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Public Policy
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April 23, 2024
Sharper Sustainability Rule May Strengthen Bid Protests
A new regulation for more environmentally friendly government purchases puts teeth into a long-standing requirement for sustainable procurement, and is likely to strengthen businesses' arguments in bid protests as agencies wrestle with the full scope of the rule.
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April 23, 2024
Sierra Club Sues EPA Over NY Aluminum Plant's Air Pollution
The Sierra Club slapped U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan with a complaint in D.C. federal court Tuesday accusing the agency of failing to require the state of New York to cut sulfur dioxide emissions from a 112-year-old aluminum smelting plant.
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April 23, 2024
Grain Co.'s $18B Deal Raises Competition Flags For Canada
Canada's competition enforcer said Tuesday it has concerns over grain and seed supplier Bunge Ltd.'s plan to buy global grain trader Viterra Ltd. in an $18 billion deal, saying the acquisition could result in lower prices paid to farmers and higher prices for refined canola oil.
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April 23, 2024
Mich. Judge Threatens Contempt After Atty's 'Star Snitch' Post
A lawyer defending a Republican elector against criminal charges called a government witness a "star snitch" in a February Facebook post, prompting a Michigan state judge Tuesday to warn the entire courtroom that similar behavior going forward could lead to witness tampering charges.
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April 23, 2024
US Gun Cos. Tell Justices Mexico Is Circumventing Law With Suit
A group of American firearm makers is asking the Supreme Court to throw out a suit from the government of Mexico alleging they have aided and abetted cartels, saying the First Circuit broke with the high court's precedent by allowing the case to proceed.
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April 23, 2024
Florida Loses Bid To Stay Ruling Nixing Its CWA Permit Power
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday declined Florida's request to pause his ruling that stripped the state's federally delegated authority over a Clean Water Act permitting program, finding that the Sunshine State had not shown it was likely to succeed in its appeal of the ruling.
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April 23, 2024
4 Things Attys Should Know About NJ's $56B Spending Plan
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has crafted a spending plan that furthers his vision of the state as an innovator in offshore wind and artificial intelligence, while drawing pushback for a proposed corporate transit fee and warehouse tax.
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April 23, 2024
Nexstar Calls FCC's Floated $1.2M Fine Over WPIX 'Unlawful'
Broadcast giant Nexstar slammed the Federal Communications Commission's proposed $1.2 million penalty over its "de facto control" of New York station WPIX, saying the fine is unconstitutional and that the agency is running afoul of both the Communications Act and procedural law.
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April 23, 2024
Texas Justices Freeze Harris County Income Program
The Texas Supreme Court entered an order Tuesday blocking Harris County from issuing payments under a guaranteed income program a day after the pilot was greenlit by a lower appellate panel and a day before the first of 18 monthly payments was set for distribution.
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April 23, 2024
EPA Tells 5th Circ. To Sink Texas' Ozone Plan Challenge
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged the Fifth Circuit to reject Texas' attempt to challenge the agency's denial of its revised plan to control ozone in the Dallas and Houston metropolitan areas, saying the Lone Star State's arguments "do not withstand scrutiny."
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April 23, 2024
Wash. Urges Federal Court To Set Bad Faith Test For IP Cases
A Washington federal judge should apply a standard analyzing patterns of harassment when determining whether the owner of a data processing network patent acted in bad faith by issuing nearly 2,000 uniform demand letters alleging infringement, the state attorney general's office has argued.
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April 23, 2024
Crypto Industry Groups Sue SEC Over Dealer Definition
Two crypto industry groups on Tuesday jointly sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to overturn the regulator's expanded dealer definition, claiming the regulator sidestepped a fair rulemaking process when it declined to address the myriad issues industry participants pointed out during the shortened comment process.
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April 23, 2024
Cole First Native American To Chair Appropriations Committee
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, has become the first Native American to chair the full House Appropriations Committee, succeeding Rep. Kay Granger, who in March announced that she would be stepping down prior to her retirement.
