Flat Tax on Businesses Upheld [Tax Alert!]

Publication - Business, Tax

Flat Tax on Businesses Upheld - Tax Alert! - A panel of the Commonwealth Court concluded that a flat tax of $2,600 on all businesses in a township with gross receipts of over $1 million was lawful. Shelly Funeral Home, Inc. v. Warrington Township, No. 769 C.D. 2009 (Pa. Cmwlth. Dec. 31, 2009) (unreported). The appeal is probably correctly decided, but it highlights several serious policy mistakes by the General Assembly.

Blame Global Warming [Best's Review]

Publication - Insurance Coverage

Blame Global Warming - Best's Review - A disquieting question for many
liability insurers is whether two
recent federal appellate decisions,
each permitting a broad variety
of plaintiffs to pursue global warming
nuisance claims, portend big problems.

“Combating Counterfeiting In An Electronic Era,” The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel

Publication

E-Discovery: Revisiting Zubulake: Discovery Sanctions in the e-Discovery Context [Insurance Coverage Alert!]

Publication - Electronic Discovery & Practice Advisory Services, Insurance Coverage

E-Discovery: Revisiting Zubulake: Discovery Sanctions in the e-Discovery Context - Insurance Coverage Alert! - On January 11, 2010, Judge Scheindlin, who authored the groundbreaking Zubulake opinions, issued a new opinion regarding sanctions in eDiscovery.1 Pension Comm. of the Univ. of Montreal Pension Plan v. Banc of Am. Scs., 2010 U.S. Dist. Lexis 1839 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 11, 2010), involved an action against defendants who were connected to a hedge fund that lost money. These defendants sought sanctions against the plaintiffs for their alleged failure to properly preserve and produce documents,

YMCA Empty Charity [Tax Alert!]

Publication - Business, Tax

YMCA Empty Charity - Tax Alert! - In the third appellate decision in ten years of litigation, a commercial fitness center failed in a claim that the operation of a fitness center by a YMCA violated the prohibition against subsidizing a commercial business unrelated to the
YMCA’s charitable purpose. Selfspot, Inc. v. Butler County Family YMCA, No. 1308 D.C. 2008 (Pa. Cmwlth. Jan. 5, 2010) (en banc). The appellate court agreed with the conclusion of the trial court after five days of hearings that the YMCA’s fitness center

New Home for Drexel's Basketball Teams Dedicated to Longtime Coach Sam Cozen

Press Release

New Home for Drexel's Basketball Teams Dedicated to Longtime Coach Sam Cozen

No Subdivision? Commonwealth Court Says, 'No Problem!': Commonwealth Court opinion rules developer's original application controlling [The Legal Intelligencer]

Publication

No Subdivision? Commonwealth Court Says, 'No Problem!': Commonwealth Court opinion rules developer's original application controlling - The Legal Intelligencer - What if your client wants to buy a tract of real estate that is not separately subdivided?

He tells you that he is not worried about any municipal fines that may be incurred as a result of violating the applicable subdivision ordinance. He is also not worried about the need to obtain building permits that might not be obtainable in the absence of a valid subdivision

Landmark Supreme Court Ruling on Corporate Political Speech [Public Strategies Alert!]

Publication - Government & Regulatory, Government Relations - Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies

Landmark Supreme Court Ruling on Corporate Political Speech - Public Strategies Alert! - In a landmark campaign finance opinion released Thursday morning, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the government cannot ban corporations from making direct expenditures from their own funds for speech in support of, or in opposition to, candidates for elected office. The decision explicitly overturns decades of precedent allowing such bans, and is effective immediately.

PEO Did Not Sell Help Supply Services [Tax Alert!]

Publication - Business, Tax

PEO Did Not Sell Help Supply Services - Tax Alert! - Apanel of the Commonwealth Court concluded that
a flat tax of $2,600 on all businesses in a township
with gross receipts of over $1 million was lawful.
Shelly Funeral Home, Inc. v. Warrington Township, No. 769 C.D.
2009 (Pa. Cmwlth. Dec. 31, 2009) (unreported). The appeal is
probably correctly decided, but it highlights several serious
policy mistakes by the General Assembly.

Transfer of Residence to Trust is Taxable [Tax Alert!]

Publication - Business, Tax

Transfer of Residence to Trust is Taxable - Tax Alert! - A divided panel of the Commonwealth Court held that the transfer of a vacation residential property by husband and wife to themselves as trustees to benefit themselves and their children was taxable because the trust was a business trust, not an ordinary trust for realty transfer tax purposes. Kosco v. Commonwealth, No. 766 F.R. 2007 (Pa. Cmwlth. Dec. 16, 2009). The practical effect of the decision probably will be that virtually no transfer of real estate to a trust can ever qualify

A New Era in HIPAA Enforcement: Connecticut Attorney General Files First HITECH Act Suit [Health Law Alert!]

