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Public Policy
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August 07, 2024
7th Circ. Keeps 3M PFAS Pollution Suit In State Court
The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday rejected 3M's bid to send back to federal court a lawsuit brought by the state of Illinois alleging that the company polluted local waters with toxic "forever chemicals," saying a federal government contractor defense would be "wholly irrelevant" to the state's case.
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August 07, 2024
Colo. Justices To Hear Child Abuse Hotline Records Suit
The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to hear a dispute over records from a child abuse hotline sought by a news station, taking up an appeal from the state's Department of Human Services arguing that the information could identify children at risk.
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August 07, 2024
1st Circ. Backs Boston Prayer Policy With Political Warning
The First Circuit rejected a satanic temple's challenge to the Boston City Council's practice of inviting local leaders to pray at its meetings, but warned that the practice could conceivably cross constitutional red lines if it became a vehicle to curry favor with voters.
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August 07, 2024
NJ AG, Data Biz Say Judicial Privacy Law Is Constitutional
The New Jersey Office of Attorney General stepped in to defend the judicial privacy measure Daniel's Law this week, arguing alongside a data privacy company in federal court that a group of data brokers accused of violating it are relying on "hypotheticals and edge cases" to claim the law is unconstitutional.
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August 07, 2024
Tax Court's Economic Substance Foray May Clarify Limits
A U.S. Tax Court judge plans to address an ill-defined provision governing the relevance of the economic substance doctrine in a microcaptive insurance case, offering the courts another chance to clarify an anti-abuse tool the IRS has been deploying more often.
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August 07, 2024
Split 7th Circ. Axes Forced Labor Suit Against Salvation Army
A group of former participants in the Salvation Army's rehabilitation programs didn't show how the work they performed for the organization represented forced labor, a split Seventh Circuit panel ruled, keeping an Illinois federal court's decision tossing their suit.
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August 07, 2024
CFPB Backs Homeowners In Nationstar Mortgage Fee Suit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau asked a Washington federal court to allow it to file a brief in support of a proposed class action accusing Nationstar Mortgage of illegally charging fees whenever homeowners request payoff statements for their loans.
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August 07, 2024
FERC Defends Rejection Of Grid Operator's Project Cost Plan
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is asking the D.C. Circuit to deny two electricity cooperatives' petitions challenging its decision to reject a Southwest Power Pool plan to regionally allocate the costs of some transmission projects within the grid operator's 14-state footprint.
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August 07, 2024
Quinn, Jenner Attys Tapped For Trump Shooting Inquiry
The Republican staff on the newly formed bipartisan task force to investigate the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump includes Capitol Hill and legal veterans, among them attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and Jenner & Block LLP.
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August 07, 2024
Missouri Voters Reject Exemption For Child Care Facilities
Missouri will not allow local governments to exempt child care facilities from property tax after a constitutional amendment was rejected by voters Wednesday.
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August 07, 2024
Pennsylvania Legislation Passed In 2024: A Midyear Report
Despite a divided legislature in Pennsylvania — the parties have been trading a narrow majority in the House of Representatives and Republicans compose most of the state Senate — lawmakers have managed to send dozens of bills to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's desk in the first half of 2024, including tighter controls on a veterinary drug showing up in heroin, changes to business registrations with the state, and adding arbitration to the tools for family courts.
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August 07, 2024
Singapore's Carbon Tax Is Revenue-Neutral, Minister Says
Singapore's carbon tax is expected to have a neutral impact on tax revenues over the next decade, even after accounting for a recent hike in the rate to SG$25 ($18.81) per metric ton of emissions, the country's environment minister said.
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August 06, 2024
Ex-US Atty, Mayor Poised To Face Off In Wash. AG Race
Seattle's former U.S. attorney and an Eastern Washington mayor who's also a gun rights advocate were leading the statewide primary Tuesday night to become the state's next attorney general.
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August 06, 2024
Seattle Atty, Judge Lead Contested Wash. State Justice Race
A Seattle attorney and a municipal judge were leading late Tuesday in a four-way primary race for a contested seat on the Washington State Supreme Court.
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August 06, 2024
From Vets To Labor: The Policies VP Pick Walz Has Backed
Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Kamala Harris' pick of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate pairs her with a state leader and former lawmaker who has advocated for veterans' rights and public education while also championing a more progressive agenda, from cannabis legalization to abortion care access to stronger union rights.
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August 06, 2024
Microsoft's Dechert Attys Slam Delta On Outage Suit Threat
Microsoft's attorneys at Dechert LLP fired back Tuesday at Delta Air Lines' recent threat to pursue litigation to recoup hundreds of millions in losses from last month's global CrowdStrike outage, saying the airline repeatedly refused Microsoft's offer for technical assistance.
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August 06, 2024
Enviro Groups Seek Penalties For Suncor Refinery Pollution
Environmental justice groups sued Suncor Energy USA Inc. on Tuesday seeking civil penalties on behalf of people exposed to air pollution near an oil refinery, contending that federal and state regulators have failed to stop the company's ongoing Clean Air Act violations.
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August 06, 2024
NTSB Door Plug Hearing Spotlights Boeing Production Gaps
Boeing still hasn't pinpointed who removed and reinstalled the door plug that subsequently blew off a 737 Max 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines in January, as the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday examined what employees described as disjointed protocols and high-pressure production lines.
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August 06, 2024
Fed. Circ. Told Edwards Filed Safe Harbor Suit With Bad Intent
The Federal Circuit rightfully held Meril Life Sciences was protected by a patent safe harbor when bringing its preapproval transcatheter heart valve system to an industry conference and that Edwards Lifesciences' attempts to prove otherwise are just delay tactics, Meril told the full court.
