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Massachusetts
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May 07, 2024
85 Lawmakers Join Chorus Opposing Space Force Transfers
A bipartisan group of 85 federal lawmakers on Tuesday joined all 50 state governors in opposing a proposal to allow Air National Guard units to be transferred to the U.S. Space Force without gubernatorial approval, arguing the measure would undermine "the integrity and longstanding mission of the National Guard."
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May 07, 2024
Fed. Circ. Seems Wary Of Broad's CRISPR Inventorship Win
Federal Circuit Judge Todd Hughes on Tuesday suggested that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board cited the correct standard when reviewing who first invented a particular use of the gene-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9, but then applied an improper standard when ruling in favor of a Massachusetts research team.
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May 07, 2024
Feds Say Student Recruiter Charged UK Schools Illicit Fees
A Massachusetts company that recruits American students to attend British universities unlawfully demanded that foreign schools participating in U.S. student aid programs pay it an incentive fee and then hide the payments from the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
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May 07, 2024
Steward Health Gets Ch. 11 Loan, Says It Plans Hospital Sales
A Texas bankruptcy judge Tuesday allowed Steward Health Care to take out $75 million in Chapter 11 financing to meet its next-day payroll after being told the hospital chain plans to sell facilities to pay down its $9 billion in debt.
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May 07, 2024
Employment Agency Owner Admits Hiding $10M In Income
The owner of a temporary employment agency pled guilty to filing false federal business tax returns to conceal more than $10 million in corporate income, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
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May 07, 2024
1st Circ. Questions SEC Walk-Back In Conn. Atty's Fraud Case
A First Circuit panel indicated Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to have it both ways by avoiding a retrial of a fraud case against a Connecticut attorney while keeping in place an earlier win.
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May 07, 2024
1st Circ. Critical Of Boston's Choice To Ice Out Satanists
A First Circuit panel on Tuesday said Boston's process of selecting faith and community leaders to offer an opening prayer at city council meetings raises constitutional concerns, suggesting it could revive a suit over the exclusion of satanists.
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May 07, 2024
WilmerHale Guides Akamai's $450M Buy Of Noname Security
Cloud company Akamai Technologies Inc., advised by WilmerHale, on Tuesday announced plans to buy Noname Security, an application programming interface security company, for $450 million.
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May 06, 2024
Biotech Co. Wants To Appeal Red Cross Antitrust Immunity
A biotech company has told a Massachusetts federal court that giving the American Red Cross immunity from claims that it smothered competition in the platelet bacteria mitigation market is unprecedented and leaves the organization free to fix prices or buy up its competitors.
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May 06, 2024
Mass General Eyes Retirement Plan Fee Suit Settlement
The Mass General healthcare system in Boston and a proposed class of its workers are in the process of negotiating an agreement to resolve the employees' claims that they were charged excessive administrative fees for their retirement plan, the parties told a Massachusetts federal court.
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May 06, 2024
Mass. Justices Wary Of Spiking Uber, Lyft Ballot Questions
Justices on Massachusetts' highest court appeared unlikely Monday to strike down ballot proposals to reinvent app-based drivers' relationships with Uber, Lyft and the like, commenting that the scattershot ideas for voters in March all carry the underlying theme of creating a carveout from the state's worker-friendly employee classification law.
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May 06, 2024
Ritz-Carlton Defeats Post-Hurricane Layoff Claims At 1st Circ.
The First Circuit has said a Puerto Rico federal judge was right to rule in favor of a Ritz-Carlton hotel in a suit by a proposed class of employees who claimed they were wrongfully laid off after the island was decimated by back-to-back hurricanes in 2017.
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May 06, 2024
Mintz Adds Proskauer Life Sciences IP Litigation Team
Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC has brought on a life sciences patent litigation team of roughly a dozen attorneys from Proskauer Rose LLP in Los Angeles, Boston and New York led by the former chair of Proskauer's life sciences patent practice, the firm announced Monday.
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May 06, 2024
Battery Startup Ambri Hits Ch. 11 With Lender Sale Plans
Massachusetts battery developer Ambri Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware with over $50 million in liabilities and a credit bid stalking horse offer from a group of secured noteholders after fundraising efforts last year fell short.
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May 06, 2024
Hospital Chain Steward Health Hits Ch. 11 With Over $1B Debt
Embattled hospital operator Steward Health Care filed for Chapter 11 protection Monday in a Texas bankruptcy court with more than $1 billion in debt, blaming rising costs and falling government reimbursement rates.
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May 03, 2024
How Big IP Judgment Winners Are Insuring 'Nuclear Verdicts'
Until a few years ago, intellectual property plaintiffs who scored large monetary awards — often referred to as "nuclear verdicts" — had to wait out a lengthy appellate process before knowing how much money they would end up with. But a relatively new type of insurance policy is allowing plaintiffs to insure part of their judgment in case it gets reduced or wiped out on appeal.
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May 03, 2024
Mass. Quarry Resolves AG's River Pollution Claims
A lime quarry in western Massachusetts on Friday struck a $299,000 settlement with the state attorney general over wastewater discharges that allegedly turned the Hoosic River an eerie, cloudy white from bank to bank for 13 miles.
