RECENT POSTS FROM OUR BLOG:   www.litigationblawg.com

Laura Hoguet, John Kenney named New York Superlawyers - again!

For three years running, both Laura Hoguet and John Kenney have been named as Superlawyers in the New York Metro area.  Laura Hoguet has been recognized in two areas, Business Litigation and Employment & Labor.  John Kenney has been recognized in three, Business Litigation, Criminal Defense: White Collar, and Corporate Governance & Compliance.  The Superlawyer ranking is based upon peer nominations and evaluations, and independent third party research.  The firm does not solicit or pay for the designation.

HNRK Client Prevails at the Second Circuit.

In a unanimous decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a decision of the lower court which dismissed the claim of a former police officer who sued his employer, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, for $20 million for alleged job-related injuries. The plaintiff sued under the Federal Employers' Liability Act ("FELA") alleging he sustained injuries resulting from exposure to the World Trade Center site following 9/11. He also complained of MTA' s policy of requiring that officers remain at home while on disability leave unless granted a special designation known as "no work status." The 2nd Circuit agreed with HNRK's arguments that plaintiff failed to comply with pleading requirements for a valid FELA claim and that he released his claims anyway as part of a settlement of an earlier suit. The Circuit concluded that the appeal was frivolous and is considering an application to award damages to the MTA. Bruno v. MTA, 2009 WL 2524009 (2nd Cir. 2009).

Tai-Heng Cheng Presents Alternative Dispute Resolution CLE on Hybrid Mediation and Arbitrations

On June 16, 2009, Tai-Heng Cheng delivered an alternative dispute resolution CLE on hybrid mediation and arbitrations ("Med-arb") at the Fourth Annual Conference on International Arbitration and Mediation at Fordham Law School to leading international arbitrators, mediators, practitioners, and scholars. Participating on a panel with representatives from AAA/ICDR and CPR, Professor Cheng discussed the economic pressures to conduct alternative dispute resolution more efficiently and at lower costs, and how med-arb in international commercial disputes might present an attractive alternative. He also highlighted problems of enforcing med-arb settlements or awards in the United States and internationally, and suggested strategies for counsel and arbitral institutions to overcome these challenges. A paper based on his comments will be published in June 2010 in a book of the proceedings of the Conference.