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May 21, 2013
Nationwide Mortgage Settlement Nets Over $50B In Relief
The five largest U.S. mortgage servicers have provided over $50 billion in relief to over 620,000 homeowners under last year's national mortgage settlement, according to an update released Tuesday by the federal monitor overseeing the settlement.
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May 21, 2013
Pa. Appeals Court Pares Hospitals' Medicaid Rates Suit
A Pennsylvania appeals court on Monday pared down claims in a suit alleging the state Department of Public Welfare improperly authorized the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania to set hospital and provider Medicaid rates with managed care organizations that stripped hospitals of any negotiating power.
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May 21, 2013
5th Circ. Upholds Texas' Under-21 Concealed Gun Ban
The Fifth Circuit on Monday struck the National Rifle Association of America's challenge against a Texas law that bars 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying concealed handguns in public, saying it doesn't violate the Second Amendment because Texas has an important interest in maintaining public safety.
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May 20, 2013
Agencies Deserve Deference On Jurisdiction, Justices Say
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that courts should apply a deferential standard of review toward a federal agency's definition of its own jurisdiction, siding with the Federal Communications Commission in a fight with local government agencies over zoning rules for wireless facilities.
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May 17, 2013
Fla. High Court Says City Can't Give Its Lien Superpriority
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed a lower court's decision that Palm Bay, Fla., could not give its municipal code enforcement liens a superpriority status over a mortgage held by Wells Fargo Bank NA because it conflicts with state law.
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May 17, 2013
Enviro Group Loses Challenge To EPA Permit Regulation
A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Thursday axed the National Wildlife Federation's Administrative Procedure Act suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency challenging a regulation governing some water discharge permits, finding the group had not pointed to a final agency action that applied the regulation.
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May 16, 2013
Fla. Supreme Court Upholds Birth Injury Compensation Plan
The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a state program providing set compensation to families of infants who sustain birth-related neurological injuries is constitutional, rejecting claims by an injured girl's parents that it violates equal protection and access to courts rights.
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May 16, 2013
NYC Found Liable For Crane Collapse Under Labor Law
In the latest in a string of decisions related to New York's controversial “Scaffold Law,” a supreme court judge ruled Tuesday that the city can't escape liability for damage caused by a 2008 crane collapse on the Upper East Side, despite having transferred ownership of the property to another entity.
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May 15, 2013
HHS Wins Challenge To Styrene's Listing In Cancer Report
A Washington federal judge Wednesday upheld a decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to include styrene on a list of cancer-causing substances, rejecting a challenge by producers of the chemical.
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May 14, 2013
NJ Blocked From Seizing $140M In Housing Funds
A New Jersey appeals court on Monday blocked the state from taking some $140 million from municipal affordable housing trust funds after fair housing advocates argued the measure would siphon money from the state’s low-income and disabled residents and Hurricane Sandy victims.
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May 10, 2013
Fla. Appeals Court Axes Gambling Permit Conversions
A Florida appeals court on Friday struck down a 2010 state law allowing certain gambling facilities to change their jai-alai permit to a greyhound permit, saying it “is a special law unconstitutionally enacted in the guise of a general law.”
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May 10, 2013
GAO Sides With Protest Of Nuclear Weapons Security Contract
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has partly sustained two companies’ protests of a $23 billion government contract awarded to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC for maintenance and protection of the nation's nuclear weapons, according to a decision made public Thursday.
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May 9, 2013
Fla. Court Revives Enviros' Petition Over Marsh Dumping Plan
A Florida appeals court on Thursday rebuffed a state environmental agency for throwing out the petition of two environmental groups seeking to prevent a marsh from being filled with millions of pounds of sand, saying improper materials were considered in tossing a request for administrative review.
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May 9, 2013
Mich. Can Bar Schools From Collecting Union Dues: 6th Circ.
The Sixth Circuit on Thursday gave Michigan the green light to block public schools from deducting union dues from employees’ payroll, finding the law doesn't violate the First Amendment because the Constitution guarantees only free speech, not the use of government processes to collect funds for that speech.
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May 9, 2013
Inventor Loses Challenge To First-To-File Patent System
A Florida federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a suit alleging that it was unconstitutional for the U.S. to change to a first-to-file patent system, ruling that the inventor challenging the switch lacked standing to sue.
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May 8, 2013
Ruling On Labor Notice Posting Could Affect Title VII Cases
The D.C. Circuit's ruling striking down the National Labor Relations Board's rule requiring employers to post notices about union rights not only dealt a blow to the NLRB's authority, but rejected a provision allowing the board to stop the clock on the statute of limitations for labor charges in a way that raised doubt about the government's ability to preserve claims under employment laws such as Title VII, lawyers say.
