Public Policy

  • October 17, 2024

    Consumer Groups Back DOT In Airline Fees Rule Fight

    Consumer advocates have told the Fifth Circuit that a U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront would curtail the industry's trickery in airfare marketing, foster competition and save individual travelers frustration, time and money.

  • October 17, 2024

    BIA Says Officer's Evals, Report Off Limits In Liability Dispute

    The Bureau of Indian Affairs says a Northern Cheyenne woman who was sexually assaulted by one of its former officers isn't entitled to his psychological evaluation or criminal presentencing report, arguing that the information is protected under state and federal law in the dispute over the federal agency's liability.

  • October 17, 2024

    Colorado Judges Doubt Giuliani Shielded For 2020 Lies

    Colorado appellate judges appeared skeptical Thursday of Rudy Giuliani's bid to escape a defamation lawsuit by a former executive for Dominion Voting Systems, noting that they already found Giuliani's statements weren't protected in a related appeal.

  • October 17, 2024

    Justices Urged To Fix 'Novel Misreading' Of IP Safe Harbor

    Edwards Lifesciences is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rein in what's covered under a drug-development safe harbor to avoid patent infringement, saying the Federal Circuit wrongfully expanded it in a "novel misreading" of the law.

  • October 17, 2024

    Groups Challenge Utah Permit For Green River Lithium Project

    Conservation groups hit the Utah state engineer and an Anson Resources subsidiary with a suit challenging a water permit issued last month for a lithium extraction project along the Green River, the Colorado River's largest tributary.

  • October 17, 2024

    Wash. Justices Say No Addresses Needed For Tax Ballot Items

    Washington's secretary of state didn't need to check addresses when validating signatures for five voter initiatives slated for the November ballot, including measures to repeal the state's capital gains tax and to bar income taxes, the state Supreme Court said Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Pa. Appeals Court Stops Damaged Philly Building's Demolition

    A Pennsylvania appellate court has tossed a lower court order that required the demolition of a seven-story Philadelphia apartment building that had a partial façade collapse in September 2022.

  • October 17, 2024

    Oregon Appeals Court Says E-Cig Rules Violate Free Speech

    Oregon's intermediate appellate court ruled Wednesday that a state law governing how e-cigarettes and cannabis vapes can be packaged violated guarantees of free speech enshrined in the state's constitution.

  • October 17, 2024

    FTC Admits Federal Court Merger Fights Are Usually Decisive

    Federal Trade Commission complaint counsel has admitted a reality that the agency has long resisted: While federal court preliminary injunction fights are ostensibly meant only to pause a merger while a merits case plays out through an in-house court, the federal court case usually decides the transaction's fate.

  • October 17, 2024

    FCC OKs New Rules Mandating Georouting For 988 Calls

    Calls that come into the 988 suicide and crisis hotline will now be routed to centers based on where the call is coming from, following the Federal Communications Commission's decision to adopt rules requiring georouting on Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Feds Drop Marketing Exec's Tricare Fraud Case In Florida

    A Florida marketing executive previously convicted in a healthcare fraud scheme and then granted a new trial has had his criminal case dismissed by U.S. attorneys after he alleged prosecutorial misconduct, saying federal officials violated his constitutional rights and fed lies to a grand jury in order to secure an indictment.

  • October 17, 2024

    Mich. Urges 6th Circ. To Toss Enbridge's Line 5 Countersuit

    Michigan's governor has told the Sixth Circuit she and another state official are immune from Enbridge Energy LP's lawsuit over efforts to shut down a natural gas and oil pipeline because the dispute implicates state sovereignty issues that place it beyond federal jurisdiction.

  • October 17, 2024

    Solar Site Settles Conn. AG's Claims Over Social Media Ads

    The Connecticut attorney general's office has reached a settlement with EnergyBillCruncher.com to resolve claims that it ran deceptive social media ads falsely claiming that the "government will cover the cost" of solar panel installation and improperly displaying the state seal.

  • October 17, 2024

    Mont. Tax Board Upholds Assessment On Storage Facility

    The owner of a Montana commercial property used to house storage units was unable to lower its value because the state Tax Appeal Board gave more weight to the state Department of Revenue's valuation using an income analysis. 

  • October 17, 2024

    Sen. Report Slams Insurers For Medicare Advantage Denials

    A trio of major Medicare Advantage insurers are driving profits by denying coverage for patient stays at "costly but critical" facilities for those recovering from injuries and illnesses, according to a report issued Thursday by a Congressional committee.

  • October 17, 2024

    Fla. Says DHS Hiding Immigration Data Needed For Elections

    Florida accused the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday of withholding critical data necessary to verify voter eligibility, arguing that the agency's online service for verifying immigration status is inadequate and that the federal government has more information it refuses to disclose.

  • October 17, 2024

    Athletes 'Easily' Clear 3rd Circ. Employee Test, Atty Says

    The lead attorney who persuaded the Third Circuit to hold that college athletes may be employees under federal wage law said Thursday that his clients are clearly employees under the test the court set out, drawing a favorable comparison to work-study participants.

  • October 17, 2024

    FTX Insider Cites 'Limited' Fraud Role In Bid To Avoid Prison

    The former head of engineering at FTX asked a Manhattan federal judge to spare him prison time in light of his cooperation with prosecutors and what he said was a relatively "limited" role in the crypto exchange's billion-dollar fraud.

  • October 17, 2024

    Ex-Defender Returns To 4th Circ. With Sex Bias Case

    A former North Carolina public defender appealed her bias case against the judiciary to the Fourth Circuit for a second time after a North Carolina federal judge refused to reconsider his ruling that she did not provide adequate notice to her ex-employer before filing suit.

