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Public Policy
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November 25, 2024
Hemp Sellers Say Conn. Cannabis Laws Violate Constitution
A dozen Connecticut hemp retailers filed a federal lawsuit against the governor and attorney general challenging a number of state laws meant to regulate so-called high-THC hemp products, claiming the statutes are so vague they are unconstitutional.
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November 25, 2024
Calif. Gov. Promises EV Tax Credit If Trump Axes Federal
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said that he's preparing to save electric vehicle tax credits — at least for residents of his state — if the Trump administration and a Republican Congress eliminate federal ones.
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November 25, 2024
TMX Moves For Emergency Block On $52M Pa. Fine Hearing
An affiliate of TMX Finance asked a Texas federal court to pause Pennsylvania regulators' efforts to enforce the state's anti-usury laws against it, claiming it faced a "Hobson's choice" of responding to an enforcement proceeding whose legality was being questioned, or waiving its arguments and facing a $52.7 million fine.
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November 25, 2024
Colo. Justices Take Up Political Donor Secrecy Case
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether election officials were allowed to fine a conservative political group for refusing to disclose its donors after it spent millions of dollars on state ballot questions in 2020.
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November 25, 2024
Calif. Board Seeks Comment On AI Rules Amid Pushback
The California Privacy Protection Agency on Friday opened the public comment period for its latest rulemaking package proposing expansive draft rules regulating technologies fueled by artificial intelligence — including in the employment, education, healthcare, consumer protection, banking and insurance contexts — which business groups have already criticized as being overly broad and burdensome.
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November 25, 2024
Judge Vacates Minnesota Mediation Order In Land Dispute
A federal district court judge on Monday vacated a mediation order in a dispute over more than 3,000 acres of land taken into trust for a Minnesota tribe after parties involved in the litigation said any settlement would require compromise on their legal positions or a voluntary remand.
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November 25, 2024
NJ Judge Allows Nonprofit To Join Affordable Housing Fight
A New Jersey nonprofit is aligned with the state's government in a challenge to a new affordable housing obligation framework it adopted, but that alignment of goals does not mean the nonprofit should not also be allowed to intervene on the case, a Garden State judge said in an order.
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November 25, 2024
5th Circ. Upholds Miss. Ban On Medical Pot Ads
Marijuana dispensaries do not have protections under the First Amendment to advertise their products because the drug is still illicit under federal law, the Fifth Circuit ruled, tossing a lawsuit that sought to upend the state's tight regulations on cannabis ads.
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November 25, 2024
4th Circ. Stands By HELOC 'Offset' Ruling Against PNC
The full Fourth Circuit has declined to reconsider a panel decision that extended protections under the Truth In Lending Act by barring banks from dipping into a cardholder's deposit account to cover outstanding payments on a home equity line of credit without the borrower's consent.
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November 25, 2024
Commerce Limits Nuclear Program-Tied Exports To Pakistan
The U.S. Department of Commerce on Monday issued a final rule imposing new licensing requirements on exports, reexports and transfers of certain items intended for Pakistan that the Middle Eastern country may be able to use for its nuclear weapons program.
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November 25, 2024
DC Circ. Won't Rehear Allowing H-1B Spousal Work Permits
The District of Columbia Circuit has denied a petition to reconsider its decision upholding an Obama-era program allowing some spouses of highly skilled foreign workers to obtain work permits.
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November 25, 2024
Payments To Exxon Unit Taxable, Australian Panel Says
Exxon Mobil unit Esso is liable for tax on monthly payments it received for processing its Australian business partners' petroleum and on an AU$23.4 million ($15.5 million) lump sum payment, a panel at the Federal Court of Australia said, overturning an earlier judgment at the same court.
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November 25, 2024
Housing Project Will Pollute Public Water, Conn. City Says
The construction of 16 houses in Ledyard, Connecticut, will contaminate the groundwater and endanger the drinking water supply for people living on the site, the city of Groton's water department said in an appeal of the project's approval to the state court.
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November 25, 2024
Condo Boards Likely Safe From Corporate Transparency Law
New corporate reporting requirements under an anti-money laundering law likely do not apply to condominium associations, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled.
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November 25, 2024
Jack Smith Drops Trump's Federal Cases
Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday moved to drop the federal prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump in D.C. and Florida, citing longstanding Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president while insisting that the government "stands fully behind" the merits of the charges.
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November 25, 2024
Insurance Mogul Denied 'Custom Detention' After Plea Deal
A convicted insurance mogul who pled guilty to a $2 billion fraud scheme has lost his bid for a temporary reprieve from county jail after turning himself in, with a federal magistrate judge citing concerns about equity if he were to grant such a "custom detention order" for the billionaire.
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November 25, 2024
Trump 2.0 Expected To Maintain Tech Antitrust Cases
President-elect Donald Trump has promised dramatic changes with his pending second term, but antitrust practitioners are anticipating a return to normal after four years of an aggressive Biden administration that's seemed skeptical of big business on the whole, though they also don't expect enforcement to be lax.
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November 25, 2024
CNN Calls NC Lt. Gov.'s Defamation Suit 'Political Theater'
The defamation suit against CNN brought by Mark Robinson, North Carolina's lieutenant governor and an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate, must be thrown out for being simply "political theater," the news outlet said.
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November 25, 2024
Justices Pass On Ex-Atty's Puerto Rico Bribery Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the bribery convictions of a former attorney who solicited and accepted payments from an environmental contractor to influence three Puerto Rican mayors and helped the contractor secure government contracts worth millions of dollars.
