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Public Policy
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May 13, 2024
Vt. On Brink Of Enacting Privacy Bill With Lawsuit Mechanism
The Vermont legislature has sent to the governor's desk a comprehensive data privacy bill that would not only require companies to scale back their data collection efforts and ramp up safeguards for children, but also give consumers the rare opportunity to sue large businesses that violate the law in certain circumstances.
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May 13, 2024
SEC, FinCEN Propose Money Manager Customer ID Rule
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Monday proposed a rule that would require money managers such as hedge funds and private equity firms to document and maintain customer identification programs.
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May 13, 2024
Kabbage Inks 2 FCA Deals With Feds Totaling $120M
Bankrupt online lender Kabbage Inc. has agreed to pay $120 million in two separate deals to resolve allegations it submitted thousands of false claims for loan forgiveness and operated without adequate fraud controls in place, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
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May 13, 2024
USPTO Eyes Change To Patent Applicants' Disclaimer Practice
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is looking to add a requirement for patent applicants filing so-called terminal disclaimers in order to overcome rejections by patent examiners over obviousness-type double patenting, a move that lawyers and a former USPTO official say could change the agency's approach considerably, especially for patents covering brand-name drugs.
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May 13, 2024
FTC Can't Modify $5B Meta Privacy Deal, DC Circ. Told
Meta Platforms Inc. told the D.C. Circuit on Monday that the Federal Trade Commission lacks the ability to unilaterally modify a $5 billion privacy settlement, contending that the courts are the ones responsible for enforcing the agreement.
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May 13, 2024
SEC Tells 3rd Circ. Coinbase Can't Force Crypto Rulemaking
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has told the Third Circuit that it already "reasonably explained" why it denied Coinbase's petition for crypto rulemaking and that it shouldn't have to retool its policy priorities just because crypto firms find it challenging to comply with existing laws.
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May 13, 2024
Challenger Says Ga. Justice Is 'Working The Refs'
Georgia Supreme Court candidate John Barrow accused his incumbent opponent on Monday of "working the refs" and capitalizing on the prospect that Barrow could face discipline for running on a platform that is stridently in favor of abortion rights in his bid for a seat on the state's highest court.
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May 13, 2024
Wall Fraud Conviction Affirmed Despite Juror-Prosecutor Tie
The Second Circuit on Monday affirmed the conviction of a Colorado man found to have siphoned online donations meant to fund a Southern border wall, saying the fact that a federal prosecutor had mentored a juror's daughter didn't warrant vacating the conviction.
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May 13, 2024
Wash. Hospital Scores Exit In Facebook Privacy Suit, For Now
A Washington federal judge has tossed a proposed class action accusing a Seattle-area hospital of sharing patients' confidential health information by using Facebook browser tracking tools, ruling on Monday the plaintiff has failed to show that her own private information was input into the website and shared with a third party.
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May 13, 2024
'Grinch' Is Not A Protected Class, HHS Tells 4th Circ.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has urged the Fourth Circuit to reject a chemist's discrimination, hostile work environment and retaliation claims, arguing that "Grinch" is not a protected class and federal law doesn't protect an individual "from not being well-liked in the workplace."
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May 13, 2024
Hunting Groups Want In On Gray Wolf Protections' Lawsuit
Several hunting groups have asked a Montana federal court to let them intervene in a gray wolf protection lawsuit brought by environmentalists against the U.S. Department of the Interior, saying they should get involved because their interests aren't adequately represented by the government.
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May 13, 2024
Trade Court Judge Objects To Nippon's New Duty Arguments
Nippon Steel Corp. struggled Friday to convince the U.S. Court of International Trade that national security tariffs should not have factored into its anti-dumping duty rate, as Judge Stephen Vaden criticizing its counsel for introducing new arguments in court.
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May 13, 2024
Enviro. Group Sues Feds To Stop Wash. Logging Project
The Alliance for the Wild Rockies sued the U.S. Forest Service in Washington federal court on Monday in an effort to upend the agency's final decisions to proceed with the Sxwuytn-Kaniksu Connections Trail Project for failing to take a "hard look" at the project's impacts.
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May 13, 2024
NC Agency Atty Guilty Of Permitting 'Coercive' Custody Deals
The former attorney for a North Carolina county's social services department was convicted of obstruction of justice in connection with the agency forcing parents to sign "coercive" child custody agreements that put children into abusive homes and violated constitutional rights, Attorney General Josh Stein announced Monday.
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May 13, 2024
Charter, Altice Drop Some Areas From Rural Funding Plans
The Federal Communications Commission said Charter and Altice had withdrawn from their plans to use FCC rural deployment funding to build out high-speed internet in several areas, incurring federal penalties.
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May 13, 2024
FCC Looks To Declaw 'Royal Tiger' Global Robocall Network
The Federal Communications Commission says that a gateway provider known for helping funnel illegal robocalls into the United States is once again back to its old tricks and operating under yet another name, this time Royal Tiger.
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May 13, 2024
Boston Federal Judge To Be Witness In City Harassment Case
A former Boston city employee will be allowed to call a senior federal judge to testify about a conversation the two had months before she reported being sexually harassed by a former city health director, a state court has ruled.
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May 13, 2024
Feds' Fiber First Policy Slows Deployment, Report Says
Most states' plans to deploy broadband with funds from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's BEAD Program have room for improvement, according to a new report from a technology think tank.
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May 13, 2024
Utah, Oil Co. Can Enter BLM Oil Lease Challenge, Judge Says
Anschutz Exploration Corp. and Utah will get the chance to fight environmentalists' lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management's decision to sell oil and gas leases on more than 200,000 acres of public land, a Utah federal judge has ruled.
