Hospitality

  • March 20, 2024

    US Chamber's Litigation Funding Concerns Spur 2 State Laws

    Amid concerns from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about third-party litigation funding, including from potentially hostile foreign entities, state legislatures in Indiana and West Virginia have recently passed bills imposing restrictions on the practice.

  • March 19, 2024

    Bettors' Appeal Over Doped Derby Horse Heard By 6th Circ.

    Bettors on the 2021 Kentucky Derby who did not bet on winner Medina Spirit can't claim negligence or damages in court, even though the horse was later disqualified for failing a drug test, an attorney for Churchill Downs told a Sixth Circuit panel on Tuesday.

  • March 19, 2024

    McDonald's Franchisee's Ch. 11 Plan Approved With Deal

    A Pittsburgh McDonald's franchisee received court approval Tuesday for its Chapter 11 plan after also getting the nod on a $4.35 million settlement with a former employee who was sexually assaulted as a minor by her manager at one of the debtor's restaurants.

  • March 19, 2024

    Staffing Co. Owner Gets 4 Years For Hiring Untaxed Labor

    The owner of a staffing company in Key West, Florida, that hired untaxed and unauthorized workers was sentenced by a Florida federal judge to four years in prison and ordered to pay $3.5 million in restitution to the U.S. government, according to court documents.

  • March 18, 2024

    Judge Trims ADA Claims From Disney Worker's Vaccine Suit

    A Florida federal judge ruled Monday that a Disney employee fired for failing to comply with COVID-19 procedures cannot bring claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act because the law does not cover potential future disabilities, like the risk of infection from not being vaccinated.

  • March 18, 2024

    Feds, Tribes, Casinos Face Off Over Trust Land Request

    The Interior Department, Detroit-area casinos and two tribes are urging the D.C. Circuit to reject the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians' bid to compel the federal government to take land into trust for a casino venture several hundred miles away from its other trust lands on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

  • March 18, 2024

    NC Judge Axes Wage Suit After Attys Flout Pretrial Deadlines

    A North Carolina judge has cast out an employment dispute between a funeral home and its former president on the eve of trial after both sides neglected deadlines, saying he'll dismiss the case in its entirety with a chance to refile and "clean the slate."

  • March 18, 2024

    Marriott Must Face Suit For Booting Kidswear Wholesalers

    Marriott International must face a suit by two clothing wholesalers who were kicked out of rooms at a Fairfield Inn just outside Boston for violating an undisclosed "non-solicitation" policy, a Massachusetts appellate court said Monday.

  • March 18, 2024

    Supreme Court Won't Review Dallas Strip Club Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case challenging a Dallas city ordinance requiring sexually oriented businesses to close during the early morning hours that was enacted in an attempt to reduce crime.

  • March 18, 2024

    Justices Won't Review McDonald's No-Poach Case

    A proposed class action targeting McDonald's past use of no-poach provisions in its franchise agreements will move ahead after the Supreme Court on Monday turned down McDonald's petition to review a Seventh Circuit ruling reviving the case.

  • March 15, 2024

    Fla. Deal Might Let Illegal Gambling 'Proliferate,' Justices Told

    A coalition of South Florida gambling opponents are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court's determination that a sports betting compact between the Sunshine State and the Seminole Tribe is lawful, arguing that their business and property interests will be negatively affected by the "unprecedented statewide gambling expansion."

  • March 15, 2024

    Dram Shop Law Clarified By Fla. Justices' Negligence Ruling

    The Florida Supreme Court's recent decision not to reinstate a nearly $31 million jury award against a bar that served alcohol to an underage person who later crashed into a pedestrian was the right call, experts said, and provided much needed clarity on the state's dram shop statute.

  • March 15, 2024

    Law School Says SF Ignoring Deal On 'Deplorable' Downtown

    A San Francisco law school has accused the city of violating a 2020 federal court settlement that required it to address "deplorable" conditions around the school's downtown campus, saying nothing bars the city from clearing homeless encampments if the occupants refuse an offer of shelter.

  • March 15, 2024

    2nd Circ. OKs Mississippi River Charter For Swiss Cruise Co.

    The Second Circuit on Friday backed a federal maritime agency's granting of a Mississippi River charter to the U.S. arm of Swiss cruise line operator Viking Cruises Ltd., finding that the decision wasn't arbitrary or capricious, but the court declined to weigh in on the legality of such arrangements in general.

  • March 15, 2024

    'Needless Circuit Split' In Tribal COVID Row, 9th Circ. Told

    An AIG unit and other insurers are urging the Ninth Circuit to rethink its decision ordering them to litigate the Suquamish Tribe's COVID-19 business interruption claims in tribal court, arguing that a three-judge appeals panel's unanimous affirmation "creates a needless circuit split on the scope of tribal-court jurisdiction."

  • March 14, 2024

    Game Developer Seeks Class Cert. In Valve Antitrust Case

    Developer Wolfire Games is asking a Seattle federal judge for class certification in its consolidated antitrust suit against online game seller Valve, saying discovery has brought abundant evidence that the platform uses its most-favored-nation clause to stifle competition and maintain monopoly power.