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November 25, 2024
Tax Hikes Will Make It Harder To Hire, UK Industry Chief Says
Businesses will hire fewer workers as a result of raising employers' National Insurance contributions, a payroll levy, that was introduced in the autumn budget, the chief of one of Britain's most influential industry groups said Monday.
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November 25, 2024
SDNY's Williams To Resign Before Trump Takes Office
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Monday he will resign Dec. 13, clearing the way for President-elect Donald Trump's nominee, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Jay Clayton, to run the office next year.
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November 25, 2024
High Court Refuses To Review FDA Cigarette Warning Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said that it won't take up a challenge to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule requiring larger warnings on cigarette boxes, in a suit brought by tobacco companies.
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November 25, 2024
Justices Reject Patent Case Challenging Newman Suspension
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal by a company that owns a background check patent invalidated for claiming only an abstract idea and that argued it was deprived of a fair hearing at the Federal Circuit due to the suspension of Judge Pauline Newman.
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November 25, 2024
Justices Won't Review Mich. Gun Range Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a proposed gun range's challenge to a Michigan town's zoning denial, denying its petition over Second Amendment protections for firearm training.
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November 22, 2024
Trump Makes Picks For FDA, CDC And Surgeon General
President-elect Donald Trump on Friday revealed his nominations for several health agencies, picking Johns Hopkins surgeon and professor Dr. Marty Makary for Food and Drug Administration commissioner, former Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, and Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for surgeon general.
Expert Analysis
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Key Points From New Maritime Oil Price Cap Advisory
The Price Cap Coalition's updated advisory regarding the maritime oil industry's compliance with the Russian oil price cap highlights the role of governmental authorities, additional areas warranting due diligence and the need for training programs, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
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Post-Election Implications For The EPA's Methane Rules
Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's recent denial of requests to halt implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane rule in two suits, and given the outcome of the election, a complete reversal of the methane rule is expected, but state-level policymaking and enforcement will continue, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.
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Opinion
Justices Should Squash Bid To Criminalize Contract Breaches
In Kousisis v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court should reject the sweeping legal theory that breaches of contract can satisfy the property element of the mail and wire fraud statutes, which, if validated, would criminalize an array of ordinary conduct and violate basic constitutional principles, say attorneys at Norton Law.
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'Reverse Redlining' Suit Reveals Language Risks For Lenders
The Justice Department's case against consumer finance provider Colony Ridge highlights the government's focus on lending to consumers with limited English proficiency and the risks of generating marketing materials in other languages while conducting actual transactions in English, say attorneys at Goodwin.
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Trump Patent Policy May Be Headed In Unexpected Direction
While commentators have assumed that the patent policy of President-elect Donald Trump's second administration will largely mirror the pro-patent policy of his first, these predictions fail to take into account the likely oversized influence of Elon Musk, says Jorge Contreras at the University of Utah.
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NLRB One-Two Punch Curbs Employer Anti-Organizing Tools
The National Labor Relations Board’s recent decisions in Siren Retail and Amazon, limiting employer speech about the impact of unionization and outlawing captive audience meetings, severely curtail employers' arsenal of tools to combat an organizing campaign — though this may soon change under a new administration, say attorneys at Benesch.
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Mitigating Defamation Liability Risks Of AI-Generated Content
Until Congress and the courts provide clear guidance about defamation liability stemming from generative artificial intelligence tools, companies should begin building controls to prevent the creation of defamatory content, says Michael Gerrity at Accenture.
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Key Requirements In New Maryland Pay Transparency Laws
Although several jurisdictions now require pay transparency in job advertisements, Maryland's new law is among the broadest in the country, both in terms of what is required and the scope of its applicability, says Sarah Belger at Quarles & Brady.
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What Trump's Next Term May Mean For Biz Immigration
Leonard D'Arrigo at Harris Beach discusses the employment-based immigration policies businesses can potentially expect during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, based on policies enacted during his first administration, statements made during his campaign and proposals in Project 2025.
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Takeaways From Final Regulations For China Investment Ban
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s final rule banning U.S. investment in emerging Chinese technology clarifies some key requirements, includes additional exceptions for covered transactions and attempts to address concerns that the rule will put U.S. businesses at a competitive disadvantage, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Compliance Considerations Of DOJ Data Security Rule
Under the U.S. Department of Justice's proposed rule aiming to prevent certain countries' access to bulk U.S. sensitive personal data, companies must ensure their vendor, employment and investment agreements meet strict new data security requirements — or determine whether such contracts are worth the cost of compliance, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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What Higher Education Can Expect From A 2nd Trump Admin
The election of Donald Trump for a second presidential term has far-reaching ramifications for colleges and universities — come January, institutions can expect a crackdown on DEI, increased scrutiny of campus protests, a rollback of the Biden administration's Title IX rules and more, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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AI Monitoring And FCRA: Employer Compliance Essentials
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission signal determination to treat AI-based workplace surveillance as a potential Fair Credit Reporting Act issue, employers must commit to educating HR and compliance staff on these quickly evolving regulatory expectations, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Series
Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer
Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.
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How D&O Coverage Can Aid Against Increased AI Scrutiny
The recent increase in regulatory enforcement and securities class actions stemming from corporate use of artificial intelligence should prompt companies to ensure that their directors and officers liability insurance coverage is appropriately tailored to AI-related risks, say attorneys at Reed Smith.