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Public Policy
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January 14, 2025
TikTok Says NC Can't Fault Platform For Being 'Too Engaging'
TikTok Inc. has asked for an early exit from the North Carolina attorney general's lawsuit accusing the video platform of harming young users, saying it has no significant ties to the Tar Heel state and the AG's office can't otherwise build a case around its platform being "too engaging."
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January 14, 2025
1st Circ. Won't Revive Cape Cod Restaurants' Ordinance Case
The First Circuit has declined to revive a case brought by two restaurants on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, that alleged they were selectively targeted with enforcement of a municipal noise ordinance and COVID-19 restrictions, saying the eateries failed to make a proper showing that their constitutional rights were violated.
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January 14, 2025
MIT Bio Lab Can't Use Anti-SLAPP To Duck Defamation Suit
The Massachusetts Appeals Court on Tuesday ruled that the state's anti-SLAPP statute could not stop a suit brought by the former head of an MIT-affiliated biomedical research lab who stepped down amid a finding that he harassed a subordinate, though several of his claims were axed nonetheless.
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January 14, 2025
Trump Announces Plans To Create 'External Revenue Service'
President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that he planned to create an "External Revenue Service" that would collect tariffs and revenue from foreign countries.
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January 14, 2025
NC Court Urged To Ease Cellphone Ban For Redistricting Trial
Both sides of an upcoming trial in North Carolina over the state's new election map that allegedly dilutes the power of Black voters asked a Tar Heel State federal judge to grant exceptions to a rule barring everyone but attorneys admitted in the district from using electronics in the courthouse.
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January 14, 2025
Mass. AG Says Insulin Makers, Middlemen Colluded On Costs
Insulin makers Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk conspired with pharmacy benefit managers OptumRX, Express Scripts and CVS Caremark to jack up prices by as much as 1,000%, the Massachusetts attorney general alleged in a suit.
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January 14, 2025
DOJ Accuses PE Giant KKR Of Dropping Merger Disclosures
The Justice Department filed an extraordinary lawsuit Tuesday accusing private equity giant KKR & Co. Inc. of repeatedly flouting its merger notification requirements, "altering" or "systematically omitting" documents on some deals and failing entirely to notify enforcers of at least two, including a $6.9 billion transaction, only for KKR to file its own suit in response.
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January 14, 2025
Feds Ask 2 Years For Ex-Pol On Tax, Pandemic Aid Charges
A former Massachusetts state senator should spend two years in prison after being convicted of illegally obtaining unemployment assistance and filing a false tax return, the federal government argued, citing the "greed" at the heart of the politician's conduct.
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January 14, 2025
DOL Finalizes ERISA Voluntary Correction Program Changes
The U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm has finalized changes to a program allowing retirement plan managers to voluntarily self-correct when they fail to forward employee contributions on time or make other transaction errors, according to a notice the agency posted online Tuesday.
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January 13, 2025
CFPB Eyes Rule To Rein In 'Forced' Financial Contract Terms
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday floated a new rule that calls for banning financial companies from using contractual fine print to limit consumers' legal rights or restrict their free expression.
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January 13, 2025
Special Counsel Slams Biden's Critique Of Son's Prosecution
The special counsel who oversaw the investigation into Hunter Biden, which was wiped out by a presidential pardon, released a report published Monday criticizing President Joe Biden's "baseless accusations" that his son was "selectively" prosecuted and warning that such comments threaten "the integrity of the justice system as a whole."
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January 13, 2025
On Cross, Madigan Says He Merely Helped Job-Seekers
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan distanced himself Monday from political allies who prosecutors say bribed him for jobs and other benefits, saying his recommendations were just that, and that he thought he was effective in shutting down a former alderman's quid pro quo suggestion.
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January 13, 2025
Judge Spikes Challenge To Ga. Utility Commish Elections
A federal judge on Monday tossed a lawsuit that challenged the extension of terms for members of Georgia's utility regulatory commission while its elections were suspended by voting rights litigation, clearing the way for its members to return to the ballot next year.
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January 13, 2025
Texas Judge Urged To Halt CFPB Medical Debt Reporting Rule
Trade groups suing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over its new rule banning medical debt from credit reports have asked a Texas federal judge to put a court-ordered hold on the measure while they proceed with their challenge to its legality.
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January 13, 2025
Bannon Must Explain Atty Swap As NY Wall Fraud Trial Looms
A New York state judge on Monday ordered Steve Bannon to appear in court to explain why he switched counsel a month before he faces trial on charges of defrauding donors to a fundraiser to build a U.S. southern border wall.
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January 13, 2025
Amid Claims Of Agency Bias, DEA Judge Nixes Pot Hearings
A Drug Enforcement Administration tribunal on Monday canceled planned hearings on the merits of a proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana so that pro-rescheduling parties can bring their allegations of agency bias straight to the DEA's administrator.
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January 13, 2025
FERC Defends Limited Review Of Cross-Border Gas Pipeline
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission told the D.C. Circuit it properly confined its review of a gas pipeline that crosses the Texas-Mexico border to a 1,000-foot segment known as a border facility, arguing that regulating the entire U.S. segment would exceed the agency's authority.
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January 13, 2025
Texas Justices Probe State's Bid To Shutter Refugee Nonprofit
The Texas Supreme Court appeared skeptical Monday that the state's attorney general has broad power under an anti-harboring law to shut down a religious nonprofit it claims illegally shelters unauthorized immigrants, with the justices probing how far that power extends.
