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Public Policy
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June 20, 2024
Colo. Prosecutor Says Ex-DA Undermined Her Leadership
An elected Colorado prosecutor facing disciplinary charges regarding her handling of a high-profile murder case pushed back on charges she was a negligent manager, telling a disciplinary panel Thursday she inherited a backlog of cases from a predecessor she said tried to undermine her office.
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June 20, 2024
Menendez Jury Sees Slides Lowell Presented To SDNY Brass
Sen. Robert Menendez's lawyers grilled a witness in his bribery trial Thursday about a meeting in which Abbe Lowell, the politician's ex-lawyer, tried to convince U.S. Attorney Damian Williams not to indict Menendez — but were stymied by flurries of objections.
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June 20, 2024
Ex-DEA Heads Echo GOP AGs' Call For Pot Rescheduling Hearing
A group of former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration leaders and Republican attorneys general have formally requested administrative hearings on the U.S. attorney general's proposal to reschedule cannabis, according to separate letters sent this week that distinctly echo each other.
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June 20, 2024
Patent Owners, Challengers Spar Over PTAB Rule Proposal
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's scaled-back package of Patent Trial and Appeal Board rules has drawn a mixed reaction from legal and industry groups, which offered praise and concern about both the proposal and the topics it does not address.
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June 20, 2024
5th Circ. Starts Clock For Redo Bid In CFPB Payday Rule Case
The Fifth Circuit said Wednesday that payday lender trade groups will have an opportunity to ask for another shot at litigating the validity of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's payday lending rule after their constitutional challenge fell flat at the U.S. Supreme Court.
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June 20, 2024
Trump Calls For Engoron's Recusal In Civil Fraud Case
Former President Donald Trump and other defendants fighting a $465 million civil fraud judgment called on New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to recuse himself Thursday in light of a once-suspended real estate attorney's recent judicial misconduct claims, which have since sparked a judicial investigation.
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June 20, 2024
FDIC Expands Requirements For Big-Bank Resolution Plans
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Thursday adopted expanded resolution-planning requirements for large banks and approved a measure intended to cut down on delays in the agency's handling of bank merger applications.
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June 20, 2024
Colo.'s Opt-Out Interest Rate Law Halted In Trade Group Suit
A Colorado federal judge has temporarily barred the state from imposing more restrictive interest rate caps on consumer loans made by banks located outside of Colorado, siding with a coalition of lending groups seeking to invalidate a 2023 law aimed at reining in high-cost online loans.
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June 20, 2024
Wash. Justices Renew AG's Suit Over Police Eviction Claims
Washington's highest court said the state attorney general could sue a city for allegedly letting police illegally evict vulnerable residents under the guise of a crime prevention program, ruling Thursday the case involved issues of public concern such as protecting residents' civil rights and preventing police misconduct.
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June 20, 2024
7th Circ. Won't Dig Excavator Out Of Kickback Conviction
The Seventh Circuit ruled a former Illinois excavation company employee who was sentenced to five years in prison for paying a former commissioner kickbacks in exchange for inflated invoice payments was not prejudiced by the government's belated disclosure of notes from a cooperating witness.
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June 20, 2024
Web-Tracking Guidance Exceeded HHS' Authority, Judge Says
A Texas federal judge ordered the Biden administration Thursday to rescind its new guidance restricting hospitals' use of online tracking technology, declaring that federal officials had overstepped their authority by redefining what they consider protected health information.
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June 20, 2024
Judge Flags Iowa's Blocked Immigration Law In Texas Battle
The Texas federal judge overseeing the Biden administration's challenge to a state law authorizing the deportation of noncitizens urged the parties to inform the Fifth Circuit of an order blocking Iowa's similar law, anticipating an Eighth Circuit review of Iowa's defeat.