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August 06, 2024
Ohio Judge Upholds Law Limiting Gender Care, Sports Access
An Ohio judge on Tuesday allowed the state to begin enforcing a law that restricts gender-affirming care for minors and bans transgender girls' participation in female sports, siding with the state and determining that the law is a legitimate attempt to protect children.
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August 06, 2024
Wash. Again Sues GEO Group Over ICE Detention Inspections
Washington state's health department has again sued The GEO Group, alleging that the private prison contractor has illegally blocked health officials from entering an ICE facility to investigate a rash of suicide attempts and hundreds of reports of unhealthy conditions.
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August 06, 2024
New Bill Would Create 400K-Acre National Monument In Ariz.
A bill introduced by a ranking member of the House natural resources committee looks to protect 400,000 acres in southern Arizona while declaring the site with ties to at least 13 federally recognized tribes a national monument.
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August 06, 2024
EPA Seeks DC Circ. Remand Of Good Neighbor Plan
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the D.C. Circuit to let it take a second look at its plan to reduce smog-forming emissions across several states, arguing a remand is necessary to solve issues recently identified by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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August 06, 2024
DC Circ. Says CIA Can No-Admit, No-Deny Gitmo Docs
The D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that the CIA could refuse to confirm the existence of documents related to its control of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, rejecting a military lawyer's arguments that those records were already public knowledge.
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August 06, 2024
Colo. Judges Probe Broadcaster's Liability For On-Air Claims
Colorado appellate judges on Tuesday asked a former executive for Dominion Voting Systems to explain how exactly a radio broadcaster is liable in a defamation suit over on-air statements alleging the former executive was responsible for rigging the 2020 election against former President Donald Trump.
Expert Analysis
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How SEC Could Tackle AI Regulations On Brokers, Advisers
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission held an open meeting of its Investor Advisory Committee on June 6 to review the use of artificial intelligence in investment decision making, showing that regulators are being careful not to stifle innovation or implement rules that will quickly be made irrelevant after their passage, says Brian Korn at Manatt Phelps.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Biden Admin Proposals May Facilitate US, UK, Australia Trade
Recent proposals that create exceptions to U.S. export licensing requirements for defense trade with Australia and the U.K. would remove hurdles that have hindered trade among the three countries, and could enable smaller companies in the sector to greatly expand their trade horizons, say Keil Ritterpusch and Grace Welborn at Buchanan Ingersoll.
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What To Know As CFPB Late Fee Rule Hangs In Limbo
Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final credit card late fee rule faces an uncertain future due to litigation involving injunctions, emergency petitions and now a venue dispute, card issuers must understand how to navigate the interim period and what to do if the rule takes effect, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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Short-Term Takeaways From CMS' New Long-Term Care Rules
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' new final rule on nursing home staffing minimums imposes controversial regulatory challenges that will likely face significant litigation, but for now, stakeholders will need to prepare for increased staffing expectations and more specialized facility assessments without meaningful funding, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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What TikTok's Race Against The Clock Teaches Chinese Firms
The Biden administration's recent divestiture deadline on TikTok parent ByteDance provides useful information for other China-based companies looking to do business in the U.S., including the need to keep products for each market separate and implement firewalls at the design stage, says Richard Lomuscio at Stinson.
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Updated Federal Rules Can Improve Product Liability MDLs
The recent amendment of a federal evidence rule regarding expert testimony and the proposal of a civil rule on managing early discovery in multidistrict legislation hold great promise for promoting the uniform and efficient processes that high-stakes product liability cases particularly need, say Alan Klein and William Heaston at Duane Morris.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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NY Combined Hearing Guidelines Can Shorten Ch. 11 Timeline
The Southern District of New York’s recently adopted guidelines on combining the processes for Chapter 11 plan confirmation and disclosure statement approval may shorten the Chapter 11 timeline for companies and reduce associated costs, say Robert Drain and Moshe Jacob at Skadden.
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Adopting 7 Principles May Improve Voluntary Carbon Markets
The Biden administration's recently issued joint policy statement on improving the integrity of voluntary carbon markets may help companies using carbon credits to offset their emissions withstand scrutiny by government agencies, the public and investors, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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What High Court Ruling Means For Sexual Harassment Claims
In its recent Smith v. Spizzirri decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court compelling a case to arbitration is obligated to stay the case rather than dismissing it, but this requirement may result in sexual harassment cases not being heard by appellate courts, says Abe Melamed at Signature Resolution.
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How Cannabis Rescheduling May Alter Paraphernalia Imports
The Biden administration's recent proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana use raises questions about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement policies may shift when it comes to enforcing a separate federal ban on marijuana accessory imports, says R. Kevin Williams at Clark Hill.
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What The NYSE Proposed Delisting Rule Could Mean For Cos.
The New York Stock Exchange's recently proposed rule would provide the exchange with discretionary authority to commence delisting proceedings for a company substantially shifting its primary business focus, raising concerns for NYSE-listed companies over the exact definition of the exchange's proposed "substantially different" standard, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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Opinion
New Guidance On Guilty Plea Withdrawals Is Long Past Due
In light of the Sentencing Reform Act's 40th anniversary, adding a new section to the accompanying guidelines on the withdrawal of guilty pleas could remedy the lack of direction in this area and improve the regulation's effectiveness in promoting sentencing uniformity, say Mark H. Allenbaugh at SentencingStats.com and Alan Ellis at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
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The Uncertain Scope Of The First Financial Fair Access Laws
With Florida and Tennessee soon to roll out laws banning financial institutions from making decisions based on customer traits like political affiliation, national financial services providers should consider how broadly worded “fair access” laws from these and other conservative-leaning states may place new obligations on their business operations, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.