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Public Policy
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October 01, 2024
NJ Hotels Beat Room Price-Fixing Suit For Good
Another algorithmic antitrust suit is off the table after a New Jersey federal judge said Monday that a room-rate proposed class action against Atlantic City casino-hotels has the same failings that doomed a case over room prices on the Las Vegas Strip.
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October 01, 2024
Judge Stays Calif. Locomotive Emissions Rule Challenge
A California federal judge halted litigation brought by rail industry groups challenging a regulation requiring railroads to transition to zero-emission locomotives in the Golden State over the next decade, finding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's upcoming authorization decision will greatly impact the case.
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October 01, 2024
Nonprofit Finds Bad Patent 'Epidemic' Is Just A Myth
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is more likely to reject patent applications with valid claims than approve applications with invalid claims, according to a new report commissioned by former USPTO directors and Federal Circuit judges who were concerned about an alleged "epidemic" of bad patents.
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October 01, 2024
University Can Keep Conduct Records, Texas Justices Hear
Texas Supreme Court Justices asked the University of Texas at Austin why it was trying to keep from releasing records of students who violated policies against violence and sex offenses during oral arguments Tuesday, saying that the category of students the university was protecting seemed the "least defensible."
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October 01, 2024
Judge Says Texas Election Law Provision Is Unconstitutional
A Texas federal judge has struck down part of a controversial Texas election law after a six-week bench trial in a decision that Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to immediately try to block.
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October 01, 2024
Activists Sue Ark. Officials Over Medical Pot Ballot Measure
Activists attempting to put a measure that would expand medical marijuana access in Arkansas on the ballot brought a lawsuit against John Thurston, the state's secretary of state, on Tuesday, one day after he said that the campaign did not have enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
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October 01, 2024
Google Ad Tech Trial: 15 Days On The Rocket Docket
The Justice Department wrapped an extraordinary antitrust trial last week that left a Virginia federal judge pondering whether Google is even dominant in the display advertising placement technology market or just another player.
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October 01, 2024
Mich. Court Says It Can't Force Gov't To Speed Up U-Visas
A Michigan federal judge dismissed a proposed class action from U-visa petitioners who sued over government processing delays, saying federal courts lack power to force the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to process visas in a required time frame.
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October 01, 2024
EPA Can't Justify Water Permitting Rule, La. Judge Told
Republican-led states and industry groups fired back at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's defense of its rule broadening states' and tribes' power to veto infrastructure projects over water quality concerns, telling a Louisiana federal judge it goes against what Congress intended with the Clean Water Act.
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October 01, 2024
Phone 'Tax' For FCC Programs Unconstitutional, Justices Told
Groups challenging the Federal Communications Commission's universal service system urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to throw out the program's funding base, arguing it amounts to an illegal tax on consumers.
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October 01, 2024
Feds Didn't Consider Gold Mine's Full Impact, Judge Says
The federal government didn't realistically study the potential spill risks associated with a large open-pit gold mine when it approved the project, an Alaskan federal judge has said, arguing the Army Corps of Engineers erred in concluding that a catastrophic event is a "worst case" scenario in its environmental analysis.
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October 01, 2024
Texas Loses Bid To Block Residency Over Use Of Benefits
A Texas federal judge has dismissed the state's lawsuit challenging a Biden administration decision to upend a Trump-era rule blocking permanent residency for immigrants who use certain public benefits, finding Texas lacked standing because it didn't show the upending would lead to an increase in immigration or related costs.
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October 01, 2024
Binance GC Is Building The Firm's Future, One Atty At A Time
Binance general counsel Eleanor Hughes says she inherited "probably one of the most stressful situations a lawyer can face" when she entered her role as the company negotiated a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities, but since then her focus has been on building the right team to guide the firm's compliance forward.
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October 01, 2024
Verdict Stands In Fifth Third Bank Cash Advance Suit
An Ohio federal judge refused to override a jury's verdict that Fifth Third Bank breached its contracts with the class of borrowers who participated in its Early Access loan program, and also said he would not order a partial new trial for the borrowers after that same jury denied them damages.
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October 01, 2024
Ga. Industrial Fire Ignites Slew Of Suits From Residents
As a chlorine plant about 20 miles outside of Atlanta continues to belch chemical fumes into the skies in the aftermath of an industrial fire, the company that owns the facility was hit with proposed class actions Monday from residents who say the disaster is already causing dangerous health problems.
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October 01, 2024
DOJ Says It Is Constitutional To Disarm Pot Patients
The U.S. Department of Justice told a Pennsylvania federal judge Tuesday that a federal policy barring medical marijuana patients from lawfully possessing firearms is constitutional, and it urged the court to dismiss a legal challenge to the statute.
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October 01, 2024
Ga. Must Go 'Wheels Up' On Vote Certification, Judge Says
A Georgia state judge signaled Tuesday that a new rule from the State Election Board that directs local election officials to conduct "reasonable inquiries" into voting irregularities doesn't relieve them of their obligation to certify results within the state's mandated time frame.
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October 01, 2024
First Marshall Fire Trial To Decide Liability For All Plaintiffs
A Colorado state judge ruled Monday that the first trial in consolidated lawsuits against Xcel Energy and telecom companies for damages related to a 2021 wildfire will decide liability for all plaintiffs unless they show a good reason to opt-out.
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October 01, 2024
Feds Can't Ditch Trimmed Asylum Seekers' Suit Over CBP App
A California federal judge trimmed Monday a proposed class action challenging the federal government's requirement that asylum seekers use a smartphone app to submit applications, tossing an Alien Tort Statute claim and narrowing the scope of injunctive relief sought, but keeping the bulk of the Administrative Procedures Act fight alive.
