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Massachusetts
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July 03, 2024
24 AGs Urge High Court To Preserve Ghost Gun Regs
A coalition of 24 attorneys general urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a new federal regulation regarding the weapon parts kits consumers can purchase and use to build ghost guns — firearms without serial numbers — treating them the same way preassembled firearms are, saying the new rule is "crucial to preventing and solving violent, firearm-related offenses."
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July 03, 2024
5 Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch For In July
Republican state attorneys general will try to convince the Fifth Circuit to knock down a U.S. Department of Labor rule covering how retirement plan managers can consider environmental and social factors when picking investments, while Kellogg workers will challenge class action waivers at the Sixth Circuit. Here are five argument sessions coming up this month that benefits attorneys should keep an eye on.
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July 03, 2024
Appliance Co. Must Face Stove Pollutant Risk Claims
Sub-Zero Group Inc., a maker of luxury kitchen appliances, can't get out of a proposed class action accusing it of selling gas stoves that emit pollutants, a Wisconsin federal judge has ruled, saying federal energy efficiency laws do not "at this point" invalidate the state law claims.
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July 03, 2024
Cannabis Cos. To Take Constitutional Challenge To 1st Circ.
A group of cannabis businesses challenging the federal prohibition on marijuana gave notice of appeal Wednesday to the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
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July 03, 2024
Developer Owes $10M For Boston Project Delays, Suit Says
Massachusetts contractor Suffolk Construction Co. Inc. claims the developer of a significant mixed-use residential and commercial block in Boston's South End still owes it more than $10 million, saying delays due to the coronavirus pandemic and a change in the type of cabinetry in the apartments contributed to higher costs.
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July 03, 2024
4 Mass. Rulings You Might Have Missed In June
Massachusetts state courts last month dealt with thorny contract disputes, mistakenly disclosed emails between a defendant and an attorney, and a company's overtime policy change that may not have been spelled out to workers.
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July 03, 2024
Mass. Court Partially Revives Trooper's Bias Suit
An intermediate-level appellate panel in Massachusetts on Wednesday partially revived a suit brought by a state trooper who claimed she faced retaliation and was treated differently after breaking up with a colleague.
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July 03, 2024
1st Circ. Hands Hearing Loss Biotech Win In Stock-Drop Suit
A panel of the First Circuit declined to revive an investor class action alleging that a hearing loss treatment company and some of its executives concealed disappointing clinical trial results, saying there was no evidence the company had knowingly made false statements about the trial.
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July 03, 2024
Cerevel Investors Allege Insider Trades Pre-$8.7B AbbVie Deal
A pension fund shareholder of Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings Inc. has sued the biopharmaceutical company in Delaware's Court of Chancery, seeking documents to investigate potential fiduciary duty breaches and possible insider trading shortly before the company announced its pending $8.7 billion merger with AbbVie Inc.
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July 03, 2024
4 Firms Guide $183M Nano Dimension, Desktop Metal Deal
Israeli 3D printing company Nano Dimension Ltd. said Wednesday it has inked a deal to buy Massachusetts-based Desktop Metal Inc. for $183 million, a surprise twist that comes after both companies had vied last year to combine with a third rival in transactions that would have been worth upwards of $1.8 billion.
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July 02, 2024
Data Breach Suits Drive Consumer Protection Docket Growth
Federal consumer protection lawsuits are back on the rise after nearly a decade of steady decline, with disputes over increasingly prevalent data breaches fueling the uptick, according to a Wednesday report by Lex Machina.
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July 02, 2024
DraftKings Must Face Securities Suit Over NFTs
A Massachusetts federal judge won't toss a proposed class action claiming that DraftKings Inc. sold unregistered non-fungible tokens on its marketplace, ruling that the suit plausibly alleges that the company falsely advertised that its NFTs would appreciate in value.
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July 02, 2024
Gig Drivers' Union Rights Make It To Mass. Ballot
Massachusetts voters will decide in November whether to give app-based drivers the right to unionize after supporters of a proposed ballot initiative submitted a batch of signatures to the state Tuesday, the Service Employees International Union announced.
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July 02, 2024
Gov't Urged To Gauge TransDigm Deals' Effect On Defense Biz
Three Democratic lawmakers are pressing the U.S. Department of Defense and antitrust enforcers to review an aerospace company's recent acquisition of two other companies, citing antitrust and price gouging concerns.
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July 02, 2024
Pharma Co. Scores Exit In Investor Suit Over Primate Imports
A Massachusetts federal judge tossed every claim in a proposed class action claiming that pharmaceutical company Charles River Laboratories and its executives concealed their involvement in the illegal importation of nonhuman primates for research, ruling that the disputed statements are not false or misleading.
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July 02, 2024
Mass. Panel Won't Cut Tax Value Over Denied Building Permits
The owner of commercial property in Massachusetts failed to show that local denials of building permits impacted the tax value of the property, a state panel said in a decision released Tuesday, rejecting the owner's appeal of a local assessment.