  • March 14, 2024

    Ga. Farm Retreat Fails to Back H-2B Bid With Growing Season

    An administrative law judge on Wednesday shot down a Georgia farm retreat's bid to temporarily hire foreign employees during the Peach State's growing period, saying in two decisions that the employer failed to show that either of the job positions were seasonal.

  • March 14, 2024

    2nd Circ. Keeps COVID Furloughs Suit Out Of Arbitration

    Three former Four Seasons hotel employees' yearslong COVID-related furloughs don't fall under their employment agreements and are therefore not arbitrable, the Second Circuit ruled, affirming a lower court's decision keeping the workers' suit in court.

  • March 13, 2024

    Ala. Hotelier Says Insurer Must Cover Fire Damage

    A Montgomery, Alabama, hotel owner said an insurer must cover a property-destroying fire under a $13 million policy, telling a New York federal court the insurer made "no attempt whatsoever" to meet its obligations despite the hotelier having met all conditions under the policy.

  • March 13, 2024

    Wash. Assessor Was Wrong To Deny COVID Relief, Hotels Say

    A business group representing Washington hotels told a state court that a county assessor erred when he refused to lower the 2020 property assessments for hotels in the area due to financial losses stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

  • March 13, 2024

    Ex-TopGolf Worker Claims Unfair Firing Over Wage Complaint

    A former food service worker for an Alabama TopGolf facility was fired after a manager cursed at and threatened to physically assault her for using profanity in complaining about earning subminimum wages, according to a suit filed in federal court.

  • March 13, 2024

    Simpson Thacher Steers Close Of $2B Travel-Focused Fund

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP-advised KSL Capital Partners LLC on Wednesday said that it clinched its latest travel and leisure-centered private equity fund after amassing roughly $2 billion in capital commitments.

  • March 12, 2024

    FTC Welcomes Choice Hotels Dropping Wyndham Hostile Buy

    The Federal Trade Commission's top antitrust staffer said Tuesday that he was "pleased" Choice Hotels International Inc. had given up on a hostile takeover of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, warning that the deal had "posed serious competition questions."

  • March 11, 2024

    Tech, Retail Industries Say No To Patent Eligibility Reforms

    A coalition of tech companies, retailers and tech activist groups lined up on Monday in opposition to the latest legislative effort to limit patent invalidation in the courts, warning that unseating legal precedents over eligibility would lead to a coming "wave of crippling litigation."

  • March 11, 2024

    Burford, Sysco Can't Swap In Price-Fixing Suits, Court Told

    A magistrate judge was right to point to the underlying facts and public policy when denying an attempt to substitute a Burford Capital affiliate for Sysco in sprawling price-fixing lawsuits against pork and beef producers, the beef producers told a Minnesota federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Why Seminole Tribe Sports Betting Ruling Is A Net Positive

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    The D.C. Circuit Court’s recent ruling that a gambling compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe is lawful even though it allows for online sports betting expands the tribe's offerings while maintaining exclusivity and is a win for individuals who wish to legally wager on sports within Florida, says Daniel McGinn at Dean Mead.

  • Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too

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    While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.

  • Equinox Bias Verdict Shows Swift Employer Response Is Key

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    A nearly $11.3 million jury verdict against Equinox in New York federal court shows just how high the stakes are for employers dealing with harassment and discrimination in the workplace, and how important consistent investigation and discipline are when responding to individual internal complaints, says Jennifer Huelskamp at Porter Wright.

  • Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions

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    As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.

  • ChatGPT Can't Predict The Future Of Antitrust And AI (Yet)

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    Though OpenAI's ChatGPT has made artificial intelligence a popular topic of conversation recently, the subject of AI and antitrust has been around for years, raising the question of what other competitive concerns might arise as the technology becomes more sophisticated and ubiquitous in our marketplace, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification

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    With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.

  • Mallory Ruling Leaves Personal Jurisdiction Deeply Unsettled

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    In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court recently rolled back key aspects of its 2017 opinion in Daimler AG v. Bauman that limited personal jurisdiction, leaving as many questions for businesses as it answers, say John Cerreta and James Rotondo at Day Pitney.

  • 5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World

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    As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.

  • Opinion

    Bar Score Is Best Hiring Metric Post-Affirmative Action

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies, law firms looking to foster diversity in hiring should view an applicant's Multistate Bar Examination score as the best metric of legal ability — over law school name or GPA, says attorney Alice Griffin.

  • How End Of Forced Arb. Is Affecting Sex Harassment Cases

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    A little over a year after the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault Act became effective, we have started seeing substantive interpretation of the EFAA, almost exclusively from the U.S. district courts in New York, and there are two key takeaways for employers, says Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • 5 Strategies For Restructuring Underperforming CRE Loans

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    With commercial real estate industry conditions expected to deteriorate further in the coming months, market participants should consider a number of strategies to help resolve challenged investments, ranging from financial restructurings to project phasing, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback

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    Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.

  • Steps To Success For Senior Associates

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.

  • How To Avoid A Zombie Office Building Apocalypse

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    With national office vacancy rates approaching 20%, policymakers, investors and developers will need to come together in order to prevent this troubling trend from sucking the life out of business districts or contaminating the broader real estate market, say Ryan Sommers and Robyn Minter Smyers at Thompson Hine.

  • Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities

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    At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.

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