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Public Policy
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October 25, 2024
Judge Calls Delay On Afghans' Kids' Visas 'Unconscionable'
As a mother wept in his courtroom Friday, a Virginia federal judge said it was "unconscionable" that the federal government couldn't find a way to allow into the U.S. the children of Afghan nationals who supported the American military in Afghanistan, imploring the State Department to "resolve this issue."
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October 25, 2024
AT&T Unit Continues To Argue FCA Does Not Apply To E-Rate
Congress could have designed the E-rate program to be distributed by the government using its own money, but it didn't, and that's why reimbursements under the program don't qualify as claims under the False Claims Act, an AT&T subsidiary has told the U.S. Supreme Court.
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October 25, 2024
VLSI Urges Fed. Circ. To Punish OpenSky After Vidal Didn't
U.S. Patent Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal vowed to sanction OpenSky Industries "to the fullest extent of [her] power" for filing a bad faith patent challenge, but then imposed sanctions that, if anything, rewarded the misconduct, VLSI Technology has told the Federal Circuit.
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October 25, 2024
Green Group Blames NJ For Decline In Sturgeon Population
The state of New Jersey isn't doing enough to prevent the accidental catching of endangered fish, activists said in a lawsuit accusing the state's Department of Environmental Protection of violating the Endangered Species Act.
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October 25, 2024
AT&T Settles Alleged FCC Subsidy Violations For Nearly $2.3M
The Federal Communications Commission said Friday that AT&T has agreed to pay almost $2.3 million to resolve claims it broke the rules for two major federal broadband subsidy programs.
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October 25, 2024
SEC Wants PE Firm's 'Fishing Expedition' Claims Paused
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a Texas federal judge to pause a real estate-focused private equity fund's suit alleging that the regulator subjected it to an unconstitutional "fishing expedition" outside its regulatory purview.
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October 25, 2024
Biden Calls U.S. Indian Boarding Schools 'A Sin On Our Soul'
President Joe Biden on Friday apologized for the 150 years of U.S. policy that established more than 500 government-funded Indian boarding schools throughout the country, calling the endeavor one of the most consequential moves of his term and the era "one of the most horrific chapters in American history."
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October 25, 2024
State AGs Back Mich.'s Immunity From Enbridge Pipeline Suit
Nine states and the District of Columbia have told the Sixth Circuit they back Michigan state officials' arguments of sovereign immunity from a lawsuit Enbridge Energy LP filed over the state's revocation of an easement for a segment of the company's Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.
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October 25, 2024
Copyright Head Touts Claims Board, AI Studies At Conference
As Shira Perlmutter completes four years as the register of copyrights and director of the U.S. Copyright Office, she told attorneys Friday the agency dealt "with just a dizzying array of issues" — with artificial intelligence technology being ever present — but the Copyright Claims Board was one of her top accomplishments.
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October 25, 2024
Seminole Tribe Looks To Dismiss Gaming Ad Suit
The Seminole Tribe of Florida asked a Florida federal court to dismiss a proposed class suit claiming ads from the tribe's gaming vendor are misleading, arguing that the suit cannot continue without the tribe as a party, but the tribe cannot be added as a party because of sovereign immunity.
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October 25, 2024
Off The Bench: Toss-Up For Ohtani Ball, UFC Fighters' Payday
In this week's Off The Bench, the three claimants to a historic baseball now know how much is at stake for the winner, a long fight against wage suppression for mixed martial arts fighters is a step closer to ending, and WNBA players want a bigger piece of a growing revenue pie.
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October 25, 2024
Feds Fight New Claim In Suit Over Dredged-Waste Disposal
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has urged an Illinois federal judge to throw out the latest claim from an environmental coalition and a community group in litigation challenging the agency's continued use of a disposal facility for dredged material on Lake Michigan's shoreline, saying the claim was tacked on too late.
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October 25, 2024
'NJWeedman' Claims Harassment For Using 'Batman' Signal
A New Jersey cannabis advocate known as "NJWeedman" has launched a federal lawsuit against the mayor of Trenton, accusing him of unlawful retaliation after he projected a "Batman-like signal image" criticizing the municipal government on the side of City Hall.