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July 02, 2024
Cannabis Equity Licensee Says Rapper Burned Him In Deal
The holder of a Massachusetts social equity cannabis license says several entities affiliated with a marijuana brand created by hip hop artist Berner are trying to stiff him out of $2 million they agreed to pay for a stake in his Worcester dispensary, while still trying to assert control over it.
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July 01, 2024
What To Know: The High Court's Ruling On Social Media Regs
Rather than settling a circuit split over state laws curbing content moderation on the largest social media platforms, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday remanded the cases — a decision many attorneys and First Amendment experts are viewing as a win for free speech online.
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July 01, 2024
Court Tosses Constitutional Challenge To Pot Prohibition
A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday granted the U.S. Department of Justice's bid to dismiss a constitutional challenge to federal marijuana prohibition, delivering a blow to an effort brought by a group of cannabis companies represented by litigator David Boies.
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July 01, 2024
EPA Inks Deal To Take Action On States' Haze Plans
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to take action on plan revisions submitted by more than 30 states aimed at curbing haze-forming air pollution, resolving environmental groups' claims the agency has unlawfully delayed approving or denying the various plan revisions.
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July 01, 2024
Pegasystems Investors Sue After $2B Trade Secrets Verdict
A pair of Pegasystems Inc. stockholders are seeking to hold its CEO and other officers liable for lost value following a $2 billion judgment against the company in a trade secrets case, according to a shareholder derivative complaint filed in Massachusetts state court.
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July 01, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Two multimillion-dollar settlement approvals, a $25 million fee-shifting demand, and a biotech merger spoiled by murder: This was just the beginning of the drama last week in the nation's preeminent court of equity. Shareholders in satellite companies filed new cases, a cannabis company headed toward trial, and there were new developments in old disputes involving Tesla and Truth Social.
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July 01, 2024
GM Says No Warranty Breach Over Alleged Parking Defect
General Motors LLC has asked a Michigan federal judge to toss a proposed class action alleging it sold vehicles that can't detect when they're in park, forcing drivers to resort to "gimmicks" to shut them off, saying drivers haven't shown the alleged defect is dangerous or that GM knew about it when it sold the vehicles.
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July 01, 2024
AbbVie Hit With Age, Gender Bias Suit By Former Salesman
AbbVie Inc. fired a regional sales director as a pretext to avoid paying him for stock options and because of retaliatory complaints by two women who had received poor performance reviews, according to a suit filed in Massachusetts state court.
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July 01, 2024
Feds Say Ex-Magellan Officer's Atty May Have Conflict
A Donnelly Conroy & Gelhaar LLP attorney's prior representation of co-defendants in a pending fraud case against former executives of medical device company Magellan Diagnostics may have created a disqualifying conflict of interest, lawyers for the government told a Massachusetts federal judge.
Expert Analysis
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape
The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.
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Series
Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.
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Expect CFPB Flex Over Large Nonbank Payment Cos.
A recent enforcement action and a new rule proposal from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau indicate a growing focus on the nonbank payment ecosystem, especially larger participants, in 2024, say Felix Shipkevich and Jessica Livingston at Shipkevich.
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Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct
The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.
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Rockport Ch. 11 Highlights Global Settlement Considerations
A Delaware bankruptcy court’s recent rejection of Rockport’s proposed settlement serves as a reminder that there is a risk that a global settlement executed outside of a plan may be rejected as a sub rosa plan, but shouldn’t dissuade parties from seeking relief when applicable case law supports approval, says Kyle Arendsen at Squire Patton.
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Opinion
Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.
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'Manufacturing' Amid Mass. Adoption Of Single-Sales Factor
Massachusetts’ recent adoption of single-sales-factor apportionment will benefit companies that have a greater in-state physical presence, reinforce the importance of understanding market-sourcing rules, and reduce the manufacturing classification's importance to tax apportionment, though the classification continues to be significant to other aspects of taxation, say attorneys at McDermott.
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1st Circ. Ruling Helps Clarify Test For FLSA Admin Exemption
The First Circuit’s recent decision in Marcus v. American Contract Bridge League will help employers navigate the Fair Labor Standards Act's "general business operations" exemption and make the crucial and often confusing decision of whether white collar employees are overtime-exempt administrators or nonexempt frontline producers of products and services, says Mark Tabakman at Fox Rothschild.
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How Cannabis Cos. Are Adapting In Shifting Bankruptcy Arena
Recent bankruptcy cases show that federal courts have begun to demonstrate more openness to downstream businesses in the cannabis industry, and that even though receivership can be a viable option for those denied access to the bankruptcy system, it is not without its own risks and complexities, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Series
Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.
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What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance
Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories
The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.
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A Look At Mass. Sports Betting Data Privacy Regulations
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission recently approved data privacy regulations under the state's sports wagering act to promote responsible gaming, showing a trend of regulators directing companies on how to protect personal information used by artificial intelligence systems, say Liisa Thomas and Kathryn Smith at Sheppard Mullin.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Tracking MDL Geography
In recent years, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has predominantly selected states east of the Mississippi River as venues for new MDLs — but with half of the proceedings it has created in recent months venued in Arizona and California, the panel is not neglecting the western part of the country, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.