Norton on Insurance Coverage in Pennsylvania, 2nd Edition (PBI Press)

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4710 U.S. Steel Tower
600 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-2702

Phone: 412-288-4000
Fax: 412-288-2405
Email

 

 

Latest Business and Legal News

These news items and case summaries are a service provided by FindLaw. Picadio Sneath Miller & Norton, P.C. does not endorse any service or product advertised or discussed in any of these items.

Business

[09/02] American Eagle key revenue figure rises 1 percent

Intellectual Property

[08/26] Patent dispute spins around Cedar Fair's new ride

Insurance

[09/02] SIR Anticipates Record-Breaking Annual Conference

Environment

[09/02] UN: Climate funds shouldn't divert poverty aid

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Case Summaries

Intellectual Property

[09/02] Bodum USA, Inc. v. La Cafetiere, Inc.
In a suit for common law trade dress of a French-press coffee maker known as the Chambord, district court's judgment in favor of the defendant is affirmed as, Article 4 of the parties' contract is clear and precise as it allows defendant to sell the coffee maker design anywhere except France - provided that it does not use the Chambord or Melior names and does not use plaintiff's supply channels for four years.

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[09/01] Eli Lilly & Co. v. Teva Pharm. USA, Inc.
In a patent infringement suit related to a drug for postmenopausal osteoporosis, judgment of the district court is affirmed where: 1) the record amply supports the district court's conclusion that the ordinary artisan would not have considered it obvious to use raloxifene to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis; 2) because the district court's conclusion that the Bone Loss Patents would not have been obvious, its conclusion as to the Low Dose Patent is affirmed as well; 3) district court did not err in concluding that the Bone Loss Patents and the Low Dose Patents were not invalid for lack of enablement; 4) the district court did not clearly err in invalidating the asserted claims of the Particle Size Patents for lack of written description.

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Insurance Law

[09/02] Travelers Prop. Cas. Ins. Co. of Am. v. Nat'l. Union Ins. Co.
In an action by one insurer against another seeking $10 million in subrogation proceeds, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where plaintiff waived certain rights by refusing repeated invitations to participate in subrogation discussions. However, the judgment is reversed in part where, as the excess insurer, plaintiff was entitled to a priority interest in the subrogation proceeds representing insured losses.

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[09/01] Sprinkles v. Associated Indem. Corp.
In plaintiffs' bad faith action against Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, arising from an underlying suit against defendant and his employer for causing the death of plaintiffs' father in an automobile accident, trial court's judgment sustaining the insurer's demurrer is affirmed as, under the complaint and matters judicially noticed, the defendant-employee was an insured, rendering the automobile exclusion in the GCL policy applicable, and Fireman's Fund had no duty to defend the employer.

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Environmental Law

[09/01] Western Watersheds Project v. Kraayenbrink
In a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) challenge to eighteen amendments to the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) grazing regulations, partial summary judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed in part where: 1) the BLM failed to address concerns raised by its own experts, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the EPA, and state agencies; and 2) there was resounding evidence from agency experts that the eighteen amendments to the BLM's grazing regulations may affect listed species and their habitat. However, the order is vacated in part where the district court failed to consider plaintiffs' Federal Land Policy and Management Act claim under the framework and with the deference set forth in Chevron.

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[08/31] Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy v. Universal Paragon Corp.
In defendant's suit against a law firm, claiming that an arbitrator's award of $7,554,149.13 in attorney fees and expenses for the law firm, related to its representation of defendant in an underlying complex environmental litigation, is unconscionable and violates public policy, superior court's affirmance of the award is affirmed as, assuming that defendant's claim of unconscionability is subject to judicial review as a predicate for determining whether the arbitration award violates public policy, the claim is rejected on the merits as neither the fee agreement nor the award actually issued by the arbitrator is unconscionable under rule 4-200 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

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Commercial Law

[09/01] Hollander v. Copacabana Nightclub
In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action brought against several New York City nightclubs for discriminating against men on “Ladies’ Nights," dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where the nightclubs were not state actors and thus were not subject to section 1983.