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October 25, 2024
Biden Admin Puts Up $4B For Clean Energy, Grid Projects
The Biden administration on Friday said it's handing out approximately $4 billion in combined grants and loans for clean energy purchases and grid upgrades for a slew of states, tribes and electricity co-operatives.
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October 25, 2024
Conn. Town Fights Lawmaker's Suit Over Assault Response
The city of Hartford, Connecticut, and its police department asked a federal judge to throw out a Constitution State lawmaker's suit alleging that they "discounted" her reports of sexual assault and then provided misleading information to news outlets after the incident, arguing Friday that the suit fails to state a claim.
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October 25, 2024
High Court Bar's Future: Mitchell Law's Jonathan F. Mitchell
The pantheon of U.S. solicitors general doesn't include many lawyers who've openly challenged the U.S. Supreme Court's authority or sought to undermine its landmark precedents. But there aren't many lawyers like Jonathan F. Mitchell, a crusading conservative who rescued former President Donald Trump's reelection run — and in the process positioned himself to become the government's top oral advocate.
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October 25, 2024
AI Researchers Lose Bid For DMCA Anti-Hacking Carveout
Researchers who want to look into whether generative artificial intelligence was producing content that was discriminatory or explicit won't be exempt from a provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that bars circumventing digital locks on copyrighted material, according to a new rule.
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October 25, 2024
FDA Says Tattoo Ink Makers Should Keep It Clean
After receiving reports of tainted ink causing people to fall ill after getting tattoos, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is telling pigment makers and distributors they "should" update their cleaning processes.
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October 25, 2024
DC Circ. Won't Block EPA Emissions Rule For Steel Plants
A split D.C. Circuit panel has denied bids by U.S. Steel Corp. and Cardinal-Cliffs Inc. to hit pause on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule setting emission standards for integrated iron and steel manufacturing facilities.
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October 25, 2024
Hawkins Delafield Career Atty Moves To Nixon Peabody In SF
Nixon Peabody LLP hired a Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP partner who has spent his entire legal career with that firm working on public finance tax matters and a range of other tax-related matters, the firm has announced.
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October 25, 2024
Pa. House Advances State Bill To Protect Crypto Payments
Pennsylvania's House of Representatives advanced a bill that would codify businesses' and individuals' ability to accept digital assets as payment, maintain personal control over their digital assets and protect them from additional taxes when paying in crypto.
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October 25, 2024
Election Records Law Needs Update, Mich. Justice Says
The Michigan Supreme Court declined on Friday to revive criminal charges against an election worker who downloaded a copy of a voter list onto a personal thumb drive, prompting one justice to argue the law he was cleared of violating is out of touch in the digital age.
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October 25, 2024
Pharmacy Must Pay $39.2M In Conn. Kickback Case
A defunct compounding pharmacy must pay $39.2 million in damages and penalties for its role in a kickback scheme that made illegal payments to Connecticut state employees and retirees, a state court judge ruled Friday while letting the company's proprietor off the hook.
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October 25, 2024
Maritime Unions Tell EPA To Reject Calif. Workboat Rule
Three maritime labor unions and a tugboat trade association called on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to deny California's request for a Clean Air Act waiver to enforce its rule mandating the installation of diesel particulate filter technology on workboats.
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October 25, 2024
NY Won't Alter Date For Mascot Ban, Court Told
The New York Board of Regents won't postpone a deadline for the state's public schools to get rid of any Indigenous names, mascots and logos, it told a federal district court in a challenge by three school districts over the ban.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Opinion
USPTO AI Patent Guidance Leaves Questions Unanswered
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recent guidance on artificial intelligence patent eligibility is unlikely to answer many of the open questions that AI patent applicants face, as it includes nominally new analysis that applicants can adopt to analyze their inventions, say attorneys at Fenwick & West.
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Illinois BIPA Reform Offers Welcome Relief To Businesses
Illinois' recent amendment to its Biometric Information Privacy Act limits the number of violations and damages a plaintiff can claim — a crucial step in shielding businesses from unintended legal consequences, including litigation risk and compliance costs, say attorneys at Taft.
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Unpacking Executive Privilege, Contempt In Recent Cases
The U.S. House of Representatives’ recent move to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress is the latest example in a growing trend of executive privilege disputes, and serves as a warning to private citizens and corporate leaders who are in communication with the president, says Kristina Moore at Womble Bond.