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Public Policy
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June 20, 2024
Wash. Justices Renew AG's Suit Over Police Eviction Claims
Washington's highest court said the state attorney general could sue a city for allegedly letting police illegally evict vulnerable residents under the guise of a crime prevention program, ruling Thursday the case involved issues of public concern such as protecting residents' civil rights and preventing police misconduct.
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June 20, 2024
7th Circ. Won't Dig Excavator Out Of Kickback Conviction
The Seventh Circuit ruled a former Illinois excavation company employee who was sentenced to five years in prison for paying a former commissioner kickbacks in exchange for inflated invoice payments was not prejudiced by the government's belated disclosure of notes from a cooperating witness.
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June 20, 2024
Web-Tracking Guidance Exceeded HHS' Authority, Judge Says
A Texas federal judge ordered the Biden administration Thursday to rescind its new guidance restricting hospitals' use of online tracking technology, declaring that federal officials had overstepped their authority by redefining what they consider protected health information.
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June 20, 2024
Judge Flags Iowa's Blocked Immigration Law In Texas Battle
The Texas federal judge overseeing the Biden administration's challenge to a state law authorizing the deportation of noncitizens urged the parties to inform the Fifth Circuit of an order blocking Iowa's similar law, anticipating an Eighth Circuit review of Iowa's defeat.
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June 20, 2024
GM's Cruise To Pay Calif. $112K Fine Over Robotaxi Crash
Cruise LLC agreed to pay a $112,500 penalty for mishandling its response to an October accident involving a pedestrian and one of its autonomous vehicles, and promised to disclose additional data on any collisions to California regulators under a settlement agreement approved Thursday.
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June 20, 2024
Justices' Caution May Hold Key To New Sports Betting Efforts
States overseeing feuds regarding the particulars of online sports betting may have been given a blueprint for peace after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a testy dispute over the Seminole Tribe's sports gambling compact in Florida.
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June 20, 2024
Sunset Review Redo Counter To Basic Principles, Says Judge
A U.S. Court of International Trade judge on Thursday rebuffed a Turkish steel producer's call to reverse a sunset review that maintained its anti-dumping duties, a move he said would fray the procedural web that gives sense to trade remedies.
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June 20, 2024
Caltrans Tells FCC It's Against FirstNet Control Of 4.9 GHz
California's Department of Transportation is adding its name to the list of public service entities lining up to tell the Federal Communications Commission that making AT&T's FirstNet the national manager of the 4.9 gigahertz safety band is a bad idea.
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June 20, 2024
FCC Slams Bid In 6th Circ. To Put Net Neutrality On Hold
The Federal Communications Commission told the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday it should pay no heed to a collection of net neutrality challengers arguing that "dire consequences" will ensue if the appellate court doesn't stop the agency from reinstating open internet regulations while the two sides argue the matter out in court.
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June 20, 2024
Calif. High Court Strikes Anti-Tax Measure From Nov. Ballot
A ballot measure that would make it more difficult to raise taxes in California would revise the state constitution and cannot be enacted by citizen initiative, the state's highest court held Thursday in an opinion that ordered the measure struck from the ballot.
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June 20, 2024
Catholic Diocese Can't Duck Sex Abuse Suit, NC Justices Told
A Catholic diocese and a missionary organization can't escape child sex abuse claims by asserting a distinction between the perpetrators and enablers of such abuse under state law, a man suing over abuse he allegedly experienced as a teen has told North Carolina's top court.
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June 20, 2024
Cannabis-Infused Drink Cos. Sue Iowa Over New Potency Law
Makers of canned drinks infused with hemp-derived THC are urging a federal judge to block an impending state statute that aims to regulate the Iowa cannabinoid market, saying it would swiftly outlaw "approximately 80%" of their current inventory.
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June 20, 2024
Competition Raids Don't Need Warrant For Emails, ECJ Told
European Union law doesn't bar member states from permitting competition authorities to search emails without a warrant amid a so-called dawn raid, according to an advisory opinion submitted to the bloc's top appeals court Thursday.
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June 20, 2024
Crypto Co. Says SEC Won't Bring Case Over Ethereum
Ethereum-focused software firm Consensys won't face an action over its dealings with the cryptocurrency ether, according to a notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but its preemptive lawsuit against the regulator is set to continue as the agency doesn't appear to have dropped concerns over Consensys products that deal in other assets.
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June 20, 2024
Fla. Panel Rules Riot Law Doesn't Apply To Peaceful Protest
Florida's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a state riot law passed by the Legislature in response to the George Floyd demonstrations doesn't apply to nonviolent protests.
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June 20, 2024
FCC Allows Top-4 Exception So Gray Can Sell Station
The Federal Communications Commission has granted an exception to its rule prohibiting ownership of stations carrying more than one top-four network in a local market, allowing Gray Television to sell a Cheyenne, Wyoming, station as part of a larger deal.
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June 20, 2024
No Atty, No Case: Judge Tosses Attack On Psychedelics Ban
A federal judge in Washington state threw out a challenge to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's efforts to ban two psychedelic substances in an order Thursday that chided a psychedelic research company for doing "an end run" around requirements that corporations be represented by an attorney.
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June 20, 2024
HHS Drug Pricing Program Flouts Constitution, Boehringer Says
An "unprecedented" new Medicare price negotiation program deprives drugmakers of their constitutional rights and forces them to make declarations on issues of public concern that reflect poorly on them, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. argued Thursday in Connecticut federal court as it echoed the industry chorus seeking to strike the initiative.