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June 20, 2024
GM's Cruise To Pay Calif. $112K Fine Over Robotaxi Crash
Cruise LLC agreed to pay a $112,500 penalty for mishandling its response to an October accident involving a pedestrian and one of its autonomous vehicles, and promised to disclose additional data on any collisions to California regulators under a settlement agreement approved Thursday.
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June 20, 2024
Justices' Caution May Hold Key To New Sports Betting Efforts
States overseeing feuds regarding the particulars of online sports betting may have been given a blueprint for peace after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a testy dispute over the Seminole Tribe's sports gambling compact in Florida.
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June 20, 2024
Sunset Review Redo Counter To Basic Principles, Says Judge
A U.S. Court of International Trade judge on Thursday rebuffed a Turkish steel producer's call to reverse a sunset review that maintained its anti-dumping duties, a move he said would fray the procedural web that gives sense to trade remedies.
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June 20, 2024
Caltrans Tells FCC It's Against FirstNet Control Of 4.9 GHz
California's Department of Transportation is adding its name to the list of public service entities lining up to tell the Federal Communications Commission that making AT&T's FirstNet the national manager of the 4.9 gigahertz safety band is a bad idea.
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June 20, 2024
FCC Slams Bid In 6th Circ. To Put Net Neutrality On Hold
The Federal Communications Commission told the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday it should pay no heed to a collection of net neutrality challengers arguing that "dire consequences" will ensue if the appellate court doesn't stop the agency from reinstating open internet regulations while the two sides argue the matter out in court.
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June 20, 2024
Calif. High Court Strikes Anti-Tax Measure From Nov. Ballot
A ballot measure that would make it more difficult to raise taxes in California would revise the state constitution and cannot be enacted by citizen initiative, the state's highest court held Thursday in an opinion that ordered the measure struck from the ballot.
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June 20, 2024
Catholic Diocese Can't Duck Sex Abuse Suit, NC Justices Told
A Catholic diocese and a missionary organization can't escape child sex abuse claims by asserting a distinction between the perpetrators and enablers of such abuse under state law, a man suing over abuse he allegedly experienced as a teen has told North Carolina's top court.
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June 20, 2024
Cannabis-Infused Drink Cos. Sue Iowa Over New Potency Law
Makers of canned drinks infused with hemp-derived THC are urging a federal judge to block an impending state statute that aims to regulate the Iowa cannabinoid market, saying it would swiftly outlaw "approximately 80%" of their current inventory.
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June 20, 2024
Competition Raids Don't Need Warrant For Emails, ECJ Told
European Union law doesn't bar member states from permitting competition authorities to search emails without a warrant amid a so-called dawn raid, according to an advisory opinion submitted to the bloc's top appeals court Thursday.
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June 20, 2024
Crypto Co. Says SEC Won't Bring Case Over Ethereum
Ethereum-focused software firm Consensys won't face an action over its dealings with the cryptocurrency ether, according to a notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but its preemptive lawsuit against the regulator is set to continue as the agency doesn't appear to have dropped concerns over Consensys products that deal in other assets.
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June 20, 2024
Fla. Panel Rules Riot Law Doesn't Apply To Peaceful Protest
Florida's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a state riot law passed by the Legislature in response to the George Floyd demonstrations doesn't apply to nonviolent protests.
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June 20, 2024
FCC Allows Top-4 Exception So Gray Can Sell Station
The Federal Communications Commission has granted an exception to its rule prohibiting ownership of stations carrying more than one top-four network in a local market, allowing Gray Television to sell a Cheyenne, Wyoming, station as part of a larger deal.
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June 20, 2024
No Atty, No Case: Judge Tosses Attack On Psychedelics Ban
A federal judge in Washington state threw out a challenge to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's efforts to ban two psychedelic substances in an order Thursday that chided a psychedelic research company for doing "an end run" around requirements that corporations be represented by an attorney.
