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Public Policy
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May 13, 2025
Judge Opts For 'Remedial Manager' To Reform Rikers Jail
A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday stopped short of ordering a receiver to take control of Rikers Island in an effort to clamp down on incidents of excessive force against the jail population, instead opting for a "remediation manager" with more narrow powers to work in collaboration with city officials to reform the notorious jail complex.
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May 13, 2025
CFPB Floats Repeal Of Biden-Era Registry, Designation Rules
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday that it will seek to close its "repeat offender" registry and stop disclosing its decisions to tag potentially risky firms for closer oversight, stepping back from two Biden-era initiatives aimed at greater nonbank scrutiny.
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May 13, 2025
CFPB Calls Off Suit Over Walmart Driver Deposit Accounts
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told a Minnesota federal court Tuesday that it is dropping its enforcement lawsuit that accused Walmart and fintech company Branch Messenger Inc. of forcing delivery drivers to use costly deposit accounts to receive wages, months after the court put the case on hold.
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May 13, 2025
Feds Challenge Montana Tribes' Full Police Funding Demand
The U.S. Department of the Interior is asking a federal court to deny two Montana tribes a summary judgment win in their challenge over inadequate police funding, arguing the agency has gone above and beyond what the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act requires for money allocations.
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May 13, 2025
Ga. Law Shields Pesticide Makers From Failure-To-Warn Suits
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed new legislation into law that will soon shield pesticide manufacturers from liability in failure-to-warn suits, coming on the heels of a $2.1 billion verdict against the makers of Roundup weed killer delivered by a state jury earlier this year.
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May 13, 2025
Pot Payment Co. Wants Court To Enforce $1.3M Deal
A Boulder, Colorado, fintech company said its former business associates in a failed joint venture to create a cannabis payment system cannot be trusted to pay the $1.3 million settlement meant to end all claims of fraud, urging a Nevada federal court to step in and force them to follow through.
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May 13, 2025
X Says Elon Musk Can't Sit For Media Matters Deposition
X Corp. told a Texas federal judge that left-leaning watchdog Media Matters for America cannot make billionaire CEO Elon Musk sit for a deposition in X's disparagement suit, saying Musk lacks specific knowledge about the case and is "one of the busiest men on the planet."
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May 13, 2025
DOJ Antitrust Deputy Says Gov't 'Out-Lawyered' Google
The deputy head of the U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division took a victory lap Tuesday after dual monopolization wins over Google's search and advertising technology businesses, citing the cases as proof that the government's attorneys can win in a "David versus Goliath" battle.
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May 13, 2025
Gov't To Restore Climate Webpages After Lawsuit Pressure
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is reversing course and has committed to restore climate change-focused webpages that were taken offline following the January presidential inauguration, according to a court filing in a lawsuit from environmental groups challenging the removals.
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May 13, 2025
FTC Remains Concerned With Merger 'Underenforcement'
A Federal Trade Commission official emphasized Tuesday that Trump administration merger enforcers are worried about taking insufficient action against tie-ups, as they stand by Biden-era guidelines meant to enshrine a more aggressive tack against corporate concentration.
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May 13, 2025
Google Spars With AGs Over Impact Of DOJ Ad Tech Ruling
Google is telling a Texas federal judge that its recent ad tech trial loss to the U.S. Department of Justice in the Eastern District of Virginia should have no bearing on the similar case brought in Texas by state attorneys general because the Virginia ruling is not yet final.
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May 13, 2025
Ski Resort Owner Offers Alternative Fixes After Antitrust Loss
A New York ski resort operator is offering alternative remedies for a state court to consider after it found the owner violated antitrust law by acquiring a rival ski operation and shutting it down, despite a call from enforcers for a sale of the property to another operator.
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May 13, 2025
Judge Won't Limit Foreign Aid Freeze Injunction
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday declined to commit to lifting part of a preliminary injunction requiring President Donald Trump's administration to release funding for foreign aid work done before Feb. 13, saying a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision does not change the analysis of his ruling.
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May 13, 2025
Lawsuit Challenging Trump Energy Order May Be Premature
States may have good reasons to fight President Donald Trump's declaration of a national energy emergency, but courts may be unwilling to evaluate the strength of a new suit from 15 states in the absence of expedited energy project approvals.
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May 13, 2025
Senator Asks Interior For More SD Tribal Police Funding
Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota has asked U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for more funding to support hiring efforts by tribal police in the state, requesting in a letter that he consider establishing a permanent tribal law enforcement training center on the Great Plains.
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May 13, 2025
SD Tribe's $1M School Debt Challenge Dismissed
A federal court judge dismissed a South Dakota tribe's challenge alleging the Interior Department overcollected on a $1 million school debt obligation, finding Tuesday that while the tribe's argument is creative, there is no support for it in statute or case law.
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May 13, 2025
2 Courts Say Fla. Drag Show Rules Likely Unconstitutional
Two federal courts this week have determined Florida rules targeting drag shows are likely unconstitutional, with the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday upholding an injunction against enforcing a statute barring minors from "adult live performances" and a district court blocking a city's permit restriction for an outdoor event.
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May 13, 2025
Grocery Giants Fight Washington's 'Redundant' $32.4M Fee Bid
Kroger and Albertsons are fighting a bid by Washington's attorney general to recover a record $32.4 million in legal fees for winning a lawsuit to block a $24.6 billion merger of the grocery giants, saying that the state's "go-it-alone" litigation was unnecessary and wasteful because of parallel antitrust action by the Federal Trade Commission.
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May 13, 2025
Pa. Court Debates RGGI Membership Without Lawmakers' Nod
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday weighed if a law empowering the state's environmental regulator equated to securing legislative approval to join a multistate Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, with the state justices noting Pennsylvania is the only member to join without lawmakers' blessing.
