Public Policy

December 16, 2009
Credit Suisse Pays $536M Over Iran Transactions

Credit Suisse AG has reached a $536 million settlement with U.S authorities, putting to rest allegations that the Swiss banking firm helped clients from countries currently subject to U.S. economic sanctions, including Iran, access the U.S. banking system.
December 11, 2009
DC Circ. Tosses Challenge To CAA Rulemaking

A federal appeals court has nixed a construction industry trade group’s attempt to revise emissions regulations under the Clean Air Act, ruling that the challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rulemaking is time-barred.
December 7, 2009
Duke Agrees To Cut In Ken. Gas Rate Hike

Duke Energy Kentucky Inc. has agreed to shave about $4.5 million from a requested increase in natural gas delivery charges under a tentative settlement with the Kentucky attorney general’s office, reducing the total amount to be raised through its price increase by about 25 percent.
December 4, 2009
ECJ Nixes 'Regulatory Holiday' For Deutsche Telekom

The European Union's highest court has rejected a German law that sought to exclude so-called new markets from telecommunications regulations, a move that the European Commission had described as an attempt to grant Deutsche Telekom a "regulatory holiday" despite its dominance in the country's broadband market.
November 16, 2009
Fla. Green Groups Close In On Water Nutrient Limits

A federal judge on Monday signaled his intent to approve an agreement between environmental groups and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that would require the government to set more precise limits for waste pollution that observers say causes harmful algae blooms in Florida's waters.
November 13, 2009
Fed Circ. Refuses To Nix Injunction On USPTO Rules

Bringing an end to the drawn-out case over the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s now-rescinded set of rules for patent applicants, a federal appeals court has dismissed the agency’s appeal, but it refused to vacate a lower court’s ruling that barred the USPTO from imposing the divisive rules package.
November 13, 2009
CFTC Hits Hedge Fund With $4M Fine Over Statements

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Friday that it had struck a $4 million deal with EMF Financial Products LLC to settle charges that the New York-based hedge fund made false statements to market regulators about certain positions and financing.
November 5, 2009
EPA Agrees To Set PVC Plant Emissions Rules

As part of a settlement with the Sierra Club and two Louisiana advocacy groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed Thursday to set standards to regulate emissions of harmful chemicals released during the production of polyvinyl chloride.
November 3, 2009
Calif. Court Strikes Down Air Pollution Offset Rule

A California appeals court has struck down a rule by a state air quality agency that allowed for the paving of dirt roads to offset other forms of air pollution, saying the agency did not conduct the necessary environmental review before approving the new rule.
October 29, 2009
Judge Hands ABA Win In Fight Over Red Flags Rule

A federal judge on Thursday voided the Federal Trade Commission's enforcement interpretation of the controversial Red Flags Rule in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, which the American Bar Association claimed would have jeopardized lawyers' time-honored methods of billing clients.
October 22, 2009
1st Circ. Vacates Remand Of Dentist Case V. Insurers

A federal appeals court has held that a case brought by a Puerto Rican dentist group against Connecticut General Life Insurance Co., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and others was a proposed class action even though the plaintiff class was not specifically defined and that a lower court acted prematurely by remanding it.
October 14, 2009
EPA Ordered To Revisit Mont. Water Standards

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to re-evaluate Montana's relatively stringent water quality standards, which coalbed methane producers and neighboring Wyoming claim are not based on science.
October 14, 2009
Top Fed. Circ. Rulings That Came Down Last Quarter

With Congress seeking to rein in patent damages awards and patent holders often facing allegations of inequitable conduct, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has taken steps to provide more guidance on these and other intellectual property matters.
October 12, 2009
DC Circ. Revives Watchdog Suit Over DOC Info Request

An appeals court has given Judicial Watch Inc. the go-ahead to pursue its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce, which the watchdog group says denied it access to meetings and documents for the North American Competitiveness Council, an international economic advisory council made up of business leaders from Chevron Corp., MetLife, Procter & Gamble and other corporations.
October 8, 2009
USPTO Drops Controversial Rules Package

The fiercely contested rules proposed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under the Bush administration that sought to impose new restrictions on patent applicants and became the subject of a drawn-out court battle in Tafas v. Doll have been rescinded, the USPTO said Thursday.
October 6, 2009
Judge Says Ga. Cannot Appeal Water Judgment

A federal judge overseeing litigation in a long-running water battle between three states and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has denied the state of Georgia's bid for a final judgment on a July decision that determined the Army Corps had illegally tapped Georgia's Lake Lanier to supply Atlanta residents with drinking water, saying the state cannot appeal the decision.
September 30, 2009
CIT Remands Vietnamese Shrimp Duty Determination

