Alerts

With city after city setting 100 percent clean energy goals and states following in lockstep, opportunities are growing for renewable energy companies to develop utility-scale projects.

Colleges and universities should take steps now to implement a plan in response to the investigation dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues,” in which federal prosecutors charged at least 50 people in an elaborate scheme to gain admission for their children at elite universities.

Earlier this month, the New York Department of Motor Vehicles Appeals Board affirmed a win for Wide World Maserati in a precedent-setting 23-page opinion that will reshape the dealer law landscape for years to come.

We have written extensively on this blog about personal jurisdiction and how the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California changed the rules regarding specific jurisdiction.

The governor of Utah recently signed legislation requiring state and local law enforcement agencies to secure a search warrant from a judge before obtaining anyone’s electronic data.

This case shows the risks of imitating a market leader’s packaging, even if it appears to be common place, without market research and careful consideration.

There’s no debate that online shopping offers time saving and convenience, which has diminished the need for physical stores.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced charges in a billion-dollar health care fraud scheme involving telemedicine and the provision of allegedly unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) to Medicare beneficiaries. 

On April 8, 2019, the USTR announced that it is initiating an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to enforce the rights of the United States in the WTO dispute involving subsidies provided to the large civil aircraft industry by the European Union.

On April 15, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States will hold oral arguments on Iancu v. Brunetti. The case will decide if the “immoral” and “scandalous” clauses of Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act violate the free speech clause of the First Amendment. Section 2(a) currently permits the USPTO to

As of April 10, 2019, businesses victimized by data breaches must comply with heightened requirements under the newly-amended Massachusetts data breach notification law, Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 93H, §§ 1, et seq. 

In separate decisions, a federal district court in Alaska recently struck down two Trump Administration efforts to roll back President Obama’s environmental initiatives.

The US Federal Trade Commission announced recently that it will hold a public workshop on August 7, 2019, to examine consumer protection issues related to video game “loot boxes.”

A recently dismissed class action is a good reminder to companies that any changes to return, exchange, or warranty policies cannot be retroactively applied to purchases made before the policy changes are implemented.

An arbitration brought by Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) against Petróleos Paraguayos (Petropar), filed in July 2016 before the Paris-based International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), has been temporarily suspended.

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave recently released an implementation timeline for the new paid family and medical leave program, revised draft regulations, and a series of “toolkits” to assist employers and workers with their preparations for the new benefit.

Under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the President has the authority to impose tariffs on imports to counter trade practices that the US Trade Representative finds either to violate or conflict with a trade agreement or to burden or restrict US commerce unjustifiably.

On April 3, 2019 the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued its first no-action letter stating that it would not recommend enforcement action if an issuer publicly issued tokens without registration under the Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act.  

Companies have been hearing about a potential shut down of the US-Mexican border and we have compiled the latest information available.

Brexit woes in 2018 did not deter parties from referring disputes to the LCIA. The LCIA released its Annual Casework Report, revealing a growing preference for use of the institution’s Rules, increased recourse to expedited procedures, and parties hailing to the LCIA from diverse regions.

It’s not uncommon for an employee to perform work for an employer — A — that simultaneously benefits another person — B. 

When California enacted SB 327 last year, it became the first state to regulate Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which refer to physical devices that are connected to the internet.

The Action Plan is intended to clarify the agency’s science- and-risk-based approach to regulating such products with the stated goals of fostering innovation, enhancing public communication and outreach, and increasing coordination between FDA and its federal and international counterparts.

On March 20, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to modernize and simplify Regulation S-K’s disclosure requirements and related rules and forms, as required by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.