http://www.law360.com/ Latest articles for organization: Dinsmore & Shohl Copyright 2009 Portfolio Media, Inc. en-US http://www.law360.com/images/headings/logo.gif http://www.law360.com/ http://www.law360.com/articles/135383 The highest court in West Virginia has overturned a $4.2 million jury verdict against Erie Indemnity Co., ruling that the decision by Erie and its subsidiaries to terminate a contract with Princeton Insurance Agency did not constitute restraint of trade under the Sherman Act. http://www.law360.com/articles/135383 http://www.law360.com/articles/135136 Ohio residents who say Chevron USA Inc. should be held liable for land contamination caused by a refinery are appealing the dismissal of their negligence, strict liability and conversion state law claims. http://www.law360.com/articles/135136 http://www.law360.com/articles/133769 The Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. hedge fund case was the first criminal prosecution filed over the financial system's near total collapse in 2008, and was seen as a bellwether for future prosecutions. After losing in their first outing, the U.S. government will take a long look at its strategy moving forward, former prosecutors say. http://www.law360.com/articles/133769 http://www.law360.com/articles/131860 The U.S. Supreme Court has had two recent opportunities to address federal preemption of state law claims regarding allegedly defective medical devices and prescription drugs. At first blush, these opinions may appear to send conflicting messages about the extent to which federal law preempts state common-law tort claims in these areas; however, one might argue that the different outcomes stem from the differences in the separate regulatory approval processes that govern devices and drugs, say James Zeszutek, J.J. Richardson, Melanie Jones and Randal Whitlatch of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/131860 http://www.law360.com/articles/133220 Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP has lured a senior intellectual property executive from Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. to bolster the firm's offerings in the generic pharmaceutical industry. http://www.law360.com/articles/133220 http://www.law360.com/articles/133205 Labor and employment lawyer Ryan W. Green has joined the Cincinnati office of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP from Littler Mendelson PC. http://www.law360.com/articles/133205 http://www.law360.com/articles/131855 The recent decisions in Perry v. Novartis and Zandi v. Wyeth signify a trend toward courts excluding unreliable expert witness testimony based on differential diagnosis in toxic tort cases. More significantly, the cases articulate the inherent unreliability of differential diagnosis analysis when an alleged injury likely arises from unknown causes, say Kimberly Beck, K.C. Green and Gabrielle Hils of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/131855 http://www.law360.com/articles/130678 After successfully defeating a motion to dismiss filed by J.M. Smucker Co., Kraft Foods Global Inc. and others, Balsam Coffee Solutions Inc. has opted to drop its second lawsuit against the coffee makers in order to concentrate on an earlier suit over patented coffee processing technology. http://www.law360.com/articles/130678 http://www.law360.com/articles/121256 One problem with the appellate process is that it always takes longer than one would like. Some of these delays have been reduced over the years with better technology, which allows transcripts to be created more quickly than in the past, says Mark A. Vander Laan, chair of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP's litigation department. http://www.law360.com/articles/121256 http://www.law360.com/articles/130342 Less than 10 days before a trial was set to begin, a federal judge has thrown out some claims in a case brought by Ohio residents who say Chevron USA Inc. should be held liable for land contamination and health problems caused by a refinery. http://www.law360.com/articles/130342 http://www.law360.com/articles/120830 Equity joint ventures are incredibly complex, whether they are in the U.S. with a foreign party or abroad with a U.S. party. Unwinding a JV dealing with a co-security owner is the major downside to common ownership of equity in a JV, says Harvey Jay Cohen, chairman of the international practice group at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/120830 http://www.law360.com/articles/128514 A federal judge has allowed Balsam Coffee Solutions Inc.'s infringement suit over coffee-processing technology to proceed, ruling that J.M. Smucker Co., Kraft Foods Global Inc. and others failed to prove the Canadian coffee technology company doesn't own the rights to the disputed patent. http://www.law360.com/articles/128514 http://www.law360.com/articles/118220 With debtor-in-possession financing coming in at steep interest rates, if it's available at all, and the increased risks of a traditional bankruptcy turning into a liquidation, companies have been forced to get creative. That means either restructuring debt or entering into a prearranged bankruptcy or asset sale, attorneys say. http://www.law360.com/articles/118220 http://www.law360.com/articles/125340 A federal judge has granted conditional certification to a class of recruiters in a collective action against U.S. Army recruiting company Serco Inc., overriding the company's claim that it misunderstood the proposed class definition. http://www.law360.com/articles/125340 http://www.law360.com/articles/123753 William Robinson has joined Dinsmore & Shohl LLP's labor and employment litigation team following a 25-year run at Robinson & McElwee PLLC in Charleston, W.Va., where he chaired the labor and employment practice. http://www.law360.com/articles/123753 http://www.law360.com/articles/122095 The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has transferred several more suits to the ever-expanding litigation in Florida federal court over whether zinc in denture creams made by GlaxoSmithKline PLC units and the Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Co. caused neurological diseases. http://www.law360.com/articles/122095 http://www.law360.com/articles/121326 Audiovisual system maker Lastar Inc. has sued rival Belkin International Inc. for allegedly infringing a patent that covers Lastar's RapidRun audiovisual cabling system after hiring a former Lastar employee who worked on the system. http://www.law360.com/articles/121326 http://www.law360.com/articles/121215 A group of Ohio landowners has smacked Chevron USA Inc. and six affiliates with a $1.76 billion suit alleging property damage from petroleum pollution that began in the 1980s. http://www.law360.com/articles/121215 http://www.law360.com/articles/120762 A Kentucky federal jury has ordered Health Care Property Investors Inc. to pay over $101 million for allegedly interfering with health care real estate investment firm Ventas Inc.'s 2007 acquisition of Sunrise Senior Living Real Estate Investment Trust. http://www.law360.com/articles/120762 http://www.law360.com/articles/117872 Dinsmore & Shohl LLP announced Friday that it had forged a union with Woodward Hobson & Fulton LLP, a move it said advanced its goal of keeping pace with continued client growth in the Midwest. http://www.law360.com/articles/117872