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Public Policy
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September 03, 2024
Colo. AG Says Tenants Can Sue Blackstone Over Lease Terms
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser urged the state's Supreme Court on Friday to find that tenants can sue a group of Blackstone subsidiaries for deceptive trade practices over lease agreements that allegedly misrepresent the rights of tenants.
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September 03, 2024
Ex-Defense Contractor Arrested In $350M Tax Evasion Case
A former defense contractor who, with his wife, is facing a 30-count indictment alleging they were involved in a decades-long scheme to defraud the U.S. government and avoid taxes on more than $350 million in income was arrested Tuesday.
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September 03, 2024
EPA Should Have Rethought Smog Plan, DC Circ. Told
U.S. Steel Corp. told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was obligated to rethink its plan to reduce smog-forming emissions across several states once courts partially blocked the plan's implementation, saying those decisions vindicate arguments that the rule can't be legally crafted.
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September 03, 2024
Advocates Urge 8th Circ. To Keep Iowa Arrest Law Blocked
Immigration lawyers and advocates for domestic violence survivors slammed Iowa's defense of a state law authorizing the arrest of immigrants who reentered the country after deportation, telling the Eighth Circuit that the immigrants may have obtained humanitarian protections after removal.
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September 03, 2024
DOI Says Court Can't Force Policy Orders In Recognition Fight
U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is fighting a bid to force her to complete a final new rule for federal recognition or be held in contempt, saying that compelling the agency to conclude a policy decision in a matter of weeks is unreasonable and could have a harmful ripple effect.
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September 03, 2024
Calif. Eyes New Heavy-Duty Autonomous Truck Testing Regs
California is forging ahead with plans to test and deploy more heavy-duty autonomous trucks, at the same time that state lawmakers are seeking to ban autonomous trucks from operating without a human driver behind the wheel.
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September 03, 2024
Split 5th Circ. Dissolves La. Voting Consent Decree
An 11-member majority of the Fifth Circuit dissolved a 30-year-old voting consent decree over how justices are elected to Louisiana's highest court, finding in a split en banc opinion that the state has "satisfied its obligations."
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September 03, 2024
USPTO Launches PTAB Clinic With Ex-Judges
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday rolled out a new free initiative in which former judges from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board will answer questions and offer guidance on proceedings before the board in one-on-one meetings with members of the public.
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September 03, 2024
DC Circ. Rejects EPA's 'New' Boiler Emission Limits
The D.C. Circuit said Tuesday that a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule regulating emissions from boilers used at industrial plants, universities and hospitals improperly classified some sources as "new" even though they existed before the regulations were proposed.
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September 03, 2024
Serial Litigator Fights To Keep Michigan FOIA Suits Coming
A government critic and serial pro se litigant said Wayne County can't force him to jump through hoops before he files public records requests and lawsuits against the county, urging a Michigan judge to preserve his right to sue.
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September 03, 2024
Ind. Tax Board Upholds Assessment On Office Space
The owner of a commercial property in Indiana can't lower its assessed value by arguing that the income generated at the property warranted a reduction, according to a state Board of Tax Review decision published Tuesday.
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September 03, 2024
Lumen Says $2B Colo. Tax Valuation Ignores Losses
Taxable property of telecommunications company Lumen Technologies was overvalued in Colorado at more than $2 billion, the company told a state court, arguing for an income approach to the valuation that reflects the company's significant financial losses.
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September 03, 2024
Atty's Use Of AI Didn't Taint Rapper's Trial, Judge Says
A D.C. federal judge has rejected a host of arguments by Fugees rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel seeking a new trial on charges of assisting a Malaysian billionaire in illegally diverting funds, including claims that he was prejudiced by his former attorney's use of generative artificial intelligence to craft his closing argument.
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September 03, 2024
Trump Loses Renewed Bid To Take Hush Money Case Federal
A New York federal court on Tuesday denied former President Donald Trump's bid to move the state's hush money case against him to federal court, ruling that the U.S. Supreme Court's July holding laying out grounds for immunity did not sway his opinion that the payments were "unofficial acts."
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September 03, 2024
Former Aide To NY Gov. Indicted On Foreign Agent Charges
A former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo was arrested Tuesday on allegations of secretly acting as an agent of China's government in a yearslong political conspiracy to promote the interests of the Chinese Communist Party and reap millions of dollars.
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September 03, 2024
Feds Float 650% Antidumping Duty On Chinese Paper Plates
The U.S. Department of Commerce previewed antidumping tariffs exceeding 650% on paper plates from nearly two dozen Chinese companies that refused to cooperate with U.S. officials investigating claims that the products are being dumped in the U.S.
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September 01, 2024
Jackson Sees No 'Reason' To Not Enforce High Court Ethics
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Sunday that she's seen no "persuasive reason" why members of the nation's highest court shouldn't be held to an enforceable code of conduct, becoming the second justice to publicly endorse proposed ethics reform following a year of heightened public scrutiny.