  • October 17, 2024

    Unlimited Budget Won't Fix Secret Service Flaws, Panel Says

    If Congress gave the U.S. Secret Service a carte blanche budget, the breakdowns that led to the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump in July would have likely still occurred, but additional funding could help allay its "do more with less" mindset, an independent panel said in a report published on Thursday.

  • October 17, 2024

    Alabama, Florida Get OK To Access $2.5B BEAD Funding

    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced Thursday it has approved proposals from Alabama and Florida for $2.5 billion funding to begin implementing the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program to improve high-speed internet connectivity in underserved communities.

  • October 17, 2024

    States, Industry Urge DC Circ. To Scrap Truck GHG Rule

    Dozens of states and industry groups are imploring the D.C. Circuit to pull the plug on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule setting greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, arguing it mandates a transition to electric vehicles that the agency has no authority to push.

  • October 17, 2024

    Pa. AG Can't Get State Claims Restored In FTC Amazon Suit

    A federal judge tersely denied a request from Pennsylvania's attorney general, who had sought to reinstate her state's consumer protection claims against Amazon in the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust suit.

  • October 17, 2024

    If Trump Wins, Here's Who Could Be The Next Boston US Atty

    Acting Massachusetts U.S. attorney and former Ropes & Gray LLP partner Josh Levy may remain in his post under a Kamala Harris presidency, but a victory for Donald Trump in next month's presidential election would all but assure the state will have a new top federal prosecutor next year.

  • October 17, 2024

    House Resolution Introduced To Laud Hispanics In Legal Field

    A Florida representative in the U.S. Congress earlier this week introduced a resolution to designate Oct. 15, 2024, as a day to "honor the diaspora of Hispanic culture, and the representation of Hispanics in the legal profession and the judiciary."

Expert Analysis

  • What Cos. Should Note In DOJ's New Whistleblower Pilot

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    After the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a new whistleblower pilot program last week — continuing its efforts to incentivize individual reporting of misconduct — companies should review the eligibility criteria, update their compliance programs and consider the risks and benefits of making their own self-disclosures, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Defamation Suit Tests Lanham Act's Reach With Influencers

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    Recently filed in the Northern District of Texas, Prime Hydration v. Garcia, alleging defamation and Lanham Act violations based on the defendant's social media statements about the beverage brand, allows Texas courts and the Fifth Circuit to take the lead in interpreting the act as it applies to influencers, says attorney Susan Jorgensen.

  • A Primer On EU's Updated Human Substance Regulations

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    The European Union's updated standards regarding quality and safety of substances of human origin meant for human application carry significant implications for companies that work with cells and tissues, and U.S. companies active in the EU market should pay particular attention to the import and export rules, say Geneviève Michaux and Georgios Symeonidis at King & Spalding.

  • Opinion

    Prejudgment Interest Is A Game-Changer In Ill. Civil Suits

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    Civil litigation can leave plaintiffs financially strained and desperate for any recovery, especially when defendants use delaying tactics — but the Illinois Legislature's move to allow prejudgment interest has helped bring litigants to the table earlier to resolve disputes, minimizing court expenses and benefiting all parties, says Benjamin Crane at Coplan + Crane.

  • Series

    After Chevron: New Lines Of Attack For FCA Defense Bar

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    Loper Bright has given defense counsel new avenues to overcome the False Claims Act elements of falsity and scienter, as any FCA claim based upon ambiguous statutory terms can no longer stand solely on agency regulations to establish the statute's meaning, which is itself necessary to satisfy the FCA's basic requirements, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.

  • CFPB's Medical Debt Proposal May Have Side Effects

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent proposal to prevent medical debt information from appearing on consumer reports and creditors from basing lending decisions on such information may have initial benefits for some consumers, but there are potential negative consequences that should also be considered, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • New NHTSA Fuel Economy Rule Adds Compliance Complexity

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    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recently announced final rule on new corporate average fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks will create challenges for manufacturers, which must also comply with the EPA's multipollutant rule and California's zero-emission vehicle programs, say Joanne Rotondi and Hannah Graae at Hogan Lovells.

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.

  • 15 Areas That Would Change Under Health Data Rule Proposal

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    If finalized, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's proposed rule will significantly progress its efforts to advance interoperability, respond to stakeholder concerns and clarify compliance with the health IT certification program, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • The Road Ahead For Regulation Of Digital Twins In Healthcare

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    Digital replicas of cells, organs and people — known as digital twins — can facilitate clinical trials for new drugs by reducing the number of patients required, but data limitations can create logistical hurdles and regulatory efforts addressing digital twins are still in early stages, say consultants at Keystone Strategy.

  • A Guide To Long-Term, Part-Time Employee Determinations

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    With final regulations under the Secure Act requiring 401(k) retirement benefits for long-term, part-time employees expected soon, Amy Sheridan and David Guadagnoli at Sullivan & Worcester look at how the proposed rules would shift the risk-reward calculus on excluding categories of employees, and what plan sponsors would need to consider when designing retirement plans.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Delegation Of Authority And Tax Regulators

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    The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service will face higher standards following Loper Bright’s finding that courts should determine whether agency rules meet the best possible interpretation of the tax code, as well as the scope of the authority delegated by Congress, says Edward Froelich at McDermott.

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • Decoding CFPB Priorities Amid Ramp-Up In Nonbank Actions

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    Based on recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement actions and press releases about its supervisory activities, the agency appears poised to continue increasing its scrutiny over nonbank entities — particularly with respect to emerging financial products and services — into next year, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Series

    After Chevron: What Loper Bright Portends For The NLRB

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court has a long history of deferring to the National Labor Relations Board's readings of federal labor law, the court's Loper Bright v. Raimondo decision forces courts to take a harder look at the judgment of an agency — and the NLRB will not be immune from such greater scrutiny, says Irving Geslewitz at Much Shelist.

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