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[08/31] Sinoying Logistics Pte Ltd. v. Yi Da Xin Trading Corp.
In an action seeking to attach defendant's property in New York as pre-judgment security for a pending arbitration in Hong Kong, dismissal of the action for lack of personal jurisdiction is affirmed where the district court did not err in declining to fashion an equitable remedy in circumstances where it was clear that the original attachment order could not be sustained in light of Shipping Corp. of India Ltd. v. Jaldhi Overseas Pte Ltd., 585 F.3d 58 (2d Cir. 2009).

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Attorney Biographies

Jason A. Spak 
4710 U.S. Steel Tower
600 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219-2702

Communication Center 
Phone: (412) 288-4385
Fax: 412-288-2405
E-mail: jspak@psmn.com
Web site: http://www.psmn.com

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Position	Areas of Practice	Education
Published Works

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Jason Spak is a civil litigator who resolves complex commercial and insurance coverage disputes.  He has a particular focus on financial services litigation, and he has handled Fair Credit Reporting Act cases from Maine to California and from Minnesota to Texas .  But his practice involves commercial lawsuits of all kinds, including antitrust claims, contract disputes, collections and foreclosures, and disputes over the handling of investments and pensions.  He is familiar with all phases of litigation, from pleadings through discovery, motions practice, and trial.

Jason was an award-winning high school and college prep teacher before he decided to attend law school, and he likes to think that his teaching experience helps him translate legal jargon into plain English.  He received his own education from the University of Michigan Law School (J.D., cum laude, 2002) and the University of Notre Dame (B.A., Honors Program, 1995).  While both institutions have been nationally acclaimed (US News & World Report ranks Michigan Law among the top ten among national law schools and Notre Dame among the top twenty national undergraduate programs), Jason cheers for Notre Dame when the two play football.

After graduating from Michigan Law, Jason first learned his trade in the Pittsburgh offices of two of the world's largest law firms.  In 2002, he joined the international law firm of Jones Day as a litigation attorney in what the American Lawyer Magazine later named the Litigation Department of the Year.  In 2006, he joined the international law firm of Reed Smith and its acclaimed financial services practice.  At both firms, he helped defend several bet the company lawsuits involving a paint manufacturer, a call center operator, a soft drink manufacturer, and a mutual fund family. 

Jason lives with his wife and children in the Friendship section of the City of Pittsburgh , where he provides pro bono legal services to Friendship Development Associates, Inc. and to the Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library.

Representative Cases:

Valley Waste Service v. Big Beaver Borough (Beaver CCP, 2010) obtained judgment affirming client's challenges to a conditional use permit

Stublaski v. Trans Union (D. Minn. 2009) obtained dismissal of FCRA claim

Jarvis v. Rossetti (E.D.N.Y. 2009) obtained dismissal of ERISA claim

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Inc. v. Schoen (Allegheny CCP, 2008) obtained judgment on the pleadings in a contested foreclosure

Perez v. Trans Union, 526 F. Supp. 2d 504 (E.D. Pa. 2007) obtained summary judgment of FCRA claim

Diamond Triumph v. Safelite, 441 F. Supp. 2d 695 (M.D. Pa. 2006) obtained summary judgment of Lanham Act claim

Pucciarelli v. Friendship Development Associates (Allegheny CCP, 2006) obtained dismissal of lis pendens and breach of contract claim

 

       

Current Employment Position(s):

Associate, since 2009

Areas of Practice:

Complex Commercial Litigation

Insurance Coverage Litigation

Financial Services Litigation

Fair Credit Reporting Act Litigation

Bar Admissions:

Pennsylvania, 2002

U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania, 2003

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2004

U.S. District Court District of Colorado, 2006

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2006

U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas, 2009

Education:

The University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2002
J.D.
Honors: Cum Laude

University of Notre Dame, 1995
B.A.
Honors: Honors Program
Major:  Government

Published Works:

"Relief for Resellers: Two Reasons Why FCRA claims against resellers may be dismissed before trial", National Credit Reporting Association, Inc., May 2010

"Consumer Class Actions Involving Credit & Debit Card Receipts Hit Retailers Nationwide", Defense Research Institute, March 2008 (with John McIntyre)

Past Employment Positions:

Reed Smith, LLP, Associate, 2006 - 2009

Jones Day, Associate, 2002 - 2006

Birth Information:

1973, Livonia, Michigan, United States of America