Expert Analysis

• Canada Emoji Ruling Considers Digital-Age Contract Realities

  

  In South West Terminal v. Achter Land & Cattle, a Canadian court recently held that a thumbs-up emoji was just as valid as a signature, illustrating a common situation in the digital age and setting forth a rational framework for addressing contract disputes in U.S. courts and elsewhere, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

• Cannabis Cos. Must Heed PFAS Risks In Products, Packaging

  

  Cannabis businesses and ancillary service providers will have to grapple with evolving PFAS enforcement, litigation and regulations – most recently enacted in Minnesota – and take steps to mitigate risks posed by forever chemicals in their products and packaging, say Malina Dumas and Amy Rubenstein at Dentons.

• Calif. PAGA Ruling Devalues Arbitration For Employers

  

  The California Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Adolph v. Uber may lessen employers' appetites for arbitration under the state’s Private Attorneys General Act, because arbitrating an allegedly aggrieved employee’s individual claims is unlikely to dispose of their nonindividual claims, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

• Employer Pointers From Tiger Woods' Legal Dispute With Ex

  

  Ex-girlfriend Erica Herman's sexual harassment suit against Tiger Woods, which was recently sent to arbitration, highlights the need for employers to understand their rights and responsibilities around workplace relationships, nondisclosure agreements and arbitration provisions, say Stephanie Reynolds and Sean McKaveney at Fisher Phillips.

• Conflicting NLRB Stances Create Employer Compliance Plight

  

  Contradictory positions set forth by the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel — asserted in a recent unfair labor practice judgment against CVS and a pending case against Starbucks — place employers in a no-win dilemma when deciding whether they can provide wage and benefit improvements to both union and nonunion employees, says Alice Stock at Bond Schoeneck.

• Insurance Insights From 5th Circ. Blue Bell Coverage Ruling

  

  The Fifth Circuit's recent ruling that denied Blue Bell insurance coverage for the defense costs incurred from a shareholder lawsuit underscores the importance of coordination of different coverages and policies across programs, and the potential perils of seeking recovery for losses under nontraditional policies, say Geoffrey Fehling and Casey Coffey at Hunton.

• The Fed. Circ. In July: Reissue Claims And The Original Patent

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent decision that Float'N'Grill's original patent claims may not be broadened to cover an entire class of structures highlights the importance of reissue claims' additional statutory requirements, specification drafting and alternative-embodiment disclosure, and keeping patent families open, say Paul Stewart and Brandon Smith at Knobbe Martens.

• Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too

  

  While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.

• BIPA, Meta Pixel Suits Could Reshape Cybersecurity Litigation

  

  Businesses and attorneys should watch several pending electronic privacy cases that revolve around disclosure of protected personal information and health data, which may shape how courts handle damages and class actions in the future of cybersecurity litigation, say Kelly Johnson and Melanie Condon at Goldberg Segalla.

• Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions

  

  As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.

• What's New In The DOJ-FTC Proposed Merger Guidelines

  

  While this week's merger guidelines proposal from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice initially appears to reflect well-established principles of antitrust law, a closer examination reveals a stark departure from the last 40 years of antitrust enforcement, say attorneys at Skadden.

• ChatGPT Can't Predict The Future Of Antitrust And AI (Yet)

  

  Though OpenAI's ChatGPT has made artificial intelligence a popular topic of conversation recently, the subject of AI and antitrust has been around for years, raising the question of what other competitive concerns might arise as the technology becomes more sophisticated and ubiquitous in our marketplace, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

• Employer Drug-Testing Policies Must Evolve With State Law

  

  As multistate employers face ongoing challenges in drafting consistent marijuana testing policies due to the evolving patchwork of state laws, they should note some emerging patterns among local and state statutes to ensure compliance in different jurisdictions, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• In-House At A Food Company: Tackling Generative AI

  

  Generative artificial intelligence is challenging the status quo of in-house legal teams, bringing both opportunities and challenges in areas such as intellectual property and cybersecurity, and highlighting the need for experimentation and exposure, says Lisa Mather at Mars Wrigley.

• Blunders That Made 'Bakked' Cannabis TM Go Up In Smoke

  

  The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s recent denial of National Concessions Group’s application to register the mark “BAKKED” illustrates mistakes that cannabis companies must be wary of in pursuing federal registration as examiners may look beyond the four corners of an application, say attorneys at Seyfarth.