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January 13, 2025
Colo. Justices Reject Co.'s Challenge To Storm Gas Bill
Colorado's highest court on Monday rejected a building materials company's challenge to charges on its electric bill related to extra natural gas purchased ahead of a 2021 winter storm, finding the company presented no facts to back its claim that the charges amounted to an unconstitutional taking.
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January 13, 2025
Rail Group Rips FRA In 8th Circ. Waiver Battle
The rail industry has told the Eighth Circuit that the Biden administration is flouting federal law by intentionally delaying decisions on waiver applications from railroads seeking to use new brake and track inspection technologies.
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January 13, 2025
Google Says Sanctions Bid In Texas Ad Tech Case Too Late
Google has urged a Texas federal court to reject a bid for sanctions in the ad tech monopolization case being brought by state enforcers over the company's prior policy for retaining internal chats, arguing that the bid comes too late.
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January 13, 2025
Judge Says California Tribe Can't Block Casino Land Decision
A California tribe can't block the Interior Department from taking 65 acres into trust for a fellow state tribe's proposed casino project, a federal district judge said, arguing that it has not satisfied the burden to prove an immediate threat of irreparable harm.
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January 13, 2025
Newsom Waives Permits, Enviro Rules To Rebuild LA Faster
California Gov. Gavin Newsom in an executive order Sunday suspended state environmental rules and permitting in coastal areas, a move intended to help rebuild from wildfires causing extensive destruction in Los Angeles.
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January 13, 2025
Dissuading A Witness Is Grounds For Removal, 9th Circ. Says
Immigration courts correctly ruled that an El Salvador citizen's conviction for dissuading a witness by force or threat in California qualified as an aggravated felony and grounds for removal, a Ninth Circuit panel said Monday.
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January 13, 2025
GPS Backup Would Serve Larger 'Ecosystem,' FCC Told
A public safety tech company is throwing its weight behind a plan to license a chunk of the lower 900 megahertz band to launch a network that would back up the Global Positioning System, calling on the Federal Communications Commission to "advance this critical initiative."
Expert Analysis
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How Trump 2.0 May Change Business In Latin America
Companies in Latin America should expect to face more trade restrictions, tighter economic sanctions and enhanced corruption risks, as the incoming administration shifts focus to certain non-U.S. actors, most notably China, says Matteson Ellis at Miller & Chevalier.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection
Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Opinion
Section 230 Debates Will Continue, With Or Without TikTok
Regardless of whether TikTok is forced to shut down in the U.S. in the coming weeks, legal disputes will continue over social media platforms' responsibility under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act for harms allegedly caused by content shared on their apps, says Carla Varriale-Barker at Segal McCambridge.
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Impact Of Successful Challenges To SEC's Rulemaking Ability
In 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission faced significant legal challenges to its aggressive rulemaking agenda as several of its rules were vacated by the Fifth Circuit, which could hinder the SEC's ability to enact rules extending beyond express statutory authority in the future, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Takeaways From DOJ, FTC End To Collaboration Guidelines
The Federal Trade Commission's and U.S. Department of Justice's recent decision to withdraw the guidelines for collaborations among competitors may reflect a desire for clearer parameters by emphasizing case law on specific ventures, but it also carries the potential to chill some future collaboration, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.
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5 Transition Tools Trump Could Use To Implement His Agenda
President-elect Donald Trump will have several tools available to him to halt or otherwise claw back federal regulations promulgated during the Biden administration, including reconciliation, executive orders and memoranda, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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5 Privacy Law Trends That Will Continue In 2025
While preparing privacy programs for the year, companies should keep in mind several developments from 2024 that will carry over — namely, in the realm of artificial intelligence, passive data collection, combining data from multiple sources, privacy program expectations and managing vendors, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Justices Seem Focused On NEPA's Limits In Utah Rail Case
After last month's oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, the court appears poised to forcefully reiterate that the National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to review only those environmental impacts within their control, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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A Look At PCAOB's Record-Breaking Enforcement In 2024
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in 2024 brought more enforcement actions against auditors and imposed increasingly higher monetary penalties, showing that it was not afraid to exercise its power to fine and reprimand firms, a trend that will likely continue in 2025, say attorneys at Briglia Hundley.
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Complying With Seasonal Product Labeling Requirements
Though the holiday season is in the rearview, many seasonal alcohol products remain in the market, and producers should ensure that their labels comply with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's additional requirements for such products, say attorneys at McDermott.
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The OIG Report: Preparing For Oversight In 2025
Across sectors, Office of Inspector General work plans and challenge reports for 2025 provide a trove of information on the issues and industries that will likely be the focus of government oversight in the year to come, says Diana Shaw at Wiley.
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What To Expect In Higher Ed Enforcement Under Trump
Colleges and universities should prepare for shifting priorities, as President-elect Donald Trump is likely to focus less on antitrust cases and more on foreign relations policy, while congressional oversight of higher education continues to increase, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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Series
Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.
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5 Drug And Device Developments That Shaped 2024
The last year saw significant legal developments affecting drug and device manufacturers, with landmark decisions and regulatory changes that require vigilance and agility from the industry, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
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Takeaways From SEC's Mixed Results In '24 Crypto Litigation
Though the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new leadership seems likely to create a more favorable cryptocurrency regulatory environment, it must also confront the consequences of, and lingering questions raised by, the SEC's 2024 policy of investigating and charging cryptocurrency trading platforms for operating unregistered exchanges, say attorneys at Dechert.