Publication - Business, Health Care & Life Sciences, Technology, Privacy & Data Security - Health Care & Life Sciences

A New Era in HIPAA Enforcement: Connecticut Attorney General Files First HITECH Act Suit - Health Law Alert! - Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has filed a lawsuit against Health Net of Connecticut, Inc. for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) following Health Net’s loss of protected health information (“PHI”) and other personally identifiable information.

MOBILE HOMES ARE REAL ESTATE [Tax Alert!]

Publication - Business, Tax

MOBILE HOMES ARE REAL ESTATE - Tax Alert! - In two cases, a panel of the Commonwealth Court held
that mobile homes were taxable as real estate for real estate tax purposes. Lazor v. Board of Assessment Appeals, No. 2372 D.C. 2008 (Pa. Cmwlth., Dec. 15, 2009); Gelormino v.
Board of Assessment Appeals, No. 2371 C.D. 2008 (Pa. Cmwlth., Dec. 15, 2009). The pertinent assessment statute imposed real
estate taxes on mobile homes permanently attached to the land or connected to utility facilities.

Religious Summer Camp is Not a Charity [Tax Alert!]

Publication - Business, Tax

Religious Summer Camp is Not a Charity - Tax Alert! - A panel of the Commonwealth Court held that a Jewish religious camp located in Pike County was not entitled to exemption as a purely public charity because it did not meet one of the case law requirements that an institution relieve the government of some of its burden. Mesivtah Eitz Chaim of Bobov, Inc. v. Pike County Board of Assessment Appeals, No. 2343 C.D. 2008 (Pa. Cmwlth. Dec. 29, 2009) (unreported).

Former U.S. Treasury Official Howard Schweitzer Joins Cozen O’Connor

Press Release

Former U.S. Treasury Official Howard Schweitzer Joins Cozen O’Connor

Pennsylvania Tax Amnesty Program [Tax Alert!]

Publication - Business, Tax

Pennsylvania Tax Amnesty Program - Tax Alert! - Act 48 of 2009 established a new tax amnesty program in Pennsylvania (the “Program”). This Program will run 54 days commencing on April 26, 2010 and ending on June 18, 2010 (the “Amnesty Period”). Eligible periods for the Program include all those known and unknown periods that exist as of June 30, 2009. Periods subsequent to June 30, 2009 are not eligible for the program.

Estate Tax Repeal (or Not) [Private Client Services Alert!]

Publication - Business

Estate Tax Repeal (or Not) - Private Client Services Alert! - s many of you will recall, the federal estate and gift tax system was significantly modified in 2001. Many of the modifications of the 2001 Tax Act were to be phased in over a number of years.

Local Head Tax Prohibited by Federal Act [Tax Alert!]

Publication - Business, Tax

Local Head Tax Prohibited by Federal Act - Tax Alert! - The federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that the U.S. Department of Transportation correctly determined that a head tax imposed by Tinicum Township was prohibited by the Anti-Head Tax Act, 48 U.S.C. §40116. Township of Tinicum v. United States, No. 08-1830 (3rd Cir. Sept. 14, 2009).

Cozen O’Connor Expands Antitrust, Trade Regulation Practices with Additions in Washington, D.C.

Press Release - Antitrust & Competition, Labor & Employment

Cozen O’Connor brings 2009 to a close with the announcement that another group of high-profile attorneys has joined the firm. Melissa H. Maxman, Ronald F. Wick and Marcela B. Stras have moved to Cozen O’Connor’s Washington, D.C. office from Baker Hostetler. The addition of these attorneys marks more than 100 high-level lateral hires in the past year and the continued implementation of the firm’s strategic plan, which calls for aggressive recruitment of key laterals with strong commercial litigation and corporate law practices.

THE BASICS: Commercial Agreements of Sale [Cozen O'Connor Guide Book]

Publication - Real Estate Litigation

THE BASICS: Commercial Agreements of Sale - Cozen O'Connor Guide Book - Unlike their cousin, the residential agreement of sale (which is usually a pre‐printed form provided by a realtor), agreements for the sale of
commercial real estate tend to be highly customized legal documents tailored to the specifics of the transaction at hand. While these
agreements will vary based on, among other things, the kind of property involved (industrial, retail, office, multi‐family, etc.), all agreements of sale for commercial

THE BASICS: Commercial Leases [Cozen O'Connor Guide Book]

Publication - Real Estate Litigation

THE BASICS: Commercial Leases - Cozen O'Connor Guide Book - Commercial leases may involve almost any kind of space and purpose,
although office, industrial and retail leases are the most common. These
can range from relatively simple affairs of a few pre‐printed pages, to
enormously complex legal documents with hundreds of pages of highly
negotiated text, exhibits, schedules and ancillary agreements.