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June 20, 2024
Vegas Papers Can't Pause Suit Amid Trim Appeal, Judge Says
Rival Las Vegas newspapers won't see their acrimonious antitrust dispute placed on ice while the Ninth Circuit contemplates reversal of a partial dismissal order in the matter with no trial dates in place yet, a Nevada federal judge has determined.
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June 20, 2024
Texas Says DACA Challenge Withstands Mifepristone Ruling
Texas has fired back against the Biden administration's claim that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent blockbuster abortion-drug mifepristone ruling undermines the Lone Star State's standing to challenge the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, telling the Fifth Circuit that the appellate court "has held — repeatedly — that Texas has standing in this context."
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June 20, 2024
Carbon Capture Struggles Doom EPA Rule, DC Circ. Told
Challengers of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new greenhouse gas emissions standards for power plants reiterated to the D.C. Circuit that the impossibility of rapidly installing carbon capture and sequestration at power plants is reason enough to block the rule's implementation.
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June 20, 2024
China Denies Tax Crackdown As 2 Cos. Report $80M In Bills
China's tax authority denied a nationwide crackdown on companies' old tax returns Thursday, less than a week after a chemical firm facing 500 million yuan ($69 million) in additional liabilities halted production and a beverage maker reported owing 85 million yuan.
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June 20, 2024
Assa Abloy Says Deal Monitor Going Too Far
Assa Abloy has told a D.C. federal court that a monitoring trustee installed after the company settled a government merger challenge is taking things too far by trying to conduct a five-year, industry-wide study that's on pace to cost the company $20 million.
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June 20, 2024
Ore. Water Treatment Plant Not On Farmland, Tax Court Says
Portions of farmland used for a wastewater treatment facility were correctly denied a special farm-use assessment rate, the Oregon Tax Court said, allowing the special rate for other contested areas of the property.
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June 20, 2024
Attys Accused Of Judge Shopping Rebut Fraud Allegations
An Alabama federal judge is conducting an in-camera review of a long-awaited "Q&A document" believed to have circulated among attorneys accused of judge shopping their efforts to fight a 2022 state law preventing transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming care, with the lawyers handing over the document but denying allegations of misconduct.
Expert Analysis
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Best Practices For Responding To CBP's Solar Questionnaire
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's recently introduced questionnaire to solar importers imposes significant burdens, with the potential for supply chain disruptions and market consolidation, but taking certain steps can assist companies in navigating the new requirements, say Carl Valenstein and Katelyn Hilferty at Morgan Lewis.
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Exploring Alternatives To Noncompetes Ahead Of FTC Ban
Ahead of the Sept. 4 effective date for the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, employers should seek new ways to protect their proprietary and other sensitive information, including by revising existing confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, says Harvey Linder at Culhane.
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Parsing Controversial Del. General Corporation Law Proposals
In response to issues raised in three recent high-profile Delaware Court of Chancery decisions, many amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law were quickly proposed that, if enacted, would bring significant changes likely to be hotly debated — and litigated — for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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A Look At US-EU Consumer Finance Talks' Slow First Steps
The unhurried and informal nature of planned discussions between the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the European commissioner for justice and consumer protection suggests any coordinated regulatory action on issues like AI and "buy now, pay later" services is still a ways off, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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Opinion
It's Time To Defuse The Ticking Time Bomb Of US Landfills
After recent fires at landfills in Alabama and California sent toxic fumes into surrounding communities, it is clear that existing penalties for landfill mismanagement are insufficient — so policymakers must enact major changes to the way we dispose of solid waste, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
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5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits
Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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What Junk Fee Law Means For Biz In California And Beyond
Come July 1, companies doing business in California must ensure that the price of any good or service as offered, displayed or advertised is inclusive of all mandatory fees and other charges in compliance with S.B. 478, which may have a far-reaching impact across the country due to wide applicability, say Alexandria Ruiz and Amy Lally at Sidley Austin.
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EPA Heavy-Duty Vehicle GHG Rules Face Bumpy Road Ahead
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for owners and operators of heavy-duty vehicles are facing opposition from both states and the transportation industry, and their arguments will mirror two pending cases challenging the EPA's authority, says Grant Laizer at Adams and Reese.
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8 Steps Companies Should Take After An Internal Investigation
Given the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasing focus on corporate compliance and remediation of misconduct, companies must follow through in several key ways after an internal investigation to ensure history does not repeat itself, say Jonathan Aronie and Joseph Jay at Sheppard Mullin.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Opinion
US Solar Import Probe's Focus On China Is Misguided
The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation focuses on the apparent Chinese ownership of solar device importers in four Southeast Asian countries — a point that is irrelevant under the controlling statute, says John Anwesen at Lighthill.
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DC Circ. Ruling Heightens HHS Contract Pharmacy Challenges
The D.C. Circuit's recent ruling that the Section 340B program does not bar manufacturers from restricting deliveries of discounted drugs to contract pharmacies represents a second strike against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' current contract pharmacy policy and raises the stakes surrounding an upcoming Seventh Circuit ruling on the same issue, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.
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Ohio Tax Talk: The Legislative Push For Property Tax Relief
As Ohio legislators attempt to alleviate the increasing property tax burden, four recent bills that could significantly affect homeowners propose to eliminate replacement property tax levies, freeze property taxes for longtime homeowners, adjust homestead exemptions annually for inflation, and temporarily expand the homestead exemption, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.