Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Public Policy
-
June 10, 2024
Feds Want Ex-Army Officer's FTCA Claims Cut From Suit
A former major general's defamation lawsuit against the U.S. Army over an alleged domestic assault should be partially tossed, the federal government told a Pennsylvania federal judge Friday, arguing that soldiers can't sue the Army for incidents that happened while they were serving.
-
June 10, 2024
IHS Urges Budget Shift After High Court Healthcare Ruling
The Indian Health Service, following a divided U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming that the federal government is liable for the reimbursement of millions in administrative healthcare costs for two Native American tribes, is urging Congress to shift its budget appropriations for fiscal year 2026 to protect the agency's overall health.
-
June 10, 2024
Health Data Co. Says Rival's Request Risks Patient Security
A healthcare data company pushed back against claims in Maryland federal court that it blocks a rival's access to nursing home patient data used to identify potential complications, saying the rival is asking to disable security measures that prevent attacks on its system.
-
June 10, 2024
NY Lawmakers Pass Kids Social Media Addiction Bill
New York lawmakers have passed a bill that will rein in social media algorithms from delivering addictive content to minors and sent it to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk for approval, which is widely expected.
-
June 10, 2024
Baltimore Lands $45M Deal With Allergan In Opioid Litigation
Baltimore has put to rest its claims that Allergan played a part in the opioid crisis, reaching a $45 million settlement with the pharmaceutical company, an amount the city called "unprecedented" in an announcement on Monday.
-
June 10, 2024
Colo. DA Defends Interviewing Ex-Wife Of Murder Case Judge
A Colorado district attorney on Monday denied that she botched a high-profile murder case targeting a husband in his wife's disappearance, telling a disciplinary panel that her concerns about the judge's honesty justified sending an investigator to interview the jurist's ex-spouse.
-
June 10, 2024
NY Governor Appoints New Interim Head Of Pot Regulator
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced new leadership appointments to the state's cannabis regulator, following the release of an investigative audit that blasted the agency for inefficiencies and precipitated the stepping down of its inaugural executive director.
-
June 10, 2024
'Junk Fee' Suit Against Hilton Shipped Back To State Court
A D.C. federal judge has sent back to state court a traveler advocacy group's lawsuit accusing Hilton of tricking hotel guests into paying "junk fees" late in the booking process, rejecting the hotel chain's bid to litigate the proposed class action in federal court.
-
June 10, 2024
Permanent Residents Say Iowa Removal Law Will Ensnare Them
Immigrant advocacy group Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice responded on Monday in Iowa federal court to the state's argument that lawful permanent residents are exempted from a law empowering officials to arrest and remove previously deported noncitizens, saying no such exception exists.
-
June 10, 2024
FCC Urged To Add Missing Persons Code For Tribes
Tribal leaders urged the Federal Communications Commission to consider adding a missing persons code specific to Indigenous people as it upgrades the Emergency Alert System.
-
June 10, 2024
Cut Penalties For Rural Buildout Shortcomings, FCC Urged
A trade group representing electric cooperatives is joining the chorus of industry interests calling for the Federal Communications Commission to reduce penalties for companies that withdraw from federally backed rural broadband projects, saying the commission rules should not be "punitive" when build-outs stop making sense.
-
June 10, 2024
Deputy Sheriff Denies Lying About Groping In $11M Case
The wife of a south Georgia sheriff who allegedly assaulted and jailed a man after she said he groped her in a gas station denied her accusations were false in response to an $11 million-plus federal civil rights lawsuit against the couple.
-
June 10, 2024
Exxon Says Activist Investor Could Still Target Core Business
Exxon Mobil Corp. sought Monday to keep alive its lawsuit against Arjuna Capital LLC in Texas federal court, arguing that the activist investor could still work behind the scenes to submit climate-related shareholder proposals despite promises in court that it will not.
-
June 10, 2024
Unclaimed Property Group Backs Disney At Mich. High Court
An unclaimed property holder trade organization urged the Michigan Supreme Court to affirm that the state waited too long to demand that Disney and a restaurant company remit unclaimed property, arguing that third-party auditors' lax oversight allowed examinations to languish beyond the statute of limitations.
-
June 10, 2024
USPTO Makes Filing Delist Requests Slightly Easier
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will begin to make it easier for anybody to ask the agency to delist "precedential" administrative board rulings, it announced by email on Monday.
-
June 10, 2024
Split 4th Circ. Tosses Suit Over 'Forever Chemicals' In NC
The Fourth Circuit ruled Monday that environmental groups couldn't challenge in district court the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's selection of particular so-called forever chemicals for testing after the agency agreed, at the groups' request, to research the chemicals' effects in North Carolina.
-
June 10, 2024
Software Alliance Urges Congress To Tackle Deepfakes
The Software Alliance, a trade group that includes Microsoft Corp., Adobe Inc. and IBM, urged Congress Monday to pass legislation that addresses the proliferation of digital replicas made possible with artificial intelligence, telling lawmakers that unauthorized deepfakes harm artists who rely on their reputation and public recognition.
-
June 10, 2024
Big Tech Urges US Reprisal Over Canada's Impending DST
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative should open formal dispute proceedings with the Canadian government in response to a 3% digital services tax that is expected to soon pass in the Canadian Senate, business groups with members in the U.S. tech industry said Monday.