Expert Analysis
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8 Fla. Statutes That Construction Cos. Should Prepare For
In this article, Jason Lambert at Hill Ward discusses a number of recent bills out of the Florida Legislature targeting construction companies in the Sunshine State that have been sent to the governor for signature, at least some of which will have broad impacts that affected companies should prepare for ahead of the July 1 effective date.
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Game-Changing Decisions Call For New Rules At The NCAA
From a newly formed college players union to coaches transferring at the drop of a hat, the National College Athletic Association needs an overhaul, including federal supervision, says Frank Darras at DarrasLaw.
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End Of Acquitted Conduct Sentencing Can Spark More Reform
The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s recent end to factoring acquitted conduct into federal sentences could signal the start of a more constitutionally sound advisory scheme, but Congress and the Supreme Court must first authorize the commission to resolve two constitutional errors baked into its guidelines, say Mark Allenbaugh at SentencingStats.com and Alan Ellis at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
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Manufacturers Should Pay Attention To 'Right-To-Repair' Laws
Oregon’s recently passed "right-to-repair" statute highlights that the R2R movement is not going away, and that manufacturers of all kinds need to be paying attention to the evolving list of R2R statutes in various states and consider participating in the process, says Courtney Sarnow at Culhane.
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Opinion
Viral Deepfakes Of Taylor Swift Highlight Need For Regulation
As the nation grapples with addressing risk from artificial intelligence use, the recent circulation of AI-generated pornographic images of Taylor Swift on the social platform X highlights the need for federal legislation to protect nonconsenting subjects of deepfake pornography, say Nicole Brenner and Susie Ruiz-Lichter at Squire Patton.
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Opinion
Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System
A New York appellate court's decision to revive Tax Equity Now New York v. City of New York may force the city to revamp its outdated and unfair real estate tax assessment system, which could be fixed with a couple of simple changes, says Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.
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New Federal Bill Would Drastically Alter Privacy Landscape
While the recently introduced American Privacy Rights Act would eliminate the burdensome patchwork of state regulations, the proposed federal privacy law would also significantly expand compliance obligations and liability exposure for companies, especially those that rely on artificial intelligence or biometric technologies, says David Oberly at Baker Donelson.
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How Cos. Can Comply With New PFAS Superfund Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rule designating two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as "hazardous substances" under the Superfund law will likely trigger additional enforcement and litigation at sites across the country — so companies should evaluate any associated reporting obligations and liability risks, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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How EB-5 Regional Centers Can Prepare For USCIS Audits
In response to the recently announced U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidelines that require EB-5 regional center audits every five years to verify their compliance with immigration and securities laws, regional centers should take steps to facilitate a seamless audit process, say Jennifer Hermansky and Miriam Thompson at Greenberg Traurig.
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Social Media Free Speech Issues Are Trending At High Court
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision examining what constitutes state action on social media can be viewed in conjunction with oral arguments in two other cases to indicate that the court sees a need for more clarity regarding how social media usage implicates the First Amendment, say attorneys at Kean Miller.
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Opinion
CFPB Could, And Should, Revise Open Banking Rulemaking
In light of continued global developments in open banking, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should evaluate whether it actually should use its proposed rule on Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act to amplify personal financial data rights in the U.S., says Brian Fritzsche at the Consumer Bankers Association.
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How Cos. Can Protect IP In Light Of FTC Noncompete Rule
While several groups are challenging the Federal Trade Commission’s recently approved rule banning noncompetition agreements, employers should begin planning other ways to protect their valuable trade secrets, confidential information and other intellectual property, says Thomas Duston at Marshall Gerstein.
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Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty
Taxpayers considering protective refund claims pending resolution of major questions in tax cases like Moore v. U.S., which is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, should understand how doing so may also leave them vulnerable to an excessive refund claim penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6676, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Why RWI Insurers Should Consider Excluding PFAS
As regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances escalates, carriers providing representations and warranties insurance should reconsider providing PFAS coverage on a case-by-case basis, say Dave Bartoletti and Ina Avalon at Taft Stettinius.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.