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Public Policy
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September 20, 2024
3 Atty Takeaways On Mental Health Parity Final Rules
Federal agencies' recently finalized rules for how employer health plans must analyze their coverage of mental health and substance use disorder treatments imposes significant new reporting and disclosure requirements, although regulators backed off more sweeping proposed network design changes. Here are attorneys' three key takeaways from the final mental health parity rules — what made it in, what's out and what to watch for next.
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September 20, 2024
'Free Karen Read' Protest Case Is Moot, 1st Circ. Says
The First Circuit has bowed out of hearing a First Amendment challenge brought by protesters who gathered outside a business run by a witness in Karen Read's first trial for the alleged murder of her boyfriend, ruling that the dispute centering on the Massachusetts witness intimidation law was moot.
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September 20, 2024
Lawmakers Ask USPTO To Fix Patent Calculation Problem
Federal patent officials need to change standards that could let drug companies hold on to patent rights beyond the time frame they are entitled to, according to federal lawmakers.
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September 20, 2024
2 SEC Commissioners Object To Whistleblower Award Secrecy
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioners Mark Uyeda and Hester Peirce have objected to the agency's recent decision to hand out a total of $122 million in two awards to four whistleblowers and issued a statement taking issue with the regulator's policy of saying little to nothing about why the rewards are issued.
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September 20, 2024
What A Second Trump Term Could Mean For The Courts
During his speech in Milwaukee in July accepting the Republican nomination for president, former President Donald Trump called Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida a "highly respected federal judge" and touted her ruling a few days earlier throwing out the "fake" case against him involving his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
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September 20, 2024
Chevron's Demise May Not Bring Deluge Courts Had Feared
Though the death of Chevron deference has opened a door to attacking administrative decisions, the expected uptick in litigation probably won't threaten to clog federal courts, numerous administrative law experts told Law360.
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September 20, 2024
Court Rejects Jerry Sandusky's Atty Pressure Tactics Theory
A Pennsylvania state appeals court has denied convicted pedophile and former Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's latest request for a retrial, rejecting his claims that new evidence showed accusers were pressured by an attorney to sue and that several underwent "repressed memory therapy" in order to recount false memories of abuse.
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September 20, 2024
Federal Judges In Texas, Louisiana Taking Senior Status
U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the Southern District of Texas and U.S. District Judge Lance Africk of the Eastern District of Louisiana announced this week that they are taking senior status in the coming months.
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September 20, 2024
Trump Again Asks To Delay Evidence In DC Election Suit
Attorneys for former President Donald Trump again asked the Washington, D.C., federal judge overseeing his election interference case to push back a highly anticipated evidentiary filing from prosecutors, saying special counsel Jack Smith's office shouldn't be allowed to publicly lay out evidence until the court addresses Trump's concerns about the scope of discovery.
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September 20, 2024
High Court Refuses To Put Jill Stein Back On Nevada Ballot
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Nevada Green Party's request to have Jill Stein's name reinstated on the state's presidential ballot Friday, allowing the Silver State to exclude the minor party from its general election after it filed the wrong form at the direction of state officials.
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September 20, 2024
Ore. Couple Denied Tax Deduction For Below-Market Rentals
An Oregon couple were correctly denied income tax deductions for expenses related to rental properties, the state tax court said, because they did not charge the renters market rates, disqualifying the rentals as income-producing properties.
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September 20, 2024
FTC Accuses Drug Middlemen Of Raising Insulin Prices
The Federal Trade Commission on Friday accused the three largest pharmacy benefits managers, Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx, of artificially inflating insulin prices by relying on unfair rebate schemes that hurt competition.
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September 19, 2024
Publishers 'Did Not Trust Google,' Former Ad Tech Exec Says
A former Google executive acknowledged Thursday that at least some website publishers sought a workaround to the search giant's advertising placement technology because they didn't trust the company's consolidated control, which the Justice Department has challenged in a Virginia federal courtroom.
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September 19, 2024
Dems Seek School Lunch 'Junk Fee' Ban After CFPB Report
A group of Democratic senators has called on the Biden administration to crack down on payment processing fees in school lunch programs, citing a recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report that raised concerns about the charges parents pay to fund their kids' online lunch money accounts.
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September 19, 2024
NC Justices Seem OK With Original Ouster Of Cursing Clerk
North Carolina Supreme Court justices appeared willing to rule on Thursday that a county clerk was lawfully removed from office by a replacement for a recused judge after the clerk allegedly cursed a judge's name on an accidental phone call.
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September 19, 2024
Why Justice Thomas' Gifts Probe Is Likely Taking So Long
The federal judiciary's governing body has spent more than a year reviewing complaints alleging U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas unlawfully failed to disclose decades of luxury gifts and travel. Ethics watchdogs argue it's time to wrap up the investigation, but politics — in every sense of the word — may cause further delay.
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September 19, 2024
CFTC Warns Of 'Profound' Harm In Election Betting Appeal
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission fought Thursday to prevent an online trading platform from offering betting on election outcomes while the agency appeals a trial court ruling that allowed the futures contracts to go live, warning the D.C. Circuit that the "high-stakes" event contracts threaten serious harm to election integrity.
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September 19, 2024
Congress Clears Bill Setting Aside Space Launch Spectrum
Congress has sent a bipartisan bill to the White House that would set aside certain airwaves specifically for use in commercial space launches in a bid to drive space industry growth.
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September 19, 2024
Bills On Patent Eligibility, PTAB Limits Near Senate Markup
Legislation aiming to reduce decisions finding inventions ineligible for patenting and restrict invalidity challenges at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board will likely be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee next week, a sponsor of the measures said Thursday.