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April 23, 2024
Chinese Foam-Making Chemicals Dominate Market, Co. Warns
The U.S. subsidiary of an Israel-based chemical manufacturer urged the U.S. government Tuesday to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese-origin alkyl phosphate esters, saying imports of the chemical commonly used in making polyurethane foam are taking over the U.S. market.
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April 23, 2024
Blue States Leap To Defend EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule
California and 21 other blue states, along with a smattering of cities and the District of Columbia, have told the D.C. Circuit that they want to help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defend its rule requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks and vans from legal attack by red states.
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April 23, 2024
Tabloid Made Deal To Save Trump 'Embarrassment,' Jury Told
A longtime tabloid executive told a Manhattan jury Tuesday that he struck a secret deal with Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election to plant negative stories about his opponents and suppress salacious stories that could cause his campaign "embarrassment."
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April 23, 2024
NJ Appeals Court Backs State's Siting Regs For Solar Projects
A New Jersey state appeals court on Tuesday upheld project-siting requirements under a Garden State law encouraging new solar development, rejecting a renewable energy industry group's argument that the requirements are unlawfully strict.
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April 23, 2024
NC Justices Urged To Reject Greg Lindberg Co.'s Review Bid
North Carolina's insurance commissioner urged the state's supreme court to prevent a company controlled by insurance mogul Greg Lindberg from intervening in the liquidation proceedings of two of his life insurance companies, arguing a state appeals panel correctly held that an insurer's directors, but not shareholders, may intervene.
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April 23, 2024
Biz Ownership Law Constitutional, Lawmakers Tell 11th Circ.
The Corporate Transparency Act is a garden-variety exercise of Congress' powers to address threats to national security, foreign affairs, commerce and tax collection, five Democratic lawmakers told the Eleventh Circuit, disputing a ruling that the law is unconstitutional.
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April 23, 2024
Broadcasters Support Bill To Revive Diversity Tax Certificate
Broadcasters are supporting the recent reintroduction of a bill that seeks to increase diversity in the broadcasting industry by requiring the Federal Communications Commission to bring back a tax incentive program to facilitate the sale of broadcast stations to people of color and women.
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April 23, 2024
EPA Finishes Stronger Chemical Risk Evaluation Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced stronger and broader regulations to assess chemicals' health and environmental risks, completing a process that started when the Ninth Circuit struck down parts of the initial rule as too weak.
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April 23, 2024
Trade Court Orders Feds To Rethink Canadian Lumber Duties
The U.S. Court of International Trade ordered the U.S. Department of Commerce to redo countervailing duties on Canadian lumber, saying the department must better explain its refusal to check whether suppliers for investigated companies had received government subsidies.
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April 23, 2024
Ex-Public Defender Wants 4th Circ. To End Wait In Bias Suit
A former public defender suing the federal judiciary for allegedly failing to take her sexual harassment claims seriously asked the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday to force a federal judge's hand after more than four months without a ruling following a bench trial, saying a decision on her long-pending bid for a preliminary injunction is overdue.
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April 23, 2024
NC Felony Voting Law Struck Down As Unconstitutional
A North Carolina federal judge has struck down the state's 147-year-old law making it a crime for convicted felons to vote, finding that the statute disproportionately targets Black voters and had been inconsistently enforced in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
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April 23, 2024
Do Not Remand FDA Cigar Rule Without Vacatur, DC Circ. Told
The New Civil Liberties Alliance is urging the D.C. Circuit not to remand a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule regulating premium cigars without first vacating the regulation, saying federal agencies cannot enforce rules that have been declared unlawful.
Expert Analysis
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SEC's Final Climate Disclosure Rules: What Cos. Must Know
While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's scaled-back final rules requiring public companies to disclose certain climate-related information still face challenges in court, companies should begin preparing now to comply with the rules, say Celia Soehner and Erin Martin at Morgan Lewis.
