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Public Policy
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September 09, 2024
Ex-Lender Says FDIC Can't 'Ignore' Key High Court Precedents
A former small-business financier battling a multimillion-dollar Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. enforcement action has doubled down on his Washington, D.C., federal court challenge to the agency's use of administrative proceedings, saying the regulator must be held to U.S. Supreme Court precedents.
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September 09, 2024
Defer To Trial Judges In Juror Bias Strikes, Colo. Justices Rule
The Colorado Supreme Court said Monday an appellate court should not have itself evaluated a prosecutor's credibility in a case of potential racial bias against a Hispanic juror, ruling it instead needed to defer to the trial court.
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September 09, 2024
Wash. Ends First Inspection Effort Against GEO Group
Washington State has dropped its original bid to force private prison operator The GEO Group to allow its health agency to conduct spot inspections at an immigrant detention facility, after it launched a new suit alleging officials had been blocked from entering.
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September 09, 2024
SES, Intelsat Tell FCC They Need $3.1B Combo To Compete
Satellite companies SES and Intelsat told the Federal Communications Commission they need regulators to approve their $3.1 billion merger, which was announced this spring, so they can better compete in a quickly advancing marketplace.
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September 09, 2024
NY Courts' Limits On Ethics Data Broke Law, Watchdog Says
In a rebuke to the New York state court system, an official transparency watchdog has said current restrictions on public access to judges' financial disclosures violate the state's Freedom of Information Law.
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September 09, 2024
Siemens To Build $60M Bullet Train Production Facility In NY
Siemens Mobility will build a $60 million bullet train production facility in Horseheads, New York, that is set to start operating in 2026, according to an official announcement Monday.
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September 09, 2024
Texas Still Not Injured By DHS Parole Program, 5th Circ. Told
Texas' concerns about the Biden administration restarting a parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans following a fraud investigation did little to move the yardstick on whether the state has standing, intervenors hoping to save the program told the Fifth Circuit.
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September 09, 2024
House OKs Bill To Bar Contracts With Chinese Biotech Cos.
Driven by concerns about U.S. genetic data being shared with the Chinese government, House lawmakers passed a bill on Monday to bar federal agencies from buying certain biotechnology linked to the Chinese government or from contracting with firms that use those products.
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September 09, 2024
FCC Is Asked To Allow Bonds As Backup For Funding Awards
More interest groups are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to ease letter of credit requirements for recipients of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, with a coalition of bond producers telling the commission that their products would guarantee creditworthiness just as well as credit letters from U.S. banks.
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September 09, 2024
Split SEC Adopts New Quality Control Standards For Auditors
A divided U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new quality control standards for public company auditors Monday, updating a 30-year-old standard that predates the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board by mandating increased oversight both internally and via the PCAOB.
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September 09, 2024
New Jersey Towns Fight New Affordable Housing Framework
Nine New Jersey towns have filed a constitutional challenge to the state's new affordable housing obligations framework, arguing it imposes responsibilities never envisioned by the decades-old doctrine that gave rise to the state's Fair Housing Act.
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September 09, 2024
Navigation Co. Defends Plan To Deploy GPS Alternative
A geolocation company's bid for an exclusive license for a portion of the lower 900 megahertz band to deploy mobile broadband and a navigation system to backstop the Global Positioning System has hit resistance at the Federal Communications Commission.
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September 09, 2024
Durbin Calls For Justice Thomas To Recuse Over Wife's Email
A top Democratic lawmaker called on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to bow out of cases involving a conservative Christian legal organization following reports his wife praised the group for fighting court reform efforts, saying Monday her comments create a "clear appearance" of partiality requiring the justice's recusal.
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September 09, 2024
X Corp. Could Expose Donors To Death Threats, Per Watchdog
Watchdog Media Matters for America claims that for X Corp. to compel production of its donor lists would breach the First Amendment, saying in a Friday brief in a Texas federal court that if the documents go public, its donors would receive violent threats and other abuse.
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September 09, 2024
Generics Makers Want Mo. Sanctioned In Price-Fixing Case
Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc., Mylan Inc. and other generic-drug makers accused by state enforcers of fixing prices have urged a Connecticut federal judge to punish the state of Missouri for failing to provide information requested by the drug companies.
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September 09, 2024
Tribal Nations Say Indigenous Issues Missing On Debate Stage
There are nearly 10 million Native Americans with the power to impact U.S. politics and elections, a group of tribal leaders have said, yet Indigenous rights and needs are rarely represented in national policy conversations or on the U.S. presidential debate stage.
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September 09, 2024
No Reason For DOI Delay In Recognition Rule, Tribe Says
A Michigan tribe at the crux of the Interior Department's anticipated new rule on repetitioning for federal recognition is arguing that the agency's position that a federal court cannot interfere in policy decisions is unsupported by law and that there's no reason it can't complete the rulemaking process by Nov. 1.
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September 09, 2024
Colo. Justices To Weigh Excess MedMal Damage Calculations
Colorado's justices agreed Monday to consider the standard for how a trial court determines if a $1 million cap on medical malpractice damages can be exceeded, granting a hospital company's petition to review a nearly $40 million judgment.
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September 09, 2024
Detainee Says Ex-Ga. Sheriff's Conviction Proves Liability
A detainee who said he was one of a half-dozen detainees strapped to a chair for hours at a time by convicted former Sheriff Victor Hill has asked a Georgia federal judge to grant partial summary judgment in his civil rights lawsuit against the ex-lawman.