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October 01, 2024
Tennessee Judge Affirms TVA-Approved Gas Turbine Project
A Tennessee federal judge rejected the Sierra Club's challenge of an environmental assessment that the Tennessee Valley Authority completed to install new gas combustion turbines at one of its existing facilities in the Volunteer State.
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October 01, 2024
TikTok Petitions 3rd Circ. To Review Section 230 Ruling
TikTok asked for another crack in the Third Circuit on Tuesday, requesting an en banc rehearing of the appeals court's decision holding that its "For You Page" algorithm doesn't enjoy Section 230 immunity and reviving a suit accusing the app of recommending a "blackout challenge" that led to a 10-year-old's death.
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October 01, 2024
EBay Beats Gov't Claims Over Sale Of Polluting Products
A New York federal judge Monday tossed a government lawsuit accusing eBay Inc. of hawking illegal automotive, paint removal and pesticide products, holding that the e-commerce giant does not meet the definition of a "seller" and has Section 230 immunity as a publisher of third-party content.
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October 01, 2024
Ind. Tax Court Backs Use Of Old Burden-Shifting Statute
An Indiana assessor must provide evidence to back up a property's nearly $2 million valuation because the assessment occurred under a statute shifting the burden of proof to assessors if valuations increased over a certain threshold, the state's tax court said.
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October 01, 2024
Big Banks Urge Panel To Toss NJ Bond Marketing Claims
A New Jersey state judge erred when he applied a recent change in state law to deny a bid by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other big banks to toss a suit accusing them of a scheme to inflate the interest rates of certain bonds, the banks argued Tuesday before a state appellate panel.
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October 01, 2024
EPA Can't Justify Particulate Matter Rule, DC Circ. Told
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can't justify its decision to ratchet down a fine particulate matter air pollution standard, Republican-led states and industry groups told the D.C. Circuit on Monday.
Expert Analysis
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FDIC's Cautious Approach To Industrial Banks, Reaffirmed
Although the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recently approved an industrial loan company's deposit insurance application and proposed new rules regarding parent companies, these developments do not represent a liberalization or modernization of the FDIC's regulatory framework, say Max Bonici and Andrew Bigart at Venable.
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How Lucia, Jarkesy Could Affect Grocery Merger Challenge
While the Federal Trade Commission is taking a dual federal court and administrative tribunal approach to block Kroger's merger with Alberstons, Kroger's long-shot unconstitutionality claims could potentially lead to a reevaluation of the FTC's reliance on administrative processes in complex merger cases, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.
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How NLRB Memo Balances Schools' Labor, Privacy Concerns
Natale DiNatale at Robinson & Cole highlights the recent National Labor Relations Board advice memorandum that aims to help colleges reconcile competing obligations under the National Labor Relations Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as university students flock toward unionization.
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Taking Stock Of FCC's New Spectrum Rule For Drones
While an order recently adopted by the Federal Communications Commission is intended to provide drones with rapid access to a limited amount of spectrum in the 5030-5091 megahertz band, the commission envisions an incremental approach to full usage that will play out over the course of the coming months and years, say attorneys at Wiley.
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Basel Endgame Rules: A Change Is Coming
The Federal Reserve Board's recently announced recalibration of the Basel endgame proposal begins a critical chapter in the evolution of not only the safety and soundness of U.S. banks, but also of banks' abilities to lend and support American businesses and consumers, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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Ruling On Foreign Dividend Break Offers 2 Tax Court Insights
In Varian v. Commissioner, the U.S. Tax Court allowed a taxpayer's deduction for dividends from foreign subsidiaries, providing clarity on how the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision may affect challenges to Treasury regulations, and revealing a potential disallowance of foreign tax credits, say attorneys at Davis Polk.
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How Loper Bright Is Affecting Pending FCC Litigation
Pending challenges against Federal Communications Commission orders at the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright highlight that counsel must be familiar with the statutes, regulations and precedent relevant to the FCC to best navigate the rapidly changing compliance landscape, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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What PCOAB's Broadened Liability Rule Means For Auditors
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent vote agreeing to lower the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's liability standard, allowing the board to charge individual auditors whose mere negligence leads firms into PCOAB violations, may erode inspection cooperation, shrink the talent pool and have anticompetitive outcomes, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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USPTO Guidance Suggests 2 Strategies For AI Inventions
Analyzing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent guidance, it appears that there are at least two paths for establishing that an artificial intelligence invention is eligible for protection, and that which strategy to use may turn on how broadly the invention is applied, says William Morriss at Frost Brown.
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Employer Tips For PUMP Act Compliance As Law Turns 2
Enacted in December 2022, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space for employees to express breast milk, but some companies may still be struggling with how to comply, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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4 Takeaways From The FDIC's Proposed Recordkeeping Rule
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new proposed rule would impose recordkeeping and other compliance requirements on custodial deposit accounts with transactional features, and practitioners should be aware of four important factors, including who is affected and who is exempt, say attorneys at Covington.
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Series
Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.
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Navigating Restrictions Following Biotech Bill House Passage
Ahead of the BIOSECURE Act’s potential enactment, companies that obtain equipment from certain Chinese biotechnology companies should consider whether the act would restrict their ability to enter into contracts with the U.S. government and what steps they might take in response, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Dealmaker Lessons From CFIUS' New Enforcement Webpage
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ recently launched webpage, which details the actions — and inactions — that led to enforcement activity, provides important insights for dealmakers about filing requirements, mitigation commitments and the cost of noncompliance, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Presidents And Precedents May Direct Khan's Future Course
While the Sept. 25 technical expiration of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan's term demands no immediate action, it does invite an analysis of commission policy and post-election possibilities, says Axinn's Richard Dagen, a former FTC official.