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Public Policy
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May 23, 2024
Yellen Opposes Global Redistribution Of Billionaires' Wealth
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen repeated Thursday that she opposes a global minimum tax on billionaires and added that she does not support basing a redistribution of the revenue from such a tax on damage from climate change and related financing needs.
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May 23, 2024
High Court Sides With Gov't Over Repeat Offender Sentencing
A state drug conviction can trigger a mandatory 15-year sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act if it involved a drug on the federal schedules at the time of that conviction, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
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May 23, 2024
Norfolk Southern Inks $310M Deal To Settle Feds' Spill Suit
Norfolk Southern Railway Co. on Thursday agreed to a $310 million deal to settle the federal government's legal claims that arose out of the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released large amounts of contaminants into the air, ground and water.
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May 23, 2024
DOJ Sues Live Nation 14 Years After Ticketmaster Deal
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Live Nation Thursday over the 2010 agreement clearing the concert promotion giant's purchase of Ticketmaster, an oft-maligned deal that enforcers now want to unwind and that is blamed for fiascoes like the meltdown of ticket sales for Taylor Swift's Eras tour.
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May 23, 2024
High Court Rules Poor Evidence Doomed SC Map Challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court rebuked Thursday a federal judicial panel's finding that South Carolina Republicans unconstitutionally discriminated against Black voters when drawing the state's new congressional map, and established higher evidentiary standards for plaintiffs seeking to prove that race is the driving factor behind redistricting decisions.
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May 22, 2024
Neb. Takes Aim At TikTok For 'Exploiting' Teen Users
Nebraska's attorney general has become the latest to accuse TikTok of operating a service that is addictive and harmful to teens, alleging in a complaint filed in state court Wednesday that the popular video-sharing site has misled consumers about how safe and appropriate the platform is for minors.
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May 22, 2024
'Appeal To Heaven' Flag Flew At Alito's Vacation Home: Report
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday called for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to immediately recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election and face censure after The New York Times reported that flags tied to Donald Trump supporters had flown outside two homes owned by the justice in 2021 and again last year.
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May 22, 2024
Activist Investor Must Face Exxon's Suit Over Proxy Proposal
A Texas federal judge Wednesday refused to dismiss an Exxon Mobil Corp. lawsuit against a U.S.-based activist investor over a now-withdrawn shareholder proposal concerning climate change, saying it isn't certain they won't refile their proposal in the future.
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May 22, 2024
EasyPay Agrees To Exit Mass. In 'Rent-A-Bank' Settlement
EasyPay, an alternative finance company, has settled with Massachusetts officials over claims that it gouged Bay State borrowers with predatory loans issued through an out-of-state bank, agreeing to pay $625,000 to consumers and stop doing business in the state as part of a deal unveiled Wednesday.
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May 22, 2024
Nursing Home Asks Ill. Justices For Broad COVID Immunity
An Illinois nursing home facing wrongful death suits over an outbreak of COVID-19 told the state's highest court Wednesday that plaintiffs were trying to have it "both ways," by claiming Gov. J.B. Pritzker's grant of pandemic-related immunity to healthcare facilities was both clear and ambiguous.
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May 22, 2024
Calif. Justices Debate Time To Sue To Change Insurer's Practices
A California state attorney urged the California Supreme Court on Thursday to revive a policyholder's Unfair Competition Law claim against State Farm, saying the law's four-year statute of limitation applies over an insurance law's one-year period because the policyholder is seeking a change to its claim-handling practices, not damages.
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May 22, 2024
Arizona Officials Spar Over Stay In Voting Rights Fight
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is asking a federal district court to deny a bid by the state's top lawmakers and the Republican National Committee to pause a decision to bar provisions of voting legislation from being enforced, arguing that a change this close to an election would create confusion.
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May 22, 2024
US House Passes Crypto Bill Over SEC, White House Dissent
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a Republican-led framework to regulate digital assets despite pushback from many Democrats, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the White House, which questioned whether the bill will actually provide the clarity it promises.
