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

[03/10] Greek strike to shut down services Thursday

Intellectual Property

[03/10] Google to digitize old books from Rome, Florence

Insurance

[03/10] Swiss Re puts Chile quake insurance cost at $4-7BN

Environment

[03/10] China tells US to do more on climate change

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Case Summaries

Intellectual Property

[03/09] Richardson v. Stanley Works, Inc.
In an action for patent infringement relating to a design patent for a multi-function carpentry tool that combines a hammer with a stud climbing tool and a crowbar, a district court's finding of noninfringement is affirmed as the district court correctly construed the claim at issue and correctly determined that the patent was not infringed.

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Insurance Law

[03/10] Milwaukee Metro. Sewerage Dist. v. American Int'l Specilaty Lines Ins. Co.
In a sewerage district's suit for damages against an environmental liability insurer for denying coverage for costs incurred by the district in removing significant pollution on land it recently purchased, district court's judgment is reversed and remanded as the district court's finding that there was clear and convincing proof that a prior agreement existed between the insurance company and the sewerage district that the parcel would be covered property was clearly erroneous. Therefore, defendant is entitled to judgment on the sewerage district's reformation claim and, as a consequence, judgment in favor of defendant on its indemnity claim is vacated.

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Environmental Law

[03/09] Native Ecosystems Council v. Tidwell
In an action challenging the Forest Service's approval of a project to update grazing allotments in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, summary judgment for defendant is reversed where: 1) because the Forest Service's environmental assessment was based on a nonexistent management indicator species, its habitat proxy analysis was not reliable; and 2) the Forest Service failed to take the requisite "hard look" at the project as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

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Commercial Law

[03/10] Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. v. VCG Special Opportunities Master Fund Ltd.
In an appeal from a district court's order granting plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction and enjoining defendant from proceeding with an arbitration initiated against plaintiff before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the order is affirmed where the "serious questions" standard for assessing a movant's likelihood of success on the merits remains valid in the wake of recent Supreme Court cases, and neither the district court's assessment of the facts nor its application of the law supported a finding of abuse of discretion.

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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

Position	Areas of Practice	Education
Representative Cases

Jason Spak is an experienced civil litigator who focuses on resolving commercial, insurance coverage, financial services, and Fair Credit Reporting Act disputes. In one of his many Fair Credit Reporting Act cases, a federal court held that allegedly inaccurate credit reports caused no harm to a consumer and absolved his client from liability on that basis. Perez v. Trans Union, 526 F. Supp. 2d 504 (E.D. Pa. 2007)

Before joining Picadio Sneath Miller & Norton, PC, Jason practiced at two of the world's largest law firms, where he helped defend several large "bet the company" litigation matters and directly handled numerous smaller matters. Prior to that, he studied at the University of Michigan Law School (JD cum laude 2002) and the University of Notre Dame (BA, Honors Program, 1995). Between college and law school, Jason taught in Catholic high schools for two years and trained for the priesthood for two additional years.

Jason is experienced in all phases of litigation and brings a quick and cost-effective approach to handling and resolving client disputes. He 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.

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, 2006

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

Representative Cases:: Perez v. Trans Union, 526 F. Supp. 2d 504 (E.D. Pa. 2007); Diamond Triumph v. Safelite, 441 F. Supp. 2d 695 (M.D. Pa. 2006)

Past Employment Positions:: Reed Smith, LLP, Associate, 2006 - 2009; Jones Day, Associate, 2002 - 2006

Birth Information:: 1973, Livonia, Michigan, United States of America

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