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Public Policy
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August 14, 2024
Florida AG Can't Nix Hospitals', School Boards' Opioid Claims
A Florida state appeals court on Wednesday reversed a trial court's order allowing the state's attorney general to wipe out a group of suits by hospitals and school boards in opioid litigation, holding that she doesn't have the authority to release their claims without their consent.
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August 14, 2024
Texas AG Threatens Suit Over Dallas State Fair's Firearms Ban
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has threatened to sue the city of Dallas if it doesn't reverse a policy prohibiting state fair patrons from bringing firearms into the fairgrounds.
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August 14, 2024
FTC Finalizes Rule To Crack Down On Fake Online Reviews
The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced it has finalized a rule to thwart marketers from using false reviews and testimonials, cementing the agency's authority to seek civil penalties from knowing violators for a host of misconduct including the use of AI-generated fake reviews.
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August 14, 2024
Hospital Groups Tell High Court HHS 'Stingy' In SSI Pay Row
Six of the nation's leading hospital associations told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is being "stingy" when miscalculating a formula that could cost hospitals treating low-income patients more than a billion dollars in special payments each year.
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August 14, 2024
Texas Sues HHS Over 'Arbitrary' Nursing Home Staffing Rule
The state of Texas on Wednesday challenged a new federal rule that sets minimum staffing standards at nursing homes, contending the Biden administration overstepped its statutory authority and crafted a rule almost impossible to meet because of nursing shortages.
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August 14, 2024
House Republicans Press DHS On Pause Of Parole Program
House Republicans are pressing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for more information about why the agency paused a humanitarian program for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, saying documents the agency already turned over highlight issues with sponsor vetting.
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August 14, 2024
Oregon Gets New 600-Acre Wildlife Refuge
Oregon is home to a new 600-acre wildlife refuge in the Willamette Valley between Salem and Eugene intended to preserve a variety of animal and plant species, the U.S. Department of the Interior said Tuesday.
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August 14, 2024
Nursing Co. Exec Can't Split Up Fraud, Wage-Fixing Charges
A Nevada federal magistrate judge has struck two blows against a home healthcare staffing executive facing criminal charges of fixing nurses' wages and hiding that probe when selling the business for $12.5 million, as the judge refused to break up the allegations and recommended against dismissing the fraud counts.
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August 14, 2024
Wyoming Hemp Cos. Bring Challenge To 10th Circ.
After a Wyoming federal judge declined to block enforcement of a newly enacted law regulating hemp-derived intoxicating products in the state, the businesses that brought the challenge said on Wednesday they would appeal the matter to the Tenth Circuit.
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August 14, 2024
10th Circ. Wipes Out Fight Over Obama-Era Methane Rule
The Tenth Circuit has thrown out a lower court ruling partially invalidating an Obama-era rule limiting venting and flaring from oil and gas wells on federal land, saying a new rule crafted by the Biden administration moots the entire case.
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August 14, 2024
CPSC Foes Widen Assault On New Deal-Era Precedent
A maker of child care products is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of protections barring the president from firing U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission members without good cause, telling the justices that the powerful agency doesn't fit the narrow exceptions to the White House's otherwise unrestricted removal authority.
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August 14, 2024
Feds Say Madigan, Former Ally Should Face Jurors Together
Prosecutors told an Illinois federal judge on Tuesday that former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and confidant Michael McClain should be tried together this fall, saying a joint proceeding is proper for alleged co-conspirators in a criminal enterprise and they should not be allowed to shift blame to one another at individual trials.
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August 14, 2024
Sen. Durbin Slams DoD's Revocation Of 9/11 Plea Deal
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate majority whip, told U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday he is "troubled" by the secretary's decision to revoke a plea deal for the accused masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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August 14, 2024
Streaming Cos. Ask FCC To Gauge Fixed Broadband Market
Video streamers and other edge providers hope to make one thing clear as the Federal Communications Commission dissects competition in the high-speed internet space — the fixed broadband service market is still dominated by a few heavyweights and more should be done to assess how the addition of new competitors affects individual markets.
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August 14, 2024
1st Circ. Revives Vax Refusal Suit Against Beth Israel
The First Circuit on Tuesday revived a suit against health facility system Beth Israel Lahey Health Inc. from an office manager who was fired over her refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19, disagreeing with a lower court that said she hadn't shown a genuine religious belief meriting a vaccine exemption.
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August 14, 2024
4th Circ. Says T-Mobile Must Face 'Simply Prepaid' TM Fight
The Fourth Circuit revived a Virginia-based telecommunications company's infringement suit against T-Mobile, ruling that Simply Wireless had done enough to show it was planning to revamp its "Simply Prepaid" branding and hadn't abandoned the trademark when T-Mobile began using it.
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August 14, 2024
11th Circ. 'Flunks' Ga. School District's Redistricting Appeal
Georgia's second-largest school district "flunks" the standing tests to challenge a federal court's injunction blocking the use of an allegedly racially-gerrymandered redistricting map it created, having purposefully withdrawn itself from litigation over the map, the Eleventh Circuit has ruled.
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August 14, 2024
Mobile Carriers Worry Anti-Robotext Rules Could Go Too Far
Content-neutral text blocking standards are not the way to go, a key wireless trade group has told the Federal Communications Commission, saying that stripping away the current industry standards in favor of nondiscriminatory ones would "open the floodgates to messages that consumers do not want."
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August 14, 2024
EU OKs Siemens' $3.8B Sale Of Innomotics To PE Firm KPS
European Union antitrust enforcers signed off Wednesday on German tech conglomerate Siemens AG's plan to sell its Innomotics large motors and drives unit to New York City-based private equity firm KPS Capital Partners, finding that the deal, with an enterprise value of €3.5 billion ($3.9 billion), poses "limited" overlap concerns.
