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Compliance
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July 30, 2024
DC Circ. Must Block EPA Mercury Rule, Challengers Say
Challengers of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rule tightening mercury and other toxic metal emission standards for some coal-fired power plants are hitting back against arguments by the agency and its supporters that their requested stay of the rule isn't warranted.
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July 30, 2024
High Court Ruling Dooms EPA Smog Plan, DC Circ. Told
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to halt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to reduce smog-forming emissions across several states is reason enough for the D.C. Circuit to invalidate the rule, several states, industry groups and energy companies argued.
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July 30, 2024
10th Circ. Shields Feds From Fire Mismanagement Suit
The U.S. Forest Service doesn't have to face allegations it mismanaged the response to two Utah wildfires in 2018, the Tenth Circuit said Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Exxon Loses Bid For Avangrid Docs In Mass. Climate Suit
ExxonMobil will not gain access to potentially millions of documents from wind energy company Avangrid as part of the Massachusetts attorney general's long-running climate change suit, after a state court judge found it "inconceivable" that the sought-after material could be relevant to the case.
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July 30, 2024
Low-Power TV Stations Seek More Latitude From FCC
Low-power television stations believe it's time for the Federal Communications Commission to allow them to start operating at higher levels of power as long as they remain in their service contours.
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July 30, 2024
Calif. Broker-Dealer To Pay FINRA $1.5M For Excessive Trades
Broker-dealer Western International Securities Inc. has agreed to pay more than $1.5 million to settle allegations from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that the firm failed to properly monitor potentially excessive trading in about 100 accounts, and it was hit with a separate cease-and-desist order from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday over Regulation Best Interest violations.
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July 30, 2024
Feds, SEC Say Creator Of Crypto Co. BitClout Misled Investors
Federal prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced parallel actions Tuesday against the founder of crypto project BitClout for allegedly duping investors and spending millions of proceeds for his own benefit.
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July 30, 2024
DC Circ. Wants Chevron Ruling Addressed In GHG Case
The D.C. Circuit asked challengers of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's tighter greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles to discuss how the litigation is affected by recent court decisions, including the U.S. Supreme Court's blockbuster ruling that undid what is known as Chevron deference.
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July 30, 2024
SF Fed Tells 9th Circ. Banks Not Entitled To Master Accounts
The San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank told the Ninth Circuit that it was not obligated to give a master account to an Idaho trade finance fintech, arguing federal law does not make these payment system gateways available to everyone regardless of risk.
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July 30, 2024
SEC Asks To Amend Token Claims In Binance Complaint
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a D.C. federal court that it plans on amending its claims concerning third-party tokens that traded on crypto exchange Binance's platform, according to a Tuesday status update in the enforcement suit.
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July 30, 2024
AI Dominance In Startup Funding Has Small Biz Concerned
Except for funding for artificial-intelligence startups, early-stage companies are struggling to raise capital amid higher interest rates and lean markets for initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions, members of a small business-focused panel advising the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Psychedelics And The Law: A Midyear Review
A groundbreaking effort to secure federal approval for a psychedelic medication hit an unexpected snag. Religious groups asserting the right to access controlled substances had mixed success in federal court. Physicians seeking to administer psilocybin to terminally ill patients will finally have their day in court. Here are the major developments in psychedelics law from the first half of 2024.
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July 30, 2024
Former Prosecutor 'Coming Back Home' To NJ Boutique
After prosecuting federal healthcare crimes in New Jersey, a former assistant U.S. attorney has returned to boutique firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP to guide clients as part of the firm's white collar criminal and regulatory defense and investigations practice with a focus on healthcare litigation and licensing, the firm announced Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Pot Cos. Can't Push RICO Claims Against Calif. City
A California federal judge has thrown out racketeering claims by six cannabis companies that accuse the city of Cudahy of illegally assessing fees, saying that because Congress listed cultivation and sale of cannabis under the definition of racketeering, they can't recover damages.
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July 30, 2024
Vista Delays Vote On CSG Deal To Review Alternative Paths
Vista Outdoor Inc. on Tuesday delayed its shareholder vote on the sale of its sporting products division, The Kinetic Group, to Czech defense company Czechoslovak Group AS to begin a review of strategic alternatives, which includes evaluating a competing bid from Dallas-based MNC Capital Partners LP.
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July 30, 2024
Houston Energy CEO Ran $21M Stock Scheme, SEC Says
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday sued the head of a Houston energy company in Texas federal court, alleging he raised more than $21 million from over 300 investors nationwide through a fraudulent and unregistered offering of preferred stock in his fuel-blending company.
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July 30, 2024
Fla.'s Workplace DEI Training Rules Get Permanently Blocked
A Florida federal judge made permanent a ban on a state law provision that prevents employers from promoting various sex- and race-based concepts in diversity training sessions after the state said it wouldn't challenge an Eleventh Circuit ruling upholding a preliminary injunction on the measure.
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July 30, 2024
Katten Adds Mayer Brown Practice Group Co-Chair In Chicago
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP has added to its financial markets litigation and enforcement practice group an attorney who formerly co-chaired a similar practice at Mayer Brown LLP and also has previous in-house experience.
