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Public Policy
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June 17, 2024
Maryland Gov. Moore Grants Sweeping Marijuana Pardons
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Monday announced that he had signed an executive order pardoning more than 175,000 convictions for possession of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia.
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June 17, 2024
Google Says Texas Took Opposing Positions On Key Law
Google told a Texas federal court the state attorney general's office made arguments in the case accusing the tech giant of monopolizing display advertising technology that directly contradict arguments the state is making in a case challenging the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
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June 17, 2024
Farm Cos. To Pay $475K To End Wash. AG's Sex Assault Suit
A pair of agricultural companies agreed to pay $470,000 to resolve Washington state's lawsuit accusing them of standing by as a supervisor sexually harassed and assaulted female employees and firing those who complained, the state attorney general announced Monday.
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June 17, 2024
Ginnie Mae, HUD Want Bank's Loan Lien Suit Sent To Dallas
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Ginnie Mae pushed for the transfer of Texas Capital Bank's suit in Texas federal court over a vacated loan lien, arguing that the bank is contractually required to file its suit in a different division within the same district.
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June 17, 2024
EEOC Went Too Far With Pregnant Worker Rule, Judge Says
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission overstepped its authority by requiring workplace accommodations for "purely elective abortions," a Louisiana federal judge ruled Monday, handing two states and several religious groups a temporary reprieve from agency regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
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June 17, 2024
Iowa Seeks To Mute 'Ag-Gag' Law First Amendment Challenge
Iowa on Friday asked a federal district court to dismiss animal rights' and community advocacy groups' First Amendment challenge to the state's "ag-gag" law that's designed to thwart undercover investigations of animal treatment.
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June 17, 2024
OECD Tax Plan Is Developing Nations' Best Choice, Prof Says
Developing countries could gain more revenue from the OECD's multilateral plan to tax the digital economy than the U.N. Tax Committee's bilateral alternative because they have small treaty networks, many customers and few large companies, an academic argued Monday during an Oxford University panel.
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June 17, 2024
DOL Says Insurers Can't Block ERISA Retirement Advice Regs
The U.S. Department of Labor urged a Texas federal court to reject a group of insurers' bid to halt the implementation of recently finalized regulations expanding which types of retirement investment advice fall under the purview of federal benefits law, arguing the challengers' request wasn't justified.
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June 17, 2024
Feds, Tribes Say It's Too Soon To Reopen Monument Suit
The federal government, tribes and conservation groups are fighting a bid by Utah and farming associations to lift a more than three-year stay in a challenge to the Bears Ears National Monument, arguing that the state is already involved in litigation that attempts to nullify the presidential proclamation that established it.
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June 17, 2024
Feds Say Bannon Must Go To Prison During Appeals
The U.S. government on Monday urged the D.C. Circuit to reject Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon's bid to stave off his four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress, arguing that Bannon cannot show that the full D.C. Circuit or U.S. Supreme Court would take up his case.
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June 17, 2024
Colo. Justices To Review Prefiling Interest Cap Dispute
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review whether a state court can let prefiling interest exceed the state's $1 million economic damages cap under the Health Care Availability Act, in a suit over a man's injuries at birth.
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June 17, 2024
Repeat Violations Land Ore. Forwarder Export Denial Order
An Oregon-based package forwarder has lost export privileges just days before clearing a three-year probationary period for alleged unlicensed rifle scope exports, after an audit revealed 176 new violations, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Monday.
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June 17, 2024
Pharmacy Groups Urge High Court To Hear Okla. PBM Case
Pharmacy industry groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Tenth Circuit decision that overturned portions of an Oklahoma law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, saying these intermediaries have driven up costs for patients while raising their own bottom lines, and states should be allowed to keep them in check.
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June 17, 2024
IRS Asks Court To Leave Alone Worker Retention Credit Pause
An Arizona federal court should reject a tax advisory firm's request to lift the IRS' moratorium on processing claims for the pandemic-era employee retention credit, the agency argued, saying the agency should be allowed to continue to run the program as it sees fit.
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June 17, 2024
FTC Says Hospital Won't Fail Without Novant Buyout
The Federal Trade Commission is pushing back against claims that North Carolina's Lake Norman Regional Medical Center will fail if the agency halts its acquisition by Novant Health, telling the Fourth Circuit that the hospital is, in fact, profitable and stable.
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June 17, 2024
'No Religious Freedom In Texas' If El Paso Org. Shut Down
An attorney for a Catholic nonprofit accused by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of smuggling or harboring migrants told an El Paso judge Monday that Paxton shouldn't be able to use an "ancient" legal procedure in his attempt to shut it down.
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June 17, 2024
Attys Accused Of Judge Shopping Must Turn Over Q&A Doc
Attorneys accused of a coordinated effort to "judge shop" amid federal suits challenging an Alabama law banning certain medical procedures for transgender youth must supply a document the court believes displays the attorneys' preparations for a panel hearing in which one of the attorneys allegedly committed perjury.
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June 17, 2024
Ga. Judge Shuts Down Bond Bid From Convicted Fla. Atty
A Georgia federal judge has denied a Florida attorney's request to remain free on bond while she appeals her conviction and more than six-year prison sentence for fraudulently obtaining federal pandemic-relief loans meant for businesses, calling her request "the latest chapter in her attempt to dodge the consequences of her malevolence."
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June 17, 2024
Sen. Spectrum Bill Called Inadequate For Connectivity Needs
A Senate bill to renew the Federal Communications Commission's authority to auction spectrum is facing criticism from a technology think tank as the legislation heads to a committee vote Tuesday.