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August 30, 2024
Pa. County's Voting Machine Inspections Cost It $1M In Fees
A Pennsylvania county whose commissioners violated a court order by allowing outside inspectors to access its voting machines should pay Dominion Voting Systems and the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth more than $1 million in legal fees as part of the state supreme court's sanctions, an appellate judge recommended Friday.
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August 30, 2024
Expert Doesn't Back Certain Tribal Fishing Rights, Judge Says
A Washington federal judge has granted the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe's bid to amend his earlier order questioning whether the Stillaguamish Tribe had ever fished in certain saltwater near Puget Sound, ruling after examining expert testimony in the tribes' fishing rights battle that historical evidence fails to show that Stillaguamish ever caught sea life there.
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August 30, 2024
$100M Deal Finally Ends MoneyGram Unclaimed Property Fight
Delaware will be giving back more than $100 million from uncashed MoneyGram checks to the states where they were bought after finally reaching a settlement with 29 other states that took the matter all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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August 30, 2024
CrowdStrike VP Called To House Hearing On Global IT Outage
A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee will dig into the faulty CrowdStrike software update that caused a massive global tech outage, revealing plans Friday for a September hearing that will feature testimony from a senior executive at the cybersecurity firm.
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August 30, 2024
Calif. Legislature OKs Ban On 6 Food Dyes In Public Schools
California's State Legislature on Thursday passed the nation's first-ever bill aimed at banning public schools in the state from serving foods to children that contain Red 40 and other synthetic food dyes, sending the law to the governor's desk.
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August 30, 2024
Supply, Worker Shortages Prompt 'Rip And Replace' Leniency
Citing shortages of network gear and work crews, the Federal Communications Commission granted additional time, generally six months, for several telecom carriers to comply with their obligations to "rip and replace" Chinese network equipment.
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August 30, 2024
UK Drops Antitrust Probe Into School Software Co.
A United Kingdom school software company is no longer facing antitrust scrutiny over alleged litigation threats against schools looking to switch providers, but the firm continues to suggest that it may take action against the "misuse of its intellectual property" that it says complaints to authorities were meant to hide.
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August 30, 2024
DOJ Warns Of Harm From Special Counsel Tapes' Release
The House Judiciary Committee Republicans demanding Attorney General Merrick Garland release audiotapes of President Joe Biden's interviews over Biden's handling of classified documents while vice president "would cause significant harm to law enforcement interests," the U.S. Department of Justice has told a D.C. federal court.
Expert Analysis
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Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation
As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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Series
After Chevron: Expect Limited Changes In USPTO Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Chevron deference will have limited consequences for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office given the USPTO's unique statutory features, but it is still an important decision for matters of statutory interpretation, especially those involving provisions of the America Invents Act, say Andrei Iancu and Cooper Godfrey at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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Preparing For CFPB 'Junk Fee' Push Into Mortgage Industry
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau considers expanding its "junk fee" initiative into mortgage closing costs, mortgage lenders and third parties must develop plans now that anticipate potential rulemaking or enforcement activity in this space, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Opinion
It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections
While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.
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Series
After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue
As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.
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Series
After Chevron: Impact On Indian Law May Be Muted
Agency interpretations of Indian law statutes that previously stood the test of judicial review are likely to withstand new challenges even after the end of Chevron deference, but litigation in the area is all but certain, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Opinion
Trump Immunity Ruling Upends Our Constitutional Scheme
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Trump v. U.S. decision elevates the president to imperial status and paves the way for nearly absolute presidential immunity from potential criminal prosecutions — with no constitutional textual support, says Paul Berman at the George Washington University Law School.
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High Court Paves Middle Ground For Proceedings Obstruction
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Fischer sensibly leaves the door open for prosecutors to make more nuanced assessments as to whether defendants' actions directly or tangentially impair the availability or integrity of anything used in an official proceeding, without criminalizing acts such as peaceful demonstrations, say attorneys at Perry Law.
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How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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Series
Florida Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2
The second quarter of 2024 brought two notable bills that will affect Florida's banking and finance community across many issues, including virtual currency abandonment, cancellation of financial services on the basis of political opinions, and the exemption amount of motor vehicles, say Joshua Prever and Andrew Balthazor at Holland & Knight.
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Series
After Chevron: FTC's 'Unfair Competition' Actions In Jeopardy
While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference will have limited effect on the Federal Trade Commission's merger guidelines, administrative enforcement actions and commission decisions on appeal, it could restrict the agency's expansive take on its rulemaking authority and threaten the noncompete ban, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Series
After Chevron: Opportunities For Change In FHFA Practices
The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine should lead to better cooperation between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Congress, and may give the FHFA a chance to embrace transparency and innovation and promote sustainable housing practices, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.
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Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy
Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.