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July 30, 2024
FTC, Career Step Pitch $43.5M Deal For Alleged Bogus Claims
Career Step LLC, a for-profit online career training company, has struck a $43.5 million proposed settlement to resolve Federal Trade Commission claims it targeted servicemembers and their spouses with deceptive advertising about its programs and the successes of its students.
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July 30, 2024
Texas, Meta Reach Historic $1.4B Deal In Biometric Data Suit
The state of Texas has reached a historic $1.4 billion settlement with Meta Platforms Inc. in a lawsuit accusing the social media giant of illegally collecting Facebook users' biometric data through its now-discontinued facial recognition feature, attorneys for the state announced Tuesday.
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July 29, 2024
5th Circ. Pauses DOT's New 'Junk Fees' Rule Amid Review
The Fifth Circuit on Monday agreed to temporarily block a U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring airlines to clearly disclose add-on fees upfront while the appellate court reviews the rule, which has been challenged by major airlines and airline associations.
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July 29, 2024
Live Nation Judge Tightens In-House Counsel's Access To Docs
A New York federal judge imposed new restrictions Monday on Live Nation in-house counsel's access to documents and testimony from witnesses from its rivals in the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit, tightening a days-old two-tiered system after hearing concerns from those competitors.
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July 29, 2024
11th Circ. Affirms Ga. Prison Officer Immunity For Strip Search
An Eleventh Circuit panel said that Georgia prison officers violated a woman's constitutional rights when they subjected her to a strip search and manual body cavity search during a visit to see her incarcerated husband, but precedent blocks it from overturning a ruling holding the officers were entitled to qualified immunity.
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July 29, 2024
Virtu Pushes For SEC Crackdown On 'Penny Stock' Listings
Virtu Financial Inc. is pressing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to force Nasdaq and other exchanges to crack down on so-called penny stocks, petitioning the agency to initiate rulemaking that would stop companies struggling to stay above $1 per share from continuing to trade on the exchanges.
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July 29, 2024
Chemical Groups Say Chevron Sinks EPA Ethylene Oxide Rule
A chemical company and two chemical associations are telling the D.C. Circuit that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision undermines the federal government's risk value for ethylene oxide, which they are challenging as being too high.
Expert Analysis
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Deciphering SEC Disgorgement 4 Years After Liu
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Liu v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to preserve SEC disgorgement with limits, courts have continued to rule largely in the agency’s favor, but a recent circuit split over the National Defense Authorization Act's import may create hurdles for the SEC, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Lessons From Epic's Dutch Fine For Unfair Marketing To Kids
Dutch regulators' imposition of a €1.1 million fine on Epic Games for unfair commercial practices targeting children marks a significant moment in the ongoing scrutiny of digital market practices, and follows an increased focus on children's online safety in the U.S. and European Union, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Wiretap Use In Cartel Probes Likely To Remain An Exception
Although the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has recently signaled interest in wiretaps, the use of this technology to capture evidence of antitrust conspiracies and pursue monopolization as a criminal matter has been rare historically, and is likely to remain so, say Carsten Reichel and Will Conway at DLA Piper.
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Updates To CFTC Large Trader Report Rules Leave Questions
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's updated large trader position reporting rules for futures and options is a much-needed change that modernizes a rule that had gone largely untouched since the 1980s, but the updates leave important questions unanswered, say Katherine Cooper and Maggie DePoy at BCLP.
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Risks And Promises Of AI In The Financial Services Industry
Generative artificial intelligence has immense potential to revolutionize the financial services industry, but firms considering its use should first prepare to show their customers and the increasingly divided international regulatory community that they can manage the risks inherent to the new technology, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Counterfeits At The Olympics Pose IP Challenges
With the 2024 Olympic Games quickly approaching, the proliferation of counterfeit Olympic merchandise poses a difficult challenge to the protection of intellectual property rights and the preservation of the Olympic brand's integrity, says Kimiya Shams at Devialet.
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Series
Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer
There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.
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Key FCC Enforcement Issues In AT&T Location Data Appeal
AT&T’s decision to challenge a $57 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission for its alleged treatment of customer location information highlights interesting and fundamental issues about the constitutionality of FCC enforcement, say Patrick O’Donnell and Jason Neal at HWG.
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Calif. Budget Will Likely Have Unexpected Tax Consequences
A temporary suspension of net operating loss deductions and business incentive tax credits, likely to be approved on June 15 as part of California’s next budget, may create unanticipated tax liabilities for businesses that modeled recently completed transactions on current law, says Myra Sutanto Shen at Wilson Sonsini.
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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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Unpacking NY's Revised Hospital Cybersecurity Rule Proposal
The New York State Department of Health's recently revised hospital cybersecurity rule proposal highlights increased expectations and scrutiny around cybersecurity in the healthcare sector, while adapting to both recent industry developments and public comments, say Christine Moundas and Gideon Zvi Palte at Ropes & Gray.
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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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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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Unlocking Blockchain Opportunities Amid Legal Uncertainty
Dozens of laws and legal precedents will come into the fore as Web3, metaverse and non-fungible tokens gain momentum, so organizations need to design their programs with a broader view of potential exposures — and opportunities, say Teresa Goody Guillén and Robert Musiala at BakerHostetler and Steve McNew at FTI Consulting.