-
June 10, 2024
3 Takeaways From Cigna's Win In 9th Circ. Rehab Claim Fight
The Ninth Circuit's recent decision finding Cigna is off the hook for $8.6 million in out-of-network mental health and substance use disorder treatment claims against employee benefit plans administered by the insurer could discourage similar litigation, benefits attorneys say. Here are three key takeaways from the decision.
-
June 10, 2024
Mass. House Omits Local-Option Tax From $6B Housing Bill
A proposal by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey to allow local-option transfer fees on high-value real estate sales was left out of a housing package worth more than $6 billion passed by the state House of Representatives.
-
June 10, 2024
EPA Air Compliance Rule Trumps State Powers, DC Circ. Told
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency usurped state authority when it issued a final rule changing the deadline for states to submit Clean Air Act compliance plans for power plants and other existing facilities within their borders, 25 Republican-led states told the D.C. Circuit.
-
June 10, 2024
W.Va. Anti-Trans Sports Suit Stayed Amid High Court Bid
A West Virginia federal judge has temporarily paused a lawsuit from a transgender minor challenging a state law that prohibits biological males from joining girls' teams, arguing it is not in the best interest of taxpayers to proceed while the U.S. Supreme Court weighs whether to take up the case.
-
June 10, 2024
Menendez Likely Knew About Mercedes Bribe, Jury Told
A former New Jersey insurance broker testified Monday in New York federal court that he never spoke directly to U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez about providing the down payment and monthly installments for a luxury car for his wife, but indicated that he suspected the senator knew about the arrangement.
-
June 10, 2024
FTC To Fight Go-Ahead Order On Novant $320M Hospital Deal
Just days after a district court loss, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday it will ask the Fourth Circuit to step in and block Novant Health from buying two North Carolina hospitals in a $320 million deal the agency contends would harm competition.
-
June 10, 2024
Trump Ally Asks If Stay Applies To All Ga. Co-Defendants
As former President Donald Trump asks the Georgia Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments in his appeal of a ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis to continue prosecuting the Georgia election interference case, one of his co-defendants asked for clarity on whether a recent stay applies to every defendant.
Expert Analysis
-
To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
-
What Junk Fee Law Means For Biz In California And Beyond
Come July 1, companies doing business in California must ensure that the price of any good or service as offered, displayed or advertised is inclusive of all mandatory fees and other charges in compliance with S.B. 478, which may have a far-reaching impact across the country due to wide applicability, say Alexandria Ruiz and Amy Lally at Sidley Austin.
-
EPA Heavy-Duty Vehicle GHG Rules Face Bumpy Road Ahead
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for owners and operators of heavy-duty vehicles are facing opposition from both states and the transportation industry, and their arguments will mirror two pending cases challenging the EPA's authority, says Grant Laizer at Adams and Reese.
-
8 Steps Companies Should Take After An Internal Investigation
Given the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasing focus on corporate compliance and remediation of misconduct, companies must follow through in several key ways after an internal investigation to ensure history does not repeat itself, say Jonathan Aronie and Joseph Jay at Sheppard Mullin.
-
Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
-
Opinion
US Solar Import Probe's Focus On China Is Misguided
The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation focuses on the apparent Chinese ownership of solar device importers in four Southeast Asian countries — a point that is irrelevant under the controlling statute, says John Anwesen at Lighthill.
-
DC Circ. Ruling Heightens HHS Contract Pharmacy Challenges
The D.C. Circuit's recent ruling that the Section 340B program does not bar manufacturers from restricting deliveries of discounted drugs to contract pharmacies represents a second strike against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' current contract pharmacy policy and raises the stakes surrounding an upcoming Seventh Circuit ruling on the same issue, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.
-
Ohio Tax Talk: The Legislative Push For Property Tax Relief
As Ohio legislators attempt to alleviate the increasing property tax burden, four recent bills that could significantly affect homeowners propose to eliminate replacement property tax levies, freeze property taxes for longtime homeowners, adjust homestead exemptions annually for inflation, and temporarily expand the homestead exemption, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.
-
Aviation Watch: Mostly Smooth Landing For New FAA Law
The recently signed Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act enhances air safety in several key ways, including strengthened passenger rights and cockpit voice recorder requirements, but an expansion of slot exemptions at Reagan National Airport is a notable misstep, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
-
Series
In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist
Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
-
NY Public Campaign Funding May Attract Scrutiny From Feds
The upcoming elections across New York this year will be the first under the state’s public campaign finance program — which may broaden federal prosecutors' purview to target state election fraud and corruption, says Jarrod Schaeffer at Abell Eskew.
-
FTC Theories Of Harm After Anesthesia Co. Ruling
As Federal Trade Commission litigation against U.S. Anesthesia Partners proceeds following a Texas federal court's recent decision to dismiss a private equity sponsor from the suit, the case attempts to incorporate and advance some of the commission's theories of competitive harm from the final 2023 Merger Guidelines, say attorneys at Mintz.
-
National Security And The Commercial Space Sector: Part 2
Strategy documents recently published by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Space Force confirm the importance of the commercial space sector to the DOD, but say little about achieving the institutional changes needed to integrate commercial capabilities in support of national security in space, say Jeff Chiow and Skip Smith at Greenberg Traurig.
-
FTC Hearing On Fake Review Rule Stressed Compliance Costs
The Federal Trade Commission is likely to finalize its proposed rule to prohibit marketers from using deceptive practices in their product reviews after an informal hearing covered arguments over whether costs of implementing the rule, such as review moderation and software maintenance, would be minimal, says Jeffrey Edelstein at Manatt.
-
FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.