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September 19, 2024
Republicans Air Grievances At House Hearing on FTC Practices
The Federal Trade Commission ought to stick to combating consumer scams and leave the competition regulation alone — that was the general tenor of Republicans on Wednesday morning at a House hearing about the agency's past and present practices.
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September 19, 2024
Paxton Sues Harris County To Stop New Income Program
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton slapped Harris County with a petition Thursday, accusing the county of violating the state constitution by proceeding with its "guaranteed income" program despite having the initial version halted by the Texas Supreme Court in parallel litigation.
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September 19, 2024
CFPB's Chopra Sounds Alarm On Home Insurance 'Crisis'
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra called Thursday for concerted policy action to tame spiking homeowners insurance costs and said he's looking into streamlining rules on mortgage refinancing to help consumers take advantage of the Federal Reserve's shift into rate-cutting mode.
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September 19, 2024
8th Circ. Says No Detention Time Limit For Deportees
The Eighth Circuit has ruled that a district court wrongly determined that the due process rights of an Ivory Coast native convicted of robbery were violated after he spent a year in federal custody waiting for a removal decision.
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September 19, 2024
Dallas Judge's Ruling Leaves State Fair Gun Ban Intact
A Dallas County judge upheld in a Thursday ruling the State Fair of Texas's new rule banning handguns on its premises, rejecting an injunction attempt that would have struck down the rule on the grounds that the fair takes place on government property.
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September 19, 2024
FCC Chief Tanks Trump Call To Pull ABC Licenses
The government has no intention of seeking to revoke ABC's broadcast licenses at the behest of former President Donald Trump, the head of the Federal Communications Commission told lawmakers Thursday.
Expert Analysis
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What To Expect From CFPB And DOT Card Rewards Inquiry
Following the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's announcement of joint efforts with the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate credit card rewards points, credit card issuers and airlines should keep a close eye on potential regulatory and class action litigation risks stemming from the inquiry, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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Preparing For The NLRB's New Union Recognition Final Rule
The National Labor Relations Board's impending new final rule on union recognition puts the employer at a particular disadvantage in a decertification election, and best practices include conducting workplace assessments to identify and proactively address employee issues, say Louis Cannon and Gerald Bradner at Baker Donelson.
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Brownfield Questions Surround IRS Tax Credit Bonus
Though the IRS has published guidance regarding the Inflation Reduction Act's 10% adder for tax credits generated by renewable energy projects constructed on brownfield sites, considerable guesswork remains as potential implications seem contrary to IRS intentions, say Megan Caldwell and Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.
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Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing
Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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Remedy May Be Google's Biggest Hurdle Yet In Antitrust Case
There are difficulties ahead in the remedies phase of the antitrust case against Google in District of Columbia federal court, including the search engine giant's scale advantage and the fast-moving nature of the tech industry, setting the stage for the most challenging of the proceedings so far, says Jonathan Rubin at MoginRubin.
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3 Ways To Limit Risks Of Black-Box AI In Financial Services
As regulators increasingly highlight the potential for artificial intelligence to make unfair consumer credit decisions, and require financial institutions to explain how these so-called black-box algorithms arrive at conclusions, companies should consider three key questions to reduce their regulatory risks from these tools, say Jeffrey Naimon and Caroline Stapleton at Orrick.
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Energy And AI: Key Issues And Future Challenges
Artificial intelligence promises new technical advantages for the energy industry, but it is also responsible for vast, and growing, energy consumption — so the future of AI and energy will require balancing technological advancement with regulatory oversight, environmental responsibility and infrastructure development, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Opinion
Transpo Board Should Broaden Ex Parte Rules Further
The Surface Transportation Board's 2018 ex parte rule reform was an important step in increasing agency engagement with stakeholders — but the board should build on that progress by expanding the windows for communications in informal rulemakings, encouraging more communications with staff, and making other changes, say Matthew Warren and Allison Davis at Sidley.
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The Regulatory Headwinds Facing Lab-Developed Tests
Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's final rule regarding regulation of laboratory-developed tests outlines a four-year plan for ending enforcement discretion, and though this rule is currently being challenged in courts, manufacturers should heed compliance opportunities immediately as enforcement actions are already on the horizon, say attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis.
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3 High Court Rulings May Shape Health Org. Litigation Tactics
Three separate decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court's most recent term — Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy — will likely strengthen healthcare organizations' ability to affirmatively sue executive agencies to challenge regulations governing operations and enforcement actions, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Opinion
The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address
A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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Opinion
It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union
As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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Why DOJ's Whistleblower Program May Have Limited Impact
The U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower pilot program aims to incentivize individuals to report corporate misconduct, but the program's effectiveness may be undercut by its differences from other federal agencies’ whistleblower programs and its interplay with other DOJ policies, say attorneys at Milbank.
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CFPB's Earned Wage Access Rule Marks Regulatory Shift
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's newly issued interpretive rule on earned wage access products, classifying them as extensions of credit, marks a significant shift in their regulatory landscape and raises some important questions regarding potential fringe cases and legal challenges, say Erin Bryan and Courina Yulisa at Dorsey & Whitney.
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How Calif. Justices' Prop 22 Ruling Affects The Gig Industry
The California Supreme Court's recent upholding of Proposition 22 clarifies that Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other companies in the gig industry can legally classify their drivers as independent contractors, but it falls short of concluding some important regulatory battles in the state, says Mark Spring at CDF Labor.