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Public Policy
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July 15, 2024
Airstrike Survivors Lose Bid To Block UAE's $23.4B Arms Sale
A Washington, D.C., federal court dismissed an effort to block a $23.4 billion arms sale to the United Arab Emirates, saying the plaintiffs — survivors of a 2019 airstrike in Libya — hadn't shown a likelihood of getting attacked again.
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July 15, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Review Toss Of Youths' Climate Case
The Ninth Circuit has rejected youth plaintiffs' request for an en banc rehearing of a May ruling that dismissed their climate change suit against the U.S. government.
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July 15, 2024
Insurance Groups Want DOL Investment Advice Regs Blocked
Several insurance groups urged a Texas federal court to halt the U.S. Department of Labor's new regulations that broaden who qualifies as a fiduciary under federal benefits law, saying the agency's new rule is no different from one the Fifth Circuit invalidated in 2018.
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July 15, 2024
4th Circ. Rejects Couple's $5.1M Easement Deduction
The Fourth Circuit rejected Monday a married couple's bid to revive a claimed $5.1 million conservation easement deduction, saying it represented a "remarkable" attempt to inflate the value of a 41-acre property that was worth just $652,000 the year before they donated it.
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July 15, 2024
FTX Proposes $4B Settlement Of CFTC's Massive $52B Claim
FTX Trading Ltd. asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to sign off on a settlement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, saying the agreement to allow the agency a $4 billion claim in its bankruptcy would end a fraud civil enforcement action and address the "most significant single creditor" in the crypto currency exchange's Chapter 11 case.
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July 15, 2024
NHTSA Fuel Economy Suits Consolidated In 6th Circ.
Eight separate legal challenges to the U.S. Department of Transportation's newly finalized fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks have been consolidated in the Sixth Circuit, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said Friday.
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July 15, 2024
Fired NJ Cops Say ALJ's Ruling Backs Their Off-Duty Pot Use
An administrative law judge's decision reinstating a Jersey City police officer to her job after she was fired for off-duty marijuana use provides an argument for dismissing the city's lawsuit against the state in which it argues that federal law is at odds with New Jersey law, police officers say in a letter filed Monday in federal court.
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July 15, 2024
New York AG Lobs New Challenge To Rec Sports Trans Ban
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a local roller derby league each sued to strike down a newly passed law banning transgender women and girls from participating in recreational sports at facilities run by Nassau County on Monday, reviving a bitter legal fight.
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July 15, 2024
4th Circ. OKs No Hardship Finding In Mexican Man's Removal
A Fourth Circuit panel on Monday rejected a petition from a Mexican citizen seeking to halt his removal from the United States, ruling that the Board of Immigration Appeals was right to find that his petition fell short of the extreme hardship standard necessary to prevent removal.
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July 15, 2024
Ex-NYC Homeless Services Fraud Investigator Admits ID Theft
A former fraud investigator for the New York City Department of Homeless Services pled guilty along with a co-defendant Monday to scheming to steal the personal information of homeless people and using it to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits.
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July 15, 2024
Ariz. Rancher Says Monument Order A 'Regulatory Regime'
A sixth-generation Arizona rancher is fighting a bid by the Biden administration to dismiss litigation challenging a presidential proclamation that designated an Indigenous site in the Grand Canyon region a national monument, arguing the order subjects him to a "regulatory regime" he must comply with to enhance his property.
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July 15, 2024
FTC Warns Franchisors About Unfair Contract Terms
The Federal Trade Commission warned franchisors in a new policy statement not to use contract provisions or other tactics to prevent their franchisees from reporting potential law violations to government enforcers.
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July 15, 2024
Okla. Tribes Agree To Share Hunting, Fishing Rights
Oklahoma's Five Civilized Tribes say an agreement that will allow its members to use their tribal hunting and fishing licenses to access one another's territories strengthens their sovereign rights and gives them greater autonomy over the care and preservation of the land for future generations.
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July 15, 2024
North Carolina Cases To Watch In 2024: A Midyear Report
The second half of 2024 will see the North Carolina Business Court tackle media rights in one of the country's largest collegiate athletic conferences while state justices weigh the scope of hospital immunity under the Tar Heel State's COVID-19 emergency law.
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July 15, 2024
DC Circ. Won't Rethink Revived DOJ Realtor Antitrust Probe
The D.C. Circuit won't reconsider a ruling that allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to reopen an investigation into certain rules and policies of the National Association of Realtors, rejecting the trade group's request that the court correct "far-reaching and exceptionally important" legal errors.
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July 15, 2024
Neoprene Maker Tells 5th Circ. Louisiana Can Stall EPA Rule
A Louisiana neoprene manufacturer is asking the Fifth Circuit to affirm a state regulator's decision to grant the company a two-year extension to comply with a final chemical emissions rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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July 15, 2024
Widow To Pull $1.7M From Swiss Bank To Pay FBAR Penalties
A logger's widow agreed to pull about $1.7 million from her Swiss bank account to pay down penalties that her late husband's estate owes the IRS for his failure to report offshore accounts, according to a filing Monday in a Colorado federal court.
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July 15, 2024
Diocese's Insurer Says No Coverage For Sex Abuse Claims
An excess insurer for the Roman Catholic Bishop of Orange told a California federal court it owes no coverage for over 200 consolidated child sex abuse lawsuits, arguing that despite the primary insurer's insolvency, underlying limits must deplete before excess coverage kicks in.