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August 14, 2024
Judge Blocks Missouri's Anti-ESG Rules, Handing SIFMA Win
A Missouri federal judge found Wednesday that the state's anti-ESG rules for brokers and advisers violate the First Amendment and are preempted by federal laws, handing the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association an early win in its suit against state officials.
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August 14, 2024
Israel Boycott Bid On Pittsburgh Ballot Draws Challenges
A proposed ballot question calling for the city of Pittsburgh to boycott any work with or tax credits for entities that do business with or in Israel during its war in Gaza would be invalid because it violates state and federal laws, according to petitions filed in Pennsylvania state court by a Jewish organization, local clergy and the city controller.
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August 14, 2024
The Biggest Enviro Decisions Of 2024: Midyear Report
2024 has already been one of the most consequential years for environmental law, and it's only half over. The U.S. Supreme Court issued groundbreaking administrative law decisions, while lower appeals courts resolved questions about California's right to promulgate its own vehicle emissions standards, among other rulings.
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August 14, 2024
Top Immigration Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024
The remainder of this year could see courts render decisions on President Joe Biden’s efforts to curb unlawful immigration, the legality of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and fresh challenges to immigration-related regulations. Here, Law360 looks at cases that could rock the immigration sphere in the latter half of the year.
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August 14, 2024
NY Judge Rejects Trump's 'Stale' Recusal Bid A 3rd Time
The New York judge who presided over Donald Trump's hush money trial denied the former president's third attempt to remove him from the case ahead of sentencing, ruling that the motion was "nothing more than an attempt to air grievances."
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August 13, 2024
Anesthesia Co. Says FTC Lacks Authority To Bring 'Rollup' Suit
U.S. Anesthesia Partners has told the Fifth Circuit the Federal Trade Commission lacks authority to bring its case directly in federal court without also filing an administrative case accusing the group of monopolizing the Texas anesthesiology market.
Expert Analysis
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Tips For Tax Equity-Tax Credit Transfers That Pass IRS Muster
Although the Internal Revenue Service has increased its scrutiny of complex partnership structures, which must demonstrate their economic substance and business purpose, recent cases and IRS guidance together provide a reliable road map for creating legitimate tax equity structures, say Ian Boccaccio and Michael Messina at Ryan Tax.
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How Cos. With Chinese Suppliers Should Prep For Biotech Bill
A proposed bill to prohibit government-affiliated life sciences companies from contracting with Chinese biotech companies of concern may necessitate switching to other sources for research and supplies, meaning they should begin evaluating supply chains now due to the long lead times of drug development, say John O'Loughlin and Christina Carone at Weil Gotshal.
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Opinion
Texas Judges Ignored ERISA's Core To Stall Fiduciary Rule
Two recent rulings from Texas federal courts, which rely on a plainly wrong reading of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to effectively strike a forthcoming rule that would impose functional fiduciary duties onto sellers of investment services, may expose financially unsophisticated 401(k) participants to peddlers of misleading advice, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Inside OCC's Retail Nondeposit Investment Products Refresh
In addition to clarifying safe and sound risk management practices generally, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's revised booklet on retail nondeposit investment products updates its guidance around certain sales practices in light of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's adoption of Regulation Best Interest, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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5 Defense Lessons From Prosecutors' Recent Evidence Flubs
The recent dismissal of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charges, and the filing of an ethics complaint against a former D.C. prosecutor, both provide takeaways for white collar defense counsel who suspect that prosecutors may be withholding or misrepresenting evidence, say Anden Chow at MoloLamken and Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Loper Fuels Debate Over Merchant Cash Advances As Credit
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of the Chevron doctrine in Loper Bright may escalate a Florida federal court dispute between the Revenue Based Finance Coalition and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over whether merchant cash advances should be considered credit under the Dodd-Frank Act, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Bank M&A Continues To Lag Amid Regulatory Ambiguity
Bank M&A activity in the first half of 2024 continued to be lower than in prior years, as the industry is recovering from the 2023 bank failures, and regulatory and macroeconomic conditions have not otherwise been prime for deals, say Robert Azarow and Amber Hay at Arnold & Porter.
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FTC's Drug Middlemen Probe Highlights Ongoing Scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission's interim staff report on its inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers suggests that the industry will remain under an enforcement microscope for the foreseeable future due to concerns about how PBMs affect drug costs and accessibility, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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How High Court Ruling Is Shaping Homelessness Policies
The U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson to allow enforcement of local ordinances against overnight camping is already spurring new policies to manage homelessness, but the court's ruling does not grant jurisdictions unfettered power, say Kathryn Kafka and Alex Merritt at Sheppard Mullin.
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DOJ Paths To Limit FARA Fallout From Wynn's DC Circ. Win
After the D.C. Circuit’s recent Attorney General v. Wynn ruling, holding that the government cannot compel retroactive registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the U.S. Department of Justice has a few options to limit the decision’s impact on enforcement, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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A Look At The Regulatory Scrutiny Facing Liquid Restaking
Recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions highlight the regulatory challenges facing emerging financial instruments like liquid restaking tokens and services, say Daniel Davis and Alexander Kim at Katten.
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Del. Dispatch: Director Caremark Claims Need Extreme Facts
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently dismissed Caremark claims against the directors of Centene in Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania v. Brinkley, indicating a high bar for a finding of the required element of bad faith for Caremark liability, and stressing the need to resist hindsight bias, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Series
After Chevron: Challenges Loom For PBGC Actions
After Loper Bright, two recent actions taken by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. already under scrutiny seem destined to be challenged and resolved under the new standard of judicial deference, which will greatly affect employers with potential withdrawal liability exposure, say Robert Perry and David Pixley at Jackson Lewis.