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May 8, 2013
Zoning Change Doesn't Trigger Due Process: 2nd Circ.
In a precedential ruling, The Second Circuit ruled Wednesday that a zoning ordinance does not trigger due process protections, finding a Middletown, N.Y., couple's rights were not violated when the city failed to inform them directly that their nonowner-occupied building did not comply with a new zoning law.
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May 8, 2013
Calif. Appeals Court Finds Property Tax Law Unconstitutional
A California appeals court on Tuesday sided with the California State Teachers' Retirement System in a suit seeking the refund of property taxes against Los Angeles County, saying there were two constitutional defects in a the valuation methodology of a tax statute.
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May 7, 2013
EPA Beats Challenge To Rules For Oil Spill Dispersants
A Washington federal judge said Tuesday that eight environmental groups can't compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to restrict the use of chemicals used to clean up oil spills, finding that their challenge to the agency’s existing rules came decades too late.
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May 7, 2013
DC Circ. Strikes Down NLRB Union Poster Rule
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday vacated the National Labor Relations Board's controversial rule requiring employers to display posters about workers' right to unionize, finding the rule unenforceable under federal labor law.
Expert Analysis
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A New Ballgame For Enviro Due Diligence In Texas
Recently, Gov. Perry signed into law a bill that expands the Texas Environmental, Health and Safety Audit Privilege Act, making its protections available to purchasers of equity or assets for the first time. This amendment finally closes a gap that had hindered broader use of an otherwise very effective tool for management of environmental liabilities, says Benjamin Cowan of Locke Lord LLP.
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IRS Doesn't Waver When Interpreting REIT ‘Real Estate’
Notwithstanding recent press stories to the contrary, the IRS has not expanded the definition of “real estate” to make the REIT structure more widely available than Congress originally intended. Rather, the IRS has interpreted the definition with remarkable consistency — which we believe will continue with Iron Mountain's planned conversion to a real estate investment trust, say attorneys with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
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The Other Pivot: Russian Energy Policy Toward China
In 2010, when the Obama administration announced a new policy of engagement in the western Pacific, known as the “Pivot,” it was clear that China’s quest for secure supply lines for resources, in particular energy, was a key factor. Energy is likewise the driver in another less noticed but quite important pivot that is now fully underway: a shift in Russian energy policy toward China, says Shane DeBeer of Dechert LLP.
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What Minn.'s Ban-The-Box Law Means For Employers
Recently, Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law Minnesota's "ban-the-box" legislation, which fortunately eliminates employers' potential dilemma over how to comply with the state and federal laws regarding job applicant criminal background checks. At the same time, the new statute will require many, if not most, Minnesota employers to significantly alter their hiring practices, say attorneys with Nilan Johnson Lewis PA.
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Courts Hold The Keys To Curbing NPE Litigation
Certain measures recently proposed by the executive and legislative branches will not significantly impact the underlying economics of nonpracticing entity litigation. The courts are the key to stemming the tide of frivolous patent litigation because they are best positioned to attack the pillars of the NPE model, say attorneys with Shearman & Sterling LLP.
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COPPA Rule Reminders For July 1 Compliance Deadline
Companies operating online should be determined to be in full compliance with the amended Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act rule by July 1, and should be aware that the revisions regarding parent consent, the entities subject to the rule, and the definition of "personal information" have far-reaching impact, say Alan Raul and Edward McNicholas of Sidley Austin LLP.
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Now Is The Time To Prepare Your ERISA Fee Disclosures
The deadline for distributing this year’s annual fee disclosures under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's participant-direct retirement plans is fast approaching, yet several concerns and potential headaches regarding service provider disclosures and standard disclosure formats exist, say attorneys with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
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SEC’s Golden Years Of Accounting-Fraud Cases May Be Over
In the years since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last placed major emphasis on accounting fraud, the world of financial reporting has changed. In 2013, the SEC faces different challenges, and probably more difficult ones, says Andrew Morris of Morvillo LLP.
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Checklist For Your Health Insurance Navigator Program
The Affordable Care Act requires health insurance exchanges to establish a navigator program, and while it provides a general framework, the act leaves much discretion to the exchanges and states in designing their own program. In developing such a program, exchanges and states have a number of issues to consider, say attorneys with Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP.
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An Antitrust Cooperation Agreement Of Unprecedented Depth
Based on the EU-Switzerland antitrust cooperation agreement’s novel information exchange provisions, it would not be surprising if the 1991 EU-U.S. agreement were revised in the near future to provide scope for more expanded information-sharing among the EU and U.S. competition authorities, say Yves Botteman and Agapi Patsa of Steptoe & Johnson LLP.