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Corporate
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May 17, 2013
Papa John's Will Deliver $16.5M To End TCPA Claims
Papa John's International Inc. has agreed to pay $16.5 million to resolve a nationwide class action alleging it advertised pizzas through unwanted text messages in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, according to a Friday filing in Seattle.
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May 17, 2013
GSA, DOD Solicit Advice On Revamping Cybersecurity
The U.S. General Services Administration and Department of Defense are seeking advice regarding cybersecurity standards involved in government contracts, requesting that vendors weigh in on current measures and the potential pitfalls of implementing new ones as part of a national push to revamp cybersecurity.
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May 17, 2013
Kmart Rips Bid To Set Aside Judgment In Seating Trial
A former Kmart Corp. cashier's claim that the company misled the court and her lawyers — a bid to undo her loss at the first class action trial over California's suitable seating requirements — is meritless, Kmart told San Francisco federal judge on Thursday.
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May 17, 2013
Indiana Right-To-Work Law Constitutional, AG Tells 7th Circ.
Indiana Attorney General Gregory Zoeller urged the Seventh Circuit on Friday to uphold the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging a state law that prohibits requiring union membership or union dues as a condition of employment, arguing that the statute is neither unconstitutional nor preempted by federal labor law.
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May 17, 2013
Amazon's Plan For Fla. Warehouse Hits Sales Tax Snag
Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. and Florida's Department of Revenue have failed to reach an agreement on what Amazon's sales tax collection in the state should be if it builds a warehouse facility there, state officials confirmed Friday.
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May 17, 2013
Icahn Loses Transocean Dividend Fight, But Wins Board Seat
Shareholders of offshore oil rigging giant Transocean Ltd. voted Friday to approve its board’s dividend proposal of $2.24 per share, rejecting activist investor Carl Icahn’s proposal for an annual dividend of $4 per share but electing one of his nominees to the board.
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May 17, 2013
Valspar Can't Decertify Managers' Misclassification Suit
A Minnesota federal judge Thursday refused to decertify a group of managers who sued Valspar Corp. over allegations the paint maker misclassified them as overtime-exempt, saying the employees had enough in common for the case to continue as a collective action.
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May 17, 2013
Wal-Mart Busts Its FCPA Budget By $30M In Q1
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it has spent $73 million in the first quarter of the fiscal year dealing with investigations and internal changes stemming from alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, around $30 million more than the retailer expected.
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May 16, 2013
Wal-Mart Can't Keep Leaked Docs Out Of Mexico Bribery Suit
A Delaware Chancery judge ruled Thursday that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. can't stop shareholders from using documents leaked into the public domain to support their suit over alleged bribery by its Mexican affiliate, rejecting the chain's contention that the formerly private files were still privileged.
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May 16, 2013
Comcast Antitrust Ruling Offers Hope Despite Dow Loss
In the first major antitrust ruling to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Comcast decision, a judge refused Wednesday to decertify a plaintiffs class and spare The Dow Chemical Co. $1.2 billion in damages. However, the ruling still offers a ray of hope for other defendants in antitrust class actions, attorneys say.
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May 16, 2013
Calif. Appeals Court Favors Claims Adjuster In OT Pay Suit
A California appeals court on Thursday rejected liability investigation firm Koning & Associates' argument that a former claims adjuster was not eligible for overtime pay, ruling that compensation based only on hours worked, with no assured minimum pay, does not count as a salary.
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May 16, 2013
Wal-Mart Says DC Circ. Posting Ruling Refutes Bias Claims
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. told a Wisconsin federal court Wednesday that the D.C. Circuit's recent decision vacating the National Labor Relations Board's notice posting rule bolstered its bid to nix class gender bias claims from women covered by the disbanded nationwide Dukes class.
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May 16, 2013
NYC Hospital Operator Avoids FLSA Overtime Action For Now
A New York federal judge Wednesday tossed a putative class action accusing New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by depriving hourly employees of overtime pay, but left the plaintiff a chance to amend his complaint to add more detailed allegations.
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May 16, 2013
EEOC's 1st Genetic Bias Class Action Targets Nursing Home
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission launched its first class action under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act on Thursday, accusing a New York nursing home of wrongly requesting family medical histories as part of health exams before and after workers accept jobs.
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May 16, 2013
EU Continues Push For More Cybersecurity Protections
A top European Union commissioner on Thursday outlined Europe's plans to fight cybercrime, repeating the bloc's vow to institute new reporting requirements for private companies experiencing threats to their secured networks.
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May 16, 2013
NLRB Owes It To Public To Keep Working, Chairman Says
National Labor Relations Board Chairman Mark Pearce told a Senate committee Thursday that the current NLRB members “owe it to the public” to keep working despite the D.C. Circuit's blockbuster Noel Canning ruling, which said two members' recess appointments were invalid.