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May 22, 2024
Fla. Gaming Compact Contradicts Law, High Court Told
Two Florida casino operators seeking to undo a sports gaming compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe fired back at the federal government's claims that the agreement is legal, arguing that its language contradicts the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
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May 22, 2024
Feds And Enviro Groups Fight Utah Counties' High Court Bid
The United States, a Colorado county and five environmental groups are fighting a bid by a coalition of Utah counties to win a U.S. Supreme Court review of a D.C. Circuit decision revoking federal approval of a rail line to transport crude oil from the state.
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May 22, 2024
Monsanto's Appellate Win Won't Nix $438M PCB Loss
A Washington state trial judge has declined to throw out a $438 million judgment against Monsanto in one of a series of PCB poisoning suits tied to a school site, rejecting the company's argument that the judgment cannot stand on the heels of a state appellate court ruling reversing another plaintiffs' win in the case group.
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May 22, 2024
Seattle Sues Train Cos. Over Bike Track-Crossing Suits
The city of Seattle says two short-line railroads have breached agreements to maintain liability insurance and indemnify the city in lawsuits from cyclists injured crossing tracks along a perilous stretch of a popular bike trail, according to a complaint filed in Washington state court.
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May 22, 2024
Ex-Citi Exec Says She Was Asked To Lie To OCC
A former Citibank NA managing director hired to bring the bank into compliance with regulatory obligations has accused the bank and its chief operating officer of wrongful termination and retaliation in a suit Wednesday, alleging she was fired for not reporting false information to authorities.
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May 23, 2024
Sunsetting Section 230 Gains Traction On Both Sides Of Aisle
Everyone at Wednesday's House subcommittee hearing, from left to right, seemed to agree that it's time to ditch the Communications Decency Act's hotly contested Section 230, which shields online platforms from liability for content posted by third parties.
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May 22, 2024
Antitrust Judge Questions Apple's Phil Schiller On New Fees
A California federal judge deciding whether Apple has complied with her ban on App Store anti-steering rules questioned Apple fellow Phil Schiller on Wednesday on Apple's new program imposing 27% fees on out-of-app transactions, saying "all the new program does is maintain the anti-competitive environment" for the company's benefit.
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May 22, 2024
Binance.US Beats Fla. Regulator's Suspension Order
A Florida state appeals court agreed with Binance.US on Wednesday that the state's financial regulator shouldn't have denied the cryptocurrency exchange the ability to do business in the state after its affiliate and founder pled guilty last year, and that the agency didn't follow proper procedure in blocking Binance's operations.
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May 22, 2024
Feds To Extend Plea Offer To Oath Keepers Atty In Jan. 6 Case
Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that they plan to extend a plea offer to an attorney for the far-right Oath Keepers group charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, but the specifics of the offer could depend on the U.S. Supreme Court's stance on a federal statute often used to prosecute alleged Capitol rioters.
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May 22, 2024
DC Judge Ships CFTC Election Betting Suit Back To Texas
A federal judge in the District of Columbia said Wednesday that a case challenging a Commodity Futures Trading Commission ban on an elections betting platform should never have been sent to her court, shipping the lawsuit back to Texas over the objections of the agency.
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May 22, 2024
Ga. Lender Asks Panel To Free It From Unsolicited Check Case
A Georgia lending institution asked the Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday to reverse a trial court's decision not to free it from a lawsuit alleging it violated the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act by sending out an unsolicited live check that was stolen and cashed by an unknown party.
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May 22, 2024
9th Circ. Denies States' Bid To Weigh In On Asylum Limits
A split Ninth Circuit on Wednesday denied several states' motion to intervene in the Biden administration's bid to settle a lawsuit challenging a rule limiting asylum, saying the states lack interests warranting their involvement in settlement negotiations.