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May 13, 2024
Corp. Transparency Act An Overbroad Dragnet, 11th Circ. Told
Congress exceeded its authority in passing the Corporate Transparency Act, which prompted the U.S. Treasury Department to solicit personal information for law enforcement purposes from those that registered and owned state-registered entities, a small-business group told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday.
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May 13, 2024
Kroger Says Wash. AG's Merger Suit Ignores Costco's Impact
The Washington state attorney general's challenge to Kroger's proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of rival grocery giant Albertsons ignores key economic realities, the companies argued in recent state court filings, including fierce competition from Costco and other big-box retailers.
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May 13, 2024
House Bill Seeks More Commerce Dept. Control Of AI Exports
Technology companies may soon be required to implement security checks before collaborating with Chinese artificial intelligence labs with military ties, under a bipartisan bill introduced last week in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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May 13, 2024
New FCC Rules Preempt NY Broadband Price Cap, Prof Says
A Second Circuit ruling that revived New York's low-price broadband law in April should be reversed because the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision not to regulate rates for internet services preempts the Empire State's price cap, a law professor said Friday.
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May 13, 2024
Nancy Pelosi's Would-Be Kidnapper Merits 40 Years, Feds Say
Federal prosecutors are urging a California federal judge to impose a 40-year prison sentence on the man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and of assaulting her husband, while the would-be kidnapper is asking for 14 years.
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May 13, 2024
SEC Says Biotech Co., Atty Should Pay $14M For Investor Lies
Federal securities regulators have said a Colorado biotech startup and two of its founders should pay more than $14 million in ill-gotten profits, including interest, for lying to investors about the company's financial position, arguing that the founders showed a "total disregard" for investors.
Expert Analysis
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DOE Funding And Cargo Preference Compliance: Key Points
Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the U.S. Department of Energy will disburse more than $62 billion in financing for innovative energy projects — and recipients must understand their legal obligations related to cargo preference, so they can develop compliance strategies as close to project inception as possible, say attorneys at White & Case.
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Georgia's Foreign Lobbying Bill Is Not A FARA Copycat
Though a recently passed bill in Georgia aims to mirror the transparency goals of the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act by imposing state-specific disclosure requirements for foreign lobbyists, the legislation’s broad language and lack of exemptions could capture a wider swath of organizations, say attorneys at Holtzman Vogel.
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FTC Noncompete Ban Signals Rising Labor Focus In Antitrust
The Federal Trade Commission’s approval this week of a prohibition on noncompete agreements continues antitrust enforcers’ increasing focus on labor, meaning companies must keep employee issues top of mind both in the ordinary course of business and when pursuing transactions, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Breaking Down EEOC's Final Rule To Implement The PWFA
Attorneys at Littler highlight some of the key provisions of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's final rule and interpretive guidance implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which is expected to be effective June 18, and departures from the proposed rule issued in August 2023.
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.
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What 3rd Circ. Trust Ruling Means For Securitization Market
Mercedes Tunstall and Michael Gambro at Cadwalader break down the Third Circuit's March decision in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. National Collegiate Master Student Loan Trust, as well as predict next steps in the litigation and the implications of the decision for servicers and the securitization industry as a whole.
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Breaking Down DOJ's Individual Self-Disclosure Pilot Program
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently announced pilot program aims to incentivize individuals to voluntarily self-disclose corporate misconduct they were personally involved in, complementing a new whistleblower pilot program for individuals not involved in misconduct as well as the government's broader corporate enforcement approach, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
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Cos. Must Prepare For Calif. Legislation That Would Ban PFAS
Pending California legislation that would ban the sale or distribution of new products containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances could affect thousands of businesses — and given the bill's expected passage, and its draconian enforcement regime, companies must act now to prepare for it, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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How To Prepare As Employee Data Reporting Deadlines Near
As filing deadlines approach, government contractors and private companies alike should familiarize themselves with recent changes to federal and California employee data reporting requirements and think strategically about registration of affirmative action plans to minimize the risk of being audited, say Christopher Durham and Zev Grumet-Morris at Duane Morris.
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FDA Warning Letter Tightens Reins On 'Research Only' Labels
A recent warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Agena Bioscience alleged the company’s diagnostic devices were labeled for research use only, but improperly promoted for human clinical purposes, signifying a reinforcement — and a potential narrowing — of the agency's policy on products labeled “research only,” say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Opinion
Seafarer Detention Under Ship Pollution Law Must Have Limits
The U.S. Coast Guard should reinstate limits on the number of days that foreign crew members may be forced to remain in the country while the U.S. Department of Justice investigates alleged violations of shipping pollution laws, in order to balance legitimate enforcement interests and seafarer welfare, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
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Perspectives
Justices' Forfeiture Ruling Resolves Nonexistent Split
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McIntosh v. U.S., holding that a trial court’s failure to enter a preliminary criminal forfeiture order prior to sentencing doesn’t bar its entry later, is unusual in that it settles an issue on which the lower courts were not divided — but it may apply in certain forfeiture disputes, says Stefan Cassella at Asset Forfeiture Law.
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Behind Indiana's Broad New Healthcare Transactions Law
The high materiality threshold in Indiana's recently passed healthcare transaction law, coupled with the inclusion of private equity in its definition of healthcare entities, makes it one of the broadest state review regulations to date, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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What Cos. Are Reporting Under New SEC Cybersecurity Rule
Four months after its effective date, 14 companies have made disclosures under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting rule, and some early trends are emerging, including a possible rush to file, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Opinion
SC's Courts Have It Wrong On Amazon Marketplace Sales Tax
The South Carolina Supreme Court should step in and correct the misguided change in tax law effectuated by lower court rulings that found Amazon owes state sales tax for marketplace sales made prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Wayfair v. South Dakota decision in 2018, says Hayes Holderness at the University of Richmond.