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May 16, 2013
3rd Circ. Finds NLRB Recess Appointment Of Becker Invalid
Agreeing with the D.C. Circuit that recess appointments can be made only during the intersession break between Senate sessions, the Third Circuit ruled Thursday that the president's intrasession recess appointment of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board was invalid, putting the validity of even more labor board decisions into doubt.
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May 15, 2013
Bass Pro Says EEOC Bullied It To Accept $30M Bias Settlement
A subsidiary of Bass Pro Inc. on Wednesday urged a Texas federal court to toss a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging the sporting goods chain systematically excluded minorities from its workforce, arguing the agency rebuffed mandatory dispute resolution efforts and demanded $30 million before filing suit.
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May 15, 2013
EEOC Updates Guidance On Cancer, Other Disabilities
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday updated its informal guidance for employers on how the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to job applicants and employees with cancer, diabetes, epilepsy and intellectual disabilities to reflect the broadening of the law's definition of a disability.
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May 15, 2013
Comcast Ruling Undermines Seating Class, Kmart Says
Kmart Corp. urged a California federal court Monday to reject a former worker's bid to certify a statewide class of cashiers who weren't provided seats while working, claiming that class treatment could lead to complex, individualized penalty calculations that conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court's March Comcast ruling.
Expert Analysis
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SEC’s Unbundling Rules Get Breath Of Life
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision’s “unbundling” requirements have largely been the stuff of SEC lore — periodically referred to but rarely seen in corporate governance matters. However, thanks to the high profile dispute between David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital and Apple, the unbundling rules may finally be coming out of the shadows, say attorneys with King & Spalding LLP.
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When And How To Consider Hiring In-House IP Counsel
When deciding whether to hire in-house intellectual property counsel, a company should consider its IP strategy and its IP budget. If a company is spending $250,000 or more on outside IP legal fees per year, it is at least worth considering hiring in-house patent counsel, says Scott Smith of Dorsey & Whitney LLP.
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Recent Trends In M&A And Corporate Fiduciary Litigation
In 2012, shareholders challenged 93 percent of all merger and acquisition transactions with a value greater than $100 million and 96 percent of M&A transactions with a value greater than $500 million. In other words, it almost is inevitable nowadays that litigation will follow a merger or going private announcement — with an average of about five lawsuits per transaction, say attorneys with Arnold & Porter LLP.
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Tips For Your Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan Policy
Now that investigations have been initiated by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the SEC into possible abuses by corporate executives of Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, the private securities bar inevitably will follow suit and file litigation. Nevertheless, these plans continue to be an effective defense against allegations of insider trading, say attorneys with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
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SEC Must Stop The Latest Effort To Impede Whistleblowers
Increasingly, employees have been presented with language in severance and settlement agreements that impose on whistleblowers a number of restrictions. These provisions pose a serious threat to the success of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's whistleblower program, say David Marshall and Debra Katz of Katz Marshall & Banks LLP.
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Independent Contractors Strike Out — Lessons For Employers
A lesser-known risk among companies that use independent contractor models is the threat of Title VII litigation, which two recent appellate court decisions, Allen v. Radio One and Alam v. Miller Brewing Company, addressed. These cases remind employers of the ways to minimize such litigation risks, such as adopting a policy to not rehire former employees terminated for misconduct, says Douglas Darch of Baker & McKenzie.
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In FCPA Compliance, Don't Forget About The Travel Act
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guide highlighted the Travel Act and its applicability to FCPA cases. But the Travel Act, which can apply to bribery of foreign officials as well as private individuals, is often misunderstood and underappreciated by companies attempting to maintain robust compliance programs, say HL Rogers and Ellen Crisham of Sidley Austin LLP.
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How To Use The New Trademark Clearinghouse
As the rollout of new Internet domains continues to become more complex, it is crucial for intellectual property owners to familiarize themselves with each step of the trademark clearinghouse registration process in order to have full control over their brand, says Jan Corstens of Deloitte.
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Lessons From Philips FCPA Settlement Over Polish Bribes
While Poland has not received particular Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement focus over the years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent order against Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV over Polish bribes underscores the fact that, in given circumstances, any country can present high corruption risk, say attorneys with Fulbright & Jaworski LLP.
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No More 'Scarlet Letter' Policy At DOJ Antitrust
A recent policy change puts the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division in accord with other DOJ divisions that refrain from publicly identifying alleged wrongdoers, unless and until the individual is actually charged with a crime. Unfortunately, the division has shown no signs of amending another policy relating to its corporate leniency program, says Jeremy Evans of Paul Hastings LLP.