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Golf Course Copyright Bill Implications Go Beyond The Green
A new federal bill, the BIRDIE Act, introduced in February would extend intellectual property protections to golf course designers but could undercut existing IP case law and raise broader questions about the scope of copyright protection for works that involve living elements or nonhuman authorship, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.
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Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims
Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.
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Insurance Implications Of Trump's NY Civil Fraud Verdict
A New York state trial court’s $450 million judgment against former President Donald Trump and affiliated entities for valuation fraud offers several important lessons for companies seeking to obtain directors and officers insurance, including the consequences of fraudulent misrepresentations and critical areas of underwriting risk, says Kevin LaCroix at RT ProExec.
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Opinion
NY Gubernatorial Absence Provision Is Obsolete And Harmful
An outdated provision in the New York Constitution means that the governor loses power whenever they leave the state, creating legal uncertainty and undermining confidence in the rule of law — but fortunately, the solution is straightforward, say Liam Turner and John Rogan at Fordham Law School.
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Opinion
European Union Criticisms Of The FCPA Are Misguided
Some in the European Union have criticized U.S. enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for what they perceive as jurisdictional overreach, but this appears to overlook the crucial fact that jurisdiction is voluntary, and critics should focus instead on the lack of equivalent laws in their own region, say John Joy and YuTong Wang at FTI Law.
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What Fed's Credit-Linked Note FAQ Means For Capital Relief
U.S. banks that seek to mitigate their loss of liquidity under the Basel III capital requirements by issuing direct credit-linked notes should turn to recent Federal Reserve FAQs for insight into how this new use of synthetic securitizations may reshape risk and regulation in the U.S. market, says Cris Cicala at Stinson.
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Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Regs And Financing
For investors in public utilities, wildfire liability considerations include not only regulatory complexities, but also bankruptcy claims resolution, financing judgments and settlements, and how to leverage organizational structures to maximize investment protections, say David Botter and Lisa Schweitzer at Cleary.
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Fintech Compliance Does Not Always Equal Bank Compliance
Recent enforcement actions are a reminder for banks working with financial technology providers — whether as partners to extend their reach or as internal resources to support existing operations — that few areas of risk need more frequent attention than Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance, says Christopher Couch at Phelps Dunbar.
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Making The Pitch For A Civil Resolution In A Criminal Case
Even without the depth of visibility into prosecutorial decision making offered by special counsel Robert Hur’s recently released report, defense counsel may be able to make the case for civil resolutions of criminal investigations while minimizing a potential negative response from prosecutors to such an argument, says Bill Athanas at Bradley Arant.
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Del. Dispatch: How Moelis Upends Stockholder Agreements
The Delaware Court of Chancery's Moelis decision last month upended the standard corporate practice of providing governance rights in stockholder agreements and adds to a recent line of surprising decisions holding that long-standing, common market practices violate Delaware law, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Enforcement Risk Amid Increased Consumer Data Use
While no state has introduced a private right of action for noncompliance with a comprehensive consumer privacy law — except for the California Consumer Privacy Act's data breach provision — organizations and retailers face risk from enforcement actions by state attorneys general and privacy regulators, say attorneys at Dentons.
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Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
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Takeaways From USPTO's AI-Assisted Invention Guidance
Recently issued guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office clarifies how patent inventorship is to be determined when AI is involved, and while the immediate risk of prosecution for failing to meet the new standards appears low, the extent of examiners’ scrutiny remains to be seen, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.
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Opinion
The Problems In Calif. Draft Behavioral Ad Privacy Regs
The California Privacy Protection Agency has an opportunity with its automated decision-making technology and profiling rulemaking to harmonize California's regulation of data-driven advertising, but this will be a failure unless several things are changed in its proposed treatment of behavioral advertising, say Alan Friel and Kyle Fath at Squire Patton.