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July 15, 2024
Auditor Says City Forced Him Out For Raising Red Flags
Officials in New Haven, Connecticut, have accused the city's internal auditor of misconduct in retaliation for his numerous reports of financial irregularities, safety concerns and potential violations of local ordinances, forcing him out of his position in April, according to a whistleblower suit filed in state court last week.
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July 15, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty Wants Probation For Campaign Finance Scam
A former BigLaw attorney asked a Massachusetts federal judge to sentence him to probation instead of prison for his campaign finance violation convictions linked to a failed 2018 congressional run, arguing that the conduct wasn't intended for personal enrichment but rather demonstrated his inexperience in campaigning and fundraising.
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July 15, 2024
Trump Running Mate Is Foe Of DOJ 'Political Prosecutions'
Donald Trump announced Monday that his running mate will be Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who over the last year has gone after the U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General Merrick Garland for what he deems are political prosecutions of the former president.
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July 15, 2024
Waste Site Ruling Must Be Undone, Nuke Group Tells Justices
The main trade group for the U.S. nuclear industry on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Fifth Circuit decision that barred the federal government from licensing a temporary nuclear waste storage facility in Texas, saying the erroneous ruling threatens to upend the industry.
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July 15, 2024
LendingTree Urges FCC To Narrow Lead Consent Rule
Loan marketplace LendingTree is asking the Federal Communications Commission to add an exception to its new "lead generator" consent rule, saying that as it's currently constructed, the rule disadvantages small businesses competing with larger brand names.
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July 15, 2024
US Co. Says Feds Ignored Sales Issues To Lift Chemical Duty
A chemical manufacturer that convinced the U.S. Department of Commerce to levy tariffs on an Austrian corrosion-inhibiting pigment in 2019 has sued the department for its recent decision to lift the tariffs, claiming Commerce overlooked an importer's influence over its U.S. customers.
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July 15, 2024
Coca-Cola Docs Would Clarify Soda Risk, Mexican Group Says
A Mexican consumer advocacy group has asked a Georgia federal judge to force the Coca-Cola Company to hand over internal documents about the company's alleged efforts to manufacture scientific research that misled soda buyers about the dangerous health effects of sugary beverages.
Expert Analysis
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California Adds A Novel Twist To State Suits Against Big Oil
California’s suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., one of several state suits that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-related harms, is unique both in the magnitude of the alleged claims and its use of a consumer protection statute to seek disgorgement of industry profits, says Julia Stein at UCLA School of Law.
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Criminal Enforcement Considerations For Gov't Contractors
Government contractors increasingly exposed to criminal liability risks should establish programs that enable detection and remediation of employee misconduct, consider voluntary disclosure, and be aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to make a mandatory disclosure where the government concludes it was required, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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New La. Managing Agent Law May Portend Growing Scrutiny
Recent amendments to Louisiana’s managing general agent regulations impose expansive new obligations on such agents and their insurer partners, which may be a sign of heightened regulatory, commercial and rating agency scrutiny, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Trending At The PTAB: Multiple Petitions In IPRs
Recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions and a proposed rulemaking indicate the board’s intention to continue to take a tougher stance on multiple inter partes review petitions challenging the same patent, presenting key factors for petitioners to consider, like the necessity of parallel filings and serial petitions, say Yinan Liu and Cory Bell at Finnegan.
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FERC Rule Is A Big Step Forward For Transmission Planning
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent electric transmission system overhaul marks significant progress to ensure the grid can deliver electricity at reasonable prices, with a 20-year planning requirement and other criteria going further than prior attempted reforms, say Tom Millar and Gwendolyn Hicks at Winston & Strawn.
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Series
After Chevron: Rethinking Agency Deference In IP Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Chevron deference could make it simpler to challenge the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s proposed rule on terminal disclaimers and U.S. International Trade Commission interpretations, says William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.
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Tricky Venue Issues Persist In Fortenberry Prosecution Redo
Former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry was recently indicted for a second time after the Ninth Circuit tossed his previous conviction for improper venue, but the case, now pending in the District of Columbia, continues to illustrate the complexities of proper venue in "false statement scheme" prosecutions, says Kevin Coleman at Covington.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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1st Gender Care Ban Provides Context For High Court Case
The history of Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming medical care — the first such legislation in the U.S. — provides important insight into the far-reaching ramifications that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti next term will have on transgender healthcare, says Tyler Saenz at Baker Donelson.
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CFPB's New Registration Rule Will Intensify Nonbank Scrutiny
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently finalized nonbank registration rule aimed at cracking down on repeat offenders poses significant compliance challenges and enforcement risks for nonbank financial firms, and may be particularly onerous for smaller firms, say Ketan Bhirud and Emily Yu at Cozen O'Connor.
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Series
After Chevron: FCC And Industry Must Prepare For Change
The Chevron doctrine was especially significant in the communications sector because of the indeterminacy of federal communications statutes, so the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the doctrine could have big implications for those regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, bringing both opportunities and risks for companies, say Thomas Johnson and Michael Showalter at Wiley.
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Series
After Chevron: Uniform Tax Law Interpretation Not Guaranteed
The loss of Chevron deference will significantly alter the relationship between the IRS, courts and Congress when it comes to tax law, potentially precipitating more transparent rulemaking, but also provoking greater uncertainty due to variability in judicial interpretation, say Michelle Levin and Carneil Wilson at Dentons.
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Series
After Chevron: Environmental Law May Face Hurdles
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning Chevron deference could prove to be as influential as the original 1984 decision, with far-reaching implications for U.S. environmental laws, including rendering recently promulgated regulations more vulnerable to challenges, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.