investigator’s Report In Admiralty Case
Posted on Mar 5, 2015 in Investigations, Litigation, OSHA, Transportation | Comments Off on Work Product Protection Does Not Extend To Claims Investigator’s Report In Admiralty Case
Company A chartered a barge to Company B as a platform for A/C generation and refrigeration of fish products. In the summer of 2011, the President of Company A wrote to Company B requesting that it examine the barge for potential electrolysis given fears that the barge had developed a starboard list. Company B responded that it did not have responsibility or the time to inspect...
State Supreme Court Issues Contentious Spoliation Ruling
Posted on Mar 3, 2015 in Investigations, Product Liability, Transportation | Comments Off on State Supreme Court Issues Contentious Spoliation Ruling
To frame the issue, first consider the following criticisms of the majority opinion from the two dissenting opinions: “Let me be clear at the outset. The majority opinion has abolished the tort of spoliation of evidence. I do not say this lightly. Under the majority’s decision, no plaintiff will ever be able to withstand a summary judgment motion for spoliation of...
Ten Considerations To Mitigate Exposure Before Shipping Crude By Rail
Posted on Mar 1, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Process Safety, Transportation | Comments Off on Ten Considerations To Mitigate Exposure Before Shipping Crude By Rail
Following two derailments of trains transporting crude in February, Sutherland attorneys Matt Gatewood, Susan Lafferty, and David McCullough issued the Legal Alert available here and copied below addressing ten considerations that any shipper or owner of crude should assess before shipping by rail. ***** Last week’s derailments in West Virginia and Canada bring more scrutiny to the...
Whether Internal Investigation Is Required Deemed Irrelevant To Privilege Inquiry By Indiana Federal Court
Posted on Feb 26, 2015 in Investigations, Transportation | Comments Off on Whether Internal Investigation Is Required Deemed Irrelevant To Privilege Inquiry By Indiana Federal Court
In litigation involving two railroads’ responsibilities for separate train derailments, each railroad sought discovery of information protected by the other railroad as work product. Although the document-by-document specifics are not ascertainable based on the generalized commentary from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana following its in camera...
Court Addresses Legal Duty Owed By Travel Agency To Inform Travelers Of Airline Safety Record
Posted on Feb 24, 2015 in Transportation | Comments Off on Court Addresses Legal Duty Owed By Travel Agency To Inform Travelers Of Airline Safety Record
Following an airplane crash in the Northern Mariana Islands, a group of Chinese plaintiffs sued the travel agency that booked them on the airline alleging that the agency was negligent in not informing them of the airline’s faulty safety record and the airline’s failure to provide safety instructions in Chinese to Chinese tourists. The travel agency filed a motion to...
Senator Asks OMB To Address CPC-1232 Tank Cars Following West Virginia Derailment
Posted on Feb 23, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Transportation | Comments Off on Senator Asks OMB To Address CPC-1232 Tank Cars Following West Virginia Derailment
On Friday, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget regarding the safety of CPC-1232 tank cars used in transporting crude-by-rail. In response to last week’s train derailment in West Virginia, the Senator asked for the final rule to address the “supposedly safer CPC-1232 tank cars,” of which 55,000 will be in service by the end of...
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