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May 03, 2024
Off The Bench: DraftKings, FIFA Warning, Charity Turmoil
In this week's Off The Bench, DraftKings blocks a former executive from working at an emerging rival in the U.S., FIFA's transfer rules get flagged as a potential antitrust breach and the nonprofit marshaling donations to NFL safety Damar Hamlin sues its former counsel over media leaks.
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May 03, 2024
Graham Blasts Mass. Judge Nom For 'Radical' Policing Letter
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, blasted a Massachusetts judicial nominee on Friday for failing to disclose prior to his nomination hearing that his name appears on the letterhead of a 2020 public statement issued in the wake of protests following the murder of George Floyd by police.
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May 03, 2024
Ex-Defender Can't Make Feds Release Harassment Reports
A North Carolina federal court rejected a former assistant federal defender's bid to have the federal government release certain #MeToo evidence following a trial over her claims of a botched sexual harassment probe, saying she was "woefully late" in deciding to challenge its confidentiality status.
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May 02, 2024
Patent Board Rulings Send $3.3M Judgment Up In Flames
The Federal Circuit on Thursday affirmed Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions invalidating three networking patents that NetScout had been found to infringe, and then held that the holding wipes out a $3.3 million judgment against the company, because it was not yet final.
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May 02, 2024
House Seeks FTC Info On Scuttled Amazon-IRobot Deal
The Republican-controlled House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is launching an investigation into the Federal Trade Commission's purported efforts to block Amazon's purchase of iRobot, according to a Wednesday letter from Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.
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May 02, 2024
Immigrant Bond Co. Buyer Wants In On $811M Fine Appeal
Libre Immigration Services has moved to intervene at the Fourth Circuit to fight an $811 million judgment against companies it recently acquired that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued over abusive immigrant bonding practices.
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May 02, 2024
Mass. Property Is Agricultural, Appellate Board Says
A 14-acre property should be classified as agricultural, as the owner proved the land's main use was farming, the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board said in a ruling released Thursday.
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May 02, 2024
Recent BigLaw Moves Show Boston Is 'Clearly On The Map'
Three BigLaw firms' recent moves to build out physical footprints in Boston are a testament to the region's thriving technology, healthcare, life sciences and finance industries — a trend that shows no signs of slowing down, experts say.
Expert Analysis
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FTC's 'Made in USA' Enforcement Goes Beyond Labeling Rule
The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement action against a group of businesses for falsely claiming that clothing was made domestically demonstrates that even where the agency's "Made in USA" labeling rule is not violated, other kinds of improper claims about products' origins can get companies in trouble, say Wrede Smith and Kali Yallourakis at McGuireWoods.
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Opinion
3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point
The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
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Series
In A 'Barbie' World: Questions On Kid Brands In Gambling Ads
A recent "Barbie" film marketing partnership with a casino raised some eyebrows as the iconic children's toy brand was being used to promote gambling in possible contravention of advertisement regulations for adult activities, but the campaign's particularities signal that the shtick may comport with responsible ad principles after all, says Abbey Block at Ifrah Law.
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Cannabis Plain Packaging Rules: Examples And Opportunities
States that have legalized adult-use cannabis in recent years have adopted stringent requirements for product packaging and labeling in an effort to protect minors, and these rules may provide a vehicle for compromise between proponents and opponents of legalization, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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What Courts' Deference Preference Can Mean For Sentencing
The Fifth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Vargas decision deepens the split among federal appeals courts on the level of deference afforded to commentary in the U.S. sentencing guidelines — an issue that has major real-life ramifications for defendants, and is likely bound for the U.S. Supreme Court, say Jennifer Freel and Michael Murtha at Jackson Walker.
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Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention
As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.
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Opinion
3 Principles Should Guide MTC's Digital Products Tax Work
As the Multistate Tax Commission's project to harmonize sales tax on digital products moves forward, three key principles will help the commission's work group arrive at unambiguous definitions and help states avoid unintended costs, say Charles Kearns and Jeffrey Friedman at Eversheds Sutherland.
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How High Court Is Assessing Tribal Law Questions
The U.S. Supreme Court's four rulings on tribal issues from this term show that Justice Neil Gorsuch's extensive experience in federal Native American law brings helpful experience to the court but does not necessarily guarantee favorable outcomes for tribal interests, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.
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In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development
As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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Perspectives
A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial
Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.
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How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness
Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.
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Opinion
Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory
Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.
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Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid
As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.
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Mass. Age Bias Ruling Holds Employer Liability Lessons
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent ruling in Adams v. Schneider Electric — upholding a laid-off employee’s age discrimination claim — is an important reminder that employers may face liability even if a decision maker unknowingly applies a discriminatory corporate strategy, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.
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It's Not You, It's Me: Breaking Up With Mass. FCA Prosecutors
A recent Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office settlement, which required a hospital to admit to certain facts, continues a state trend away from traditionally defense-friendly nonadmission language and may complicate the prospects of amicably resolving future False Claims Act cases, say Jonathan York and Scott Memmott at Morgan Lewis.