Expert Analysis

• 6th Circ. Ruling Highlights Split On Labor Cost Depreciation

  

  The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Schoening Investment v. Cincinnati Casualty throws into relief the fine lines of courts' varying interpretations of whether a commercial property insurer may justifiably depreciate labor costs to determine the actual cash value of damage, says Nabila Rahim at Zelle.

• Sold Inventory May Drive Tax Treatment Of Tariff Refunds

  

  Companies determining the tax treatment of refunds expected following the U.S. Supreme Court's February decision invalidating tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act should consider whether the tariff costs have already reduced their income considering the cost of goods sold, say attorneys at McDermott.

• NCUA Proposal Could Streamline Credit-Union-Bank Mergers

  

  While the National Credit Union Administration's recently proposed merger overhaul may reduce procedural barriers to combinations involving banks and credit unions and signals a willingness to revisit long-settled regulations, parties should still ensure careful planning and regulator engagement throughout complex transactions, say attorneys at Fox Rothschild.

• Operational AI Washing: Fortifying The Disclosure Record

  

  The same artificial intelligence-driven workforce narratives that once appeared in earnings calls and Form 8-Ks can easily become raw material for future operational AI washing claims, so companies must be careful when drafting public disclosures because winning a federal motion to dismiss starts months before a lawsuit is ever filed, say attorneys at Akerman.

• How The High Court Expanded Freight Broker Liability

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that freight brokers may be liable for selecting unsafe motor carriers, the key question will be whether brokers used reasonable care in selecting a given motor carrier, with the concurring opinion offering some clues as to what reasonable care might look like, says Marc Blubaugh at Benesch.

• Treasury Proposal Maps Compliance Road For Stablecoins

  

  Stablecoin issuers should prepare for bank-style anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations under, and consider submitting comments on, the Treasury Department's proposed Genius Act rules, which are reshaping compliance expectations for digital asset businesses and affiliated financial institutions alike, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• Adapting To AI-Driven Scrutiny Of Foreign Asset Disclosures

  

  As the government expands AI-driven, cross-agency fraud detection, foreign asset disclosure should be viewed as part of a broader, data‑driven enforcement ecosystem that prioritizes consistency, documentation and proactive governance, says Logan Koehring at FBT Gibbons.

• New USPTO Procedure May Be A Boon For Patent Owners

  

  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's new ex parte reexamination procedure, allowing patent owners to file preorder papers to inform the EPR decision process, marks the first meaningful opportunity for owners to prevent EPR, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

• Sizing Up The Rescheduling Hurdles Medical Pot Cos. Face

  

  The Justice Department’s recent lowering of certain medical marijuana products to Schedule III means operators — particularly those simultaneously offering federally illegal adult-use cannabis — must implement greater structural discipline to navigate an increasingly fragmented legal landscape if they hope to benefit from new tax deductions and access to capital, say attorneys at Akerman.

• Mitigating Risks Under New Pay Disclosure Laws In Maine, Va.

  

  To prepare for pay transparency laws that go into effect this summer in Maine and Virginia, employers should consider comprehensive audits of existing recruiting, compensation and recordkeeping practices — and be prepared to uncover disparities that create both legal and employee relations risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• 2nd Circ.'s Cantero Redo Complicates Mortgage Escrow Issue

  

  The Second Circuit's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America reflects the absence of definitiveness in mortgage escrow preemption jurisprudence, leaving lenders to navigate conflicting state rules and pricing challenges amid a deepening circuit split, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

• Looking Beyond Calif. Climate Laws As NY Bills Advance

  

  California's climate disclosure legislation has made emissions and risk reporting a practical reality — and now that New York is working on its own climate disclosure bills, companies must confront a future in which compliance systems will need to be ready for multiple states' reporting regimes, says Thierry Montoya at FBT Gibbons.

• Cuba Sanctions Shift Puts Foreign Cos. In OFAC's Crosshairs

  

  A recent executive order marks an extreme shift for foreign companies whose Cuban dealings have no relation to the U.S. and are entirely lawful under the laws of their home jurisdictions, such that their existing ring-fence protocols no longer offer protection from the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s secondary sanctions, says Jeremy Paner at Hughes Hubbard.

• 5 Rules In 10 Weeks: Inside Genius Act's Implementation Blitz

  

  Regulators have proposed five Genius Act rules in a striking span of 10 weeks, building a stablecoin framework that, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency at its operational center, will shape oversight and force issuers, banks and fintechs to take action as deadlines approach, say attorneys at Cahill.

• SEC Enforcement Has Continued Its Asset Management Focus

  

  While the total number of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions is down, certain novel theories of liability have been abandoned, and the SEC has embraced a back-to-basics posture, most of the regulatory risks for asset managers that existed in the prior commission have not gone away, say attorneys at Weil.