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September 09, 2024
EPA Power Plant GHG Rule Is Unworkable, DC Circ. Told
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's push to curb greenhouse gas pollution from power plants imposes unrealistic carbon capture and sequestration requirements, jeopardizes power grid reliability and exceeds its Clean Air Act authority, two dozen states and a host of coal and utility groups told the D.C. Circuit on Friday.
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September 09, 2024
Philly Noncompete Ban Challenger Wants Case Paused
A tree service company suing to block the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban in Pennsylvania — the only jurisdiction so far where the commission fended off a preliminary injunction — has asked the judge to pause its case after federal courts in other states put similar suits on hold.
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September 09, 2024
Disability Rights Group Wants In On Ga. Election Law Fight
A Georgia-based disability rights organization asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to be let into a legal challenge that successfully blocked two Peach State election law provisions that put additional rules on voting by mail and handing out food and water to voters.
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September 09, 2024
Mass. High Court Hints At Notice Rule To Open Clerk Hearings
Justices of Massachusetts' highest court on Monday appeared to signal that 28 men accused of patronizing high-end brothels catering to attorneys, political figures and other high-profile clients should have been given a chance to oppose a request by news organizations to open what are normally closed-door hearings.
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September 09, 2024
Sentencing Of Ex-Ecuador Official Delayed By Late Gov't Filing
A frustrated Florida federal judge on Monday pushed back the sentencing of Ecuador's ex-comptroller — who was convicted of laundering more than $12 million in bribes — after admonishing the government for an "inexplicably and undeniably late" forfeiture motion filed at 4 p.m. Friday.
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September 09, 2024
Dems To Bring Back Judiciary Accountability Bill
In the coming weeks, Democrats in the House and Senate will be reintroducing a bill that they say will better protect the approximately 30,000 federal judiciary employees from discrimination and sexual harassment, two lawmakers said on Monday.
Expert Analysis
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Loper Fuels Debate Over Merchant Cash Advances As Credit
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of the Chevron doctrine in Loper Bright may escalate a Florida federal court dispute between the Revenue Based Finance Coalition and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over whether merchant cash advances should be considered credit under the Dodd-Frank Act, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Bank M&A Continues To Lag Amid Regulatory Ambiguity
Bank M&A activity in the first half of 2024 continued to be lower than in prior years, as the industry is recovering from the 2023 bank failures, and regulatory and macroeconomic conditions have not otherwise been prime for deals, say Robert Azarow and Amber Hay at Arnold & Porter.
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FTC's Drug Middlemen Probe Highlights Ongoing Scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission's interim staff report on its inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers suggests that the industry will remain under an enforcement microscope for the foreseeable future due to concerns about how PBMs affect drug costs and accessibility, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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How High Court Ruling Is Shaping Homelessness Policies
The U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson to allow enforcement of local ordinances against overnight camping is already spurring new policies to manage homelessness, but the court's ruling does not grant jurisdictions unfettered power, say Kathryn Kafka and Alex Merritt at Sheppard Mullin.
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DOJ Paths To Limit FARA Fallout From Wynn's DC Circ. Win
After the D.C. Circuit’s recent Attorney General v. Wynn ruling, holding that the government cannot compel retroactive registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the U.S. Department of Justice has a few options to limit the decision’s impact on enforcement, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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A Look At The Regulatory Scrutiny Facing Liquid Restaking
Recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions highlight the regulatory challenges facing emerging financial instruments like liquid restaking tokens and services, say Daniel Davis and Alexander Kim at Katten.
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Del. Dispatch: Director Caremark Claims Need Extreme Facts
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently dismissed Caremark claims against the directors of Centene in Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania v. Brinkley, indicating a high bar for a finding of the required element of bad faith for Caremark liability, and stressing the need to resist hindsight bias, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Series
After Chevron: Challenges Loom For PBGC Actions
After Loper Bright, two recent actions taken by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. already under scrutiny seem destined to be challenged and resolved under the new standard of judicial deference, which will greatly affect employers with potential withdrawal liability exposure, say Robert Perry and David Pixley at Jackson Lewis.
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Opinion
USPTO AI Patent Guidance Leaves Questions Unanswered
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recent guidance on artificial intelligence patent eligibility is unlikely to answer many of the open questions that AI patent applicants face, as it includes nominally new analysis that applicants can adopt to analyze their inventions, say attorneys at Fenwick & West.
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Illinois BIPA Reform Offers Welcome Relief To Businesses
Illinois' recent amendment to its Biometric Information Privacy Act limits the number of violations and damages a plaintiff can claim — a crucial step in shielding businesses from unintended legal consequences, including litigation risk and compliance costs, say attorneys at Taft.
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Unpacking Executive Privilege, Contempt In Recent Cases
The U.S. House of Representatives’ recent move to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress is the latest example in a growing trend of executive privilege disputes, and serves as a warning to private citizens and corporate leaders who are in communication with the president, says Kristina Moore at Womble Bond.
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Gilead Drug Ruling Creates Corporate Governance Dilemma
If upheld, a California state appellate court's decision — finding that Gilead is liable for delaying commercialization of a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on another drug — threatens to undermine long-standing rules of corporate law and exposes companies to liability for decisions based on sound business judgment, says Shireen Barday at Pallas.
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5 Insights Into FDIC's Final Rule On Big-Bank Resolution Plans
Although the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recently finalized rule expanding resolution planning requirements for large banks was generally adopted as proposed, it includes key changes related to filing deadlines, review and feedback, and incorporates lessons learned — particularly from last year's bank failures, say attorneys at Cleary.