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June 17, 2024
NY Says IGRA Doesn't Keep State Lottery Off Tribal Land
The New York State Gaming Commission has asked a federal judge to throw out the Cayuga Nation's attempt to block lottery games from operating on tribal lands, arguing state lotteries do not fall under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act's jurisdiction.
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June 17, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Proposed amendments to Delaware's General Corporation Law that were prompted by several recent Chancery Court rulings sailed through the state Senate last week despite loud opposition from corporate law professors and other Chancery Court watchers, and Tesla shareholders filed two new suits against CEO Elon Musk.
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June 17, 2024
Ga. County Says Battery Co.'s Dumping Caused Blaze
A Georgia electric vehicle battery manufacturer that has come under regulatory scrutiny for a series of workplace safety violations has been hit with a lawsuit from its own county, which accused the company of dumping hundreds of batteries that led to a massive fire at a local recycling plant.
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June 17, 2024
Lambda Legal Calls For More LGBTQ+ Judges
President Joe Biden has made a historic increase in the diversity of judicial appointees, but a major LGBTQ+ legal organization is hoping for more progress with LGBTQ+ judges and says the clock is ticking.
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June 17, 2024
Biden: High Court 'Never Been As Out Of Kilter'
President Joe Biden said at a campaign event over the weekend that the U.S. Supreme Court "has never been as out of kilter as it is today."
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June 17, 2024
College Students Say Mass. COVID Liability Shield Unjust
Three former students seeking tuition refunds are urging a Massachusetts court to rule on the constitutionality of a state law wiping away schools' liability for switching to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a statute that has all but doomed their separate federal complaints.
Expert Analysis
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FTC Hearing On Fake Review Rule Stressed Compliance Costs
The Federal Trade Commission is likely to finalize its proposed rule to prohibit marketers from using deceptive practices in their product reviews after an informal hearing covered arguments over whether costs of implementing the rule, such as review moderation and software maintenance, would be minimal, says Jeffrey Edelstein at Manatt.
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FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.
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3 Recent Decisions To Note As Climate Litigation Heats Up
Three recent rulings on climate-related issues — from a New York federal court, a New York state court and an international tribunal, respectively — demonstrate both regulators' concern about climate change and the complexity of conflicting regulations in different jurisdictions, say J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.
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Perspectives
Justices' Repeat Offender Ruling Eases Prosecutorial Hurdle
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Brown v. U.S., clarifying which drug law applies to sentencing a repeat offender in a federal firearms case, allows courts to rely on outdated drug schedules to impose increased sentences, thus removing a significant hurdle for prosecutors, says attorney Molly Parmer.
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Investors Can Aid In The Acceptance Of Psychedelic Medicine
Psychedelic medicine is ready to have its breakthrough moment, and although it still faces political, legal and communications challenges, private equity investors can play a significant role in changing the public perception on psychedelics from taboo to acceptance, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell, Charlie Panfil at the Daschle Group and Ethan Lutz at FTI Consulting.
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Opinion
Exec Liability Bill For Failed Banks Is Unnecessary, Unwise
A bill before the U.S. Senate, which would effectively empower the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to hold senior bank executives strictly liable for reasonable business decisions that lead to bank failures, needlessly overwrites the existing negligence standard and rewards counterproductive caution in management, say attorneys at Davis Polk.
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National Security And The Commercial Space Sector: Part 1
The recently published U.S. Department of Defense space strategy represents a recalibration in agency thinking, signaling that the integration of commercial space capabilities has become a necessity and offering guidance for removing structural, procedural and cultural barriers to commercial-sector collaboration, say Jeff Chiow and Skip Smith at Greenberg Traurig.
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BF Borgers Clients Should Review Compliance, Liability
After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently announced enforcement proceedings against audit firm BF Borgers for fabricating audit documentation for hundreds of public companies, those companies will need to follow special procedures for disclosure and reporting — and may need to prepare for litigation from the plaintiffs bar, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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How Employers, Attorneys Can Respond To Noncompete Ban
As the Federal Trade Commission's recently issued noncompete ban faces ongoing legal challenges, now is a good time for employers to consider whether they want to take a wait-and-see approach before halting use of noncompetes and for practitioners to gain insight into other tools available to protect their clients' business interests, says Jennifer Platzkere Snyder at Dilworth Paxson.
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New TSCA Risk Rule Gives EPA Broad Discretion On Science
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent final amendments to its framework for evaluating the risks of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act give it vast discretion over consideration of scientific information, without objective criteria to guide that discretion, say John McGahren and Debra Carfora at Morgan Lewis.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Fintech Compliance Amid Regulatory Focus On Sensitive Data
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent, expansive pursuit of financial services companies using sensitive personal information signals a move into the Federal Trade Commission's territory, and the path forward for fintech and financial service providers involves a balance between innovation and compliance, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.
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Opinion
Del. Needs To Urgently Pass Post-Moelis Corporate Law Bill
After the Delaware Chancery Court's decision in West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension v. Moelis sparked confusion around governance rights, recently proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law would preserve the state's predictable corporate governance system, says Lawrence Hamermesh at Widener University Delaware Law School.
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Cos. Must Stay On Alert With Joint Employer Rule In Flux
While employers may breathe a sigh of relief at recent events blocking the National Labor Relations Board's proposed rule that would make it easier for two entities to be deemed joint employers, the rule is not yet dead, say attorneys at Day Pitney.
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Opinion
NY Should Pass Litigation Funding Bill To Protect Plaintiffs
New York state should embrace the regulatory framework proposed in the Consumer Litigation Funding Act, which would suppress the unregulated predatory lenders that currently prey on vulnerable litigants but preserve a funding option that helps personal injury plaintiffs stand up to deep-pocketed corporate defendants, says Alan Ripka at Alan Ripka & Associates.