The U.S. Court of International Trade has remanded a determination of anti-dumping duties for warm water shrimp from Vietnam, ruling that both domestic shrimp producers and importers have grounds to challenge the government's rates.
September 29, 2009
CIT Rejects Union Steel Challenge Of Korea Duties

The U.S. Court of International Trade has rejected a challenge by South Korea-based Union Steel to anti-dumping duties on corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from its home country, though the judge has remanded one issue back to the U.S. Department of Commerce for further review.
September 24, 2009
ITC Issues Ban On Illegally Imported Cigarettes

The U.S. International Trade Commission has issued a general exclusion order requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection to deny entry of illegally imported cigarettes that infringe Philip Morris USA's trademarks.
September 23, 2009
Poland, Estonia Win Bid To Strike EU Carbon Limits

A European court has ruled that Poland and Estonia can reject a fixed ceiling on their carbon emissions handed down by the European Commission, striking a blow at the regulator's attempt to curb what it considers to be too-high emission levels set by member nations.

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Expert Analysis

More Flexibility On Gift-Giving For Pharma Manufacturers

Recently, the Massachusetts Public Health Council approved the final regulatory amendments implementing the pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturer conduct law. These amendments mark a fundamental departure from what was deemed one of the strictest bans on gifts from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers to health care practitioners in the United States, say attorneys with Holland & Knight LLP.
2012 Employment Law Year In Review: The End Of The World?

2012 was an important year for the employment law industry, and we’re handing out awards based on one the most popular genre of movie — the end-of-the-world variety — to highlight the biggest news stories of the year, says Richard Meneghello of Fisher & Phillips LLP.
New Entity Size Issues Under The AIA

The America Invents Act has introduced a new micro entity status in addition to the existing small entity discounts for reduced patent prosecution fees. However, the appropriate measure of entity size is not always an easy concept to grasp, particularly when navigating the regulations of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, say attorneys with Pepper Hamilton LLP.
Dissecting Del.'s New Discovery Guidelines

The Delaware Court of Chancery recently amended certain of its rules and new discovery guidelines, both reflecting an effort to deal with the demands of modern discovery. Overall, the new discovery guidelines emphasize the court's expectation that parties communicate and resolve discovery disputes among themselves, say Jenness Parker and Lori Will of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
Why The FCC Matters To Medical Devices

One might not associate the Federal Communications Commission with mobile health issues. Yet, the FCC has a vital role to play in this field, and if recent developments are any indication, that role will likely grow, says William Keane of Duane Morris LLP.
Certain Funds Can Get Relief From CFTC Registration

Private fund operators should consider whether they qualify for no-action relief following the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent deadline delay for registration of commodity pool operators. In particular, this relief should be helpful to private equity and real estate fund of funds operators and many mutual funds, says Deborah Monson of Ropes & Gray LLP.
Lame-Duck Patent Reform Efforts Go Nearly Unnoticed

With most lawmakers focused on the fiscal cliff during the current lame duck session of Congress, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, has once again quietly proposed legislation to reform the U.S. patent system. Some of the proposed amendments raise a host of difficult questions that, if debated, might make the bill’s passage difficult. If the bill does reach the president’s desk, it may be because few people noticed, say attorneys with Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.
Noteworthy Lessons From FDA Suspension Of Sunland

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the suspension of the registration of Sunland Inc., a producer of nuts and nut and seed spreads. This case illustrates the FDA's heightened commitment to enforcement under the Obama administration and offers several key lessons concerning an FDA investigation into a facility or its manufacturing practices that all industries regulated by the FDA — not just food companies — should understand, say attorneys with Duane Morris LLP.
New Tribal Leasing Regulations To Spur Renewable Energy

In July, the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Home Ownership Act was signed to establish a process by which Indian tribes can approve their own surface land leases, and recently, the U.S. Department of Interior issued a final rule aimed at spurring the development of solar and wind energy projects on tribal lands. These new leasing regulations are a better baseline to work from and should allow tribes greater flexibility in developing their internal leasing regulations, say attorneys with Akin Gump Strauss Haur & Feld LLP.
Open Season On Rating Agencies?

In a potentially landmark judgment for investors in highly rated but risky synthetic financial products that were hit hard by the recent financial crisis, the Australian Federal Court recently ruled that Standard & Poor’s and ABN Amro Bank NV should pay damages to investors. The case undermines the suggestions that any views expressed by rating agencies are only for the benefit of the issuer involved and that rating agencies merely give opinions rather than investment advice — an argument that has been deployed in an effort to defeat similar cases brought across Europe and in the U.S., say attorneys with Brown Rudnick LLP.

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