By Mark Slater and Junyong Huang-Stowers We hope everyone reading this is healthy, safe and following the guidelines for prudent behavior during this difficult time. Hollywood raised it years ago in The Andromeda Strain, Outbreak, and more recently in Contagion. There have been significant viral infections in past years, like SARS and H1N1. The Naval…
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The Novel Coronavirus Pandemic: A Quintessential Force Majeure Event
“People plan, and Fate laughs.” As the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns and shutdowns continue, businesses should review their key contracts for a routine clause that suddenly looms large—the force majeure clause. As some lawyers say, it never hurts to actually read the contract. What does a Force Majeure Clause Do? A force…
Power Outage at Samsung Fab Demonstrates the Potential Scale of Business Interruption Hazards
Earlier this month, a power outage struck a Samsung wafer fabrication plant near Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Although the outage only lasted about half an hour, it reportedly interrupted production to a point that it damaged tens of thousands of processed wafers. The damage wiped out an estimated 3.5 percent of the global NAND flash supply…
Attacks on Networked Devices Raise Uncertainties for Business Interruption Policies
Most people are aware of the risks post by the IoT, but few are prepared. In a report released last month, Cisco warned that supply chain attacks are “increasing in velocity and complexity,” cautioning that the attacks can “impact computers on a massive scale and can persist for months or even years.”[1] Last year, the…
IoT Attacks Reveal Insurance Coverage Gap
In today’s legal world, a gap exists between general liability policies and cyber policies. For those who are not familiar with these two principles, policies concerning general liability typically cover bodily injury and property damage to a third party. However, many exclude damages caused by the loss of electronic data. Cyber policies, on the other…
Insuring Against an Internet of Things Attack
The world is more connected than ever before. Everyday objects, such as refrigerators, microwaves, baby monitors, printers, etc. are now online. The network of these Internet-connected objects is commonly called the “Internet of Things” (also known as “IoT”), which has been celebrated as the next big technology revolution. The Business Insider predicts that by 2021,…
Proving Physical Damage in Ransomware Insurance Claims
In recent years, the threat of ransomware attacks has become an important focus of concern, both as a national security vulnerability and as a significant business risk. In fact, this past June, the East coast was hit with a ransomware attack from a virus called Petya, which affected thousands of computers in more than 150…
Mark Slater and Jon Hersey Invited to Join Newly Launched Select Counsel Network
Slater Law Group partners, Mark Slater and Jon Hersey, are proud to be among the first members of the new Select Counsel network of attorneys. Select Counsel’s mission is to bring together top-tier lawyers who have taken their big firm experience to boutique practices. At launch, the network boasts over 300 members nationwide. By connecting…
Federal Circuit Clarifies Patent Infringement Venue Standard Following TC Heartland
The Federal Circuit has issued a significant ruling in the ongoing debate surrounding venue in patent infringement cases. As we mentioned in August, the Supreme Court’s ruling in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Brands LLC, 581 U.S. ____, (2017) held that, for purposes of the patent venue statute, a defendant “resides” only in the…
California Closes Foreign Employer Noncompete Loopholes
As a matter of policy and law, California has long prohibited noncompetition agreements designed by employers to prevent their former employees from working for a competitor. Edwards v. Arthur Anderson, 44 Cal. 4th 937 (2008). But companies with headquarters outside California (so-called “foreign employers”), in states where noncompetes are legal, have sought to bind their…