Expert Analysis
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Reducing Risk While DOJ Plans New Whistleblower Rewards
In light of the Department of Justice's newly announced plan to create a comprehensive whistleblower reward program to fill the gaps in the current patchwork of federal incentives, companies should mitigate their risk of external claims now by implementing internal systems where employees can confidently and anonymously report concerns, say Caleb Hayes-Deats and Walter Hawes at MoloLamken.
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Series
Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.
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DOJ's Safe Harbor Policy May Quietly Favor M&A Enforcement
In a change that has received little attention, the U.S. Justice Department's recently codified safe harbor policy essentially reads the Antitrust Division's criminal enforcement out of the policy entirely, and now appears to favor merger enforcement in antitrust, rather than criminal enforcement, as originally intended, say Daniel Oakes and James Attridge at Axinn.
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Takeaways From The 2023 DOJ Fraud Section Report
Attorneys at Wiley discuss notable trends from the U.S. Department of Justice's recently reported Fraud Section activity last year and highlight areas of enforcement to watch for in the future, including healthcare fraud and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.
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Draft Pay Equity Rule May Pose Contractor Compliance Snags
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recently proposed rule that would prohibit government contractors from requesting certain job applicants' salary history seems simple on the surface, but achieving compliance will be a nuanced affair for many contractors who must also adhere to state and local pay transparency laws, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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7 Takeaways From CFPB Circular On Digital Comparison Tools
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new guidance regarding digital comparison-shopping platforms for financial services products and services offers fresh insights into the bureau's interpretation of the abusiveness standard and expands on principles underlying its previous guidance on the topic, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
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How Policymakers Can Preserve The Promise Of Global Trade
Global trade faces increasing challenges but could experience a resurgence if long-held approaches adjust and the U.S. accounts for factors that undermine free trade's continuing viability, such as regional trading blocs and the increasing speed of technological advancement, says David Jividen at White & Case.
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10 Areas To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting Law
The near future holds a number of key areas to watch in aerospace and defense contracting law, ranging from dramatic developments in the space industry to recent National Defense Authorization Act updates, which are focused on U.S. leadership in emerging technologies, say Joseph Berger and Chip Purcell at Thompson Hine.
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Opinion
Proposed MDL Management Rule Needs Refining
Proponents of the recently proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 believe it may enhance efficiency in multidistrict litigation proceedings if adopted, but there are serious concerns that it could actually hinder plaintiffs' access to justice through the courts — and there are fundamental flaws that deserve our attention, says Ashleigh Raso at Nigh Goldenberg.
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How New SEC Rule May Turn DeFi Participants Into 'Dealers'
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced a new rule to amend its definition of a securities "dealer," but the change could have concerning implications for decentralized finance and blockchain, as the SEC has suggested it may subject DeFi participants to registration requirements and other regulations, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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Opinion
Litigation Funding Needs Regulating To Meet Ethics Standards
Third-party litigation funding can provide litigants with access to the legal system, but, as recent cases show, the funding agreements carry the potential for exploitation and may conflict with core aspects of the attorney-client relationship, making the need for a balanced regulation self-evident, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
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How Harsher Penalties For AI Crimes May Work In Practice
With recent pronouncements from the U.S. Department of Justice that prosecutors may seek sentencing enhancements for crimes committed using artificial intelligence, defense counsel should understand how the sentencing guidelines and statutory factors will come into play, says Jennie VonCannon at Crowell & Moring.
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Opinion
NIST March-In Framework Is As Problematic As 2021 Proposal
While the National Institute of Standards and Technology's proposed march-in framework on when the government can seize patents has been regarded as a radical departure that will support lowering prescription drug costs, the language at the heart of it is identical to a failed 2021 notice of proposed rulemaking, says attorney Kelly Morron.
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AI In Performance Management: Mitigating Employer Risk
Companies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence tools in performance management, exposing organizations to significant risks, which they can manage through employee training, bias assessments, and comprehensive policies and procedures related to the new technology, say Gregory Brown and Cindy Huang at Jackson Lewis.