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May 13, 2025
Texas Investigates General Mills Over Food Coloring In Cereal
Texas launched an investigation against General Mills Inc. over allegedly illegal misrepresentations the company made about its cereals such as Trix and Lucky Charms, saying in a Tuesday announcement the cereals contain artificial dyes that pose severe health risks for children.
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May 13, 2025
FTC Says It Won't Enforce 'Click To Cancel' Until July
The Federal Trade Commission, currently only staffed with Republicans following President Donald Trump's firing of the remaining two Democratic commissioners, has decided to pump the brakes on its plan to start enforcing the agency's new "click to cancel" rule this month.
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May 13, 2025
Planned Parenthood Wants Teen Program Fund Rule Blocked
Planned Parenthood on Monday urged a D.C. federal judge to vacate the U.S. government's "unlawful" requirements to "align" with President Donald Trump's executive orders lest risk losing Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program funding, arguing its facilities will suffer staff cuts and loss of medically accurate, age-appropriate education services absent an injunction.
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May 13, 2025
Senators Grill Allstate, State Farm Heads On Disaster Claims
Officials from Allstate and State Farm defended their claims-handling procedures for natural disasters before a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday amid testimony that the two major homeowners insurers routinely altered estimates and underpaid policyholders to protect their profits.
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May 13, 2025
House Panel Clears $3.8T Extension of 2017 Tax Overhaul Law
The House Ways and Means Committee voted along party lines early Wednesday to approve a $3.8 trillion tax bill that would make permanent many of the tax cuts for businesses and individuals enacted in President Donald Trump's first term.
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May 13, 2025
Pa. Justices Question Ruling Over Verizon's Utility Pole Rents
Some justices on Pennsylvania's Supreme Court questioned Tuesday whether the state's Public Utility Commission skipped steps in declaring that electrical utility FirstEnergy was charging Verizon "unjust and unreasonable" rates to rent space on utility poles, since the decision appeared to rest mainly on federal price limits the state had adopted.
Expert Analysis
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DOJ Memo Maps Out A Lighter Touch For Digital Assets
A recent memo issued by the Justice Department signals a less aggressive approach toward the digital asset industry, with notable directives including disbandment of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, a higher evidentiary bar for unlicensed money transmitting, and prosecutions of individuals rather than platforms, say attorneys at Cleary.
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SEC Update May Ease Accredited Investor Status Verification
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently opened a new avenue to verifying accredited investor status, which could encourage more private fund sponsors and other issuers to engage in a general solicitation with less fear that they will lose the offering's exemption from registration under the Securities Act, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals
If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.
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Avoiding Compliance Risks Under Calif. Recycling Label Law
CalRecycle's recently published final findings on California's S.B. 343 — determining which products and packaging materials are eligible to use the "chasing arrows" recyclability symbol — offer key guidance that businesses operating in the state must heed to avert the risk of penalties or litigation, says Christopher Smith at Greenspoon Marder.
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Reproductive Health Under Trump So Far, And What's Next
Based on priorities stated so far, the Trump administration will likely continue to weaken Biden-era policies that protect reproductive health, with abortion, in vitro fertilization and contraception all being issues to watch closely amid a post-Dobbs shift, say attorneys at McDermott.
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FDIC Unlocks A Door To Banks' Potential Crypto Future
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent crypto guidance broadens the scope of permissible activities for banks to an unprecedented level, although most institutions are unlikely to initiate or expand such practices in the immediate future, says Amanda Kowalski at Barley Snyder.
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Del. Dispatch: Open Issues After Corp. Law Amendments
Recent amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law represent a significant change in the future structuring of boards and how the First State will approach conflicted transactions, but Delaware courts may interpret the amendments narrowly, limiting their impact, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Series
Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer
While my football career ended over 15 years ago, the lessons the sport taught me about grit, accountability and resilience have stayed with me and will continue to help me succeed as an attorney, says Bert McBride at Trenam.
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What Del. Supreme Court LKQ Decision Means For M&A Deals
The Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in LKQ v. Rutledge greatly increases the enforceability of forfeiture-for-competition provisions, representing an important affirmation of earlier precedent and making it likely that such agreements will become more common in M&A transactions, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Tracking FTC Labor Task Force's Focus On Worker Protection
The Federal Trade Commission recently directed its bureaus to form a joint labor task force, shifting the agency's focus toward protecting consumers in their role as workers, but case selection and resource allocation will ultimately reveal how significant labor markets will be in the FTC's agenda, say attorneys at Venable.
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10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks
The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.
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How High Court's Cornell Decision Will Affect ERISA Suits
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cunningham v. Cornell, characterizing prohibited transaction exemptions as affirmative defenses, sets the bar very low for initiating Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation, and will likely affect many plan sponsors with similar service agreements, says Carol Buckmann at Cohen & Buckmann.
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Aviation Watch: New FAA Chief Will Face Strong Headwinds
Once confirmed, Bryan Bedford, President Donald Trump's nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration, will face steep challenges — including a shortage of air traffic controllers, a recent spate of high-profile crashes, and the difficulty of working within an administration intent on cutting staffing and funding, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
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How Trump Energy Order May Challenge State Climate Efforts
Even if the Trump administration's recent executive order targeting state and local environmental, climate and clean energy laws, regulations and programs doesn't result in successful legal challenges to state authority, the order could discourage state legislatures from taking further climate action, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.
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AI Use Of Hollywood Works: The Case For Statutory Licensing
Amid entertainment industry concerns about how generative artificial intelligence uses its copyrighted content, a statutory licensing framework may offer a more viable path than litigation and petitions — one that aligns legal doctrine, economic incentives and technological progress, says Rob Rosenberg at Telluride Legal.