Public Policy

  • November 20, 2024

    Apple Says DOJ Case Has Too Much Speculation To Survive

    Apple's attorneys pressed a New Jersey federal judge Wednesday to toss the U.S. Department of Justice's monopolization lawsuit, asserting in oral arguments that the government is simply trying to force them to work with rivals when attacking controls imposed on iPhone app developers.

  • November 20, 2024

    CPSC Misunderstands Magnet Risks For Kids, Court Told

    An attorney for the magnet industry told the Tenth Circuit on Wednesday that consumer safety regulators wrongly focused on the size of magnets when trying to protect children from the danger of swallowing them, when the real danger of high-powered magnets comes from swallowing multiple magnets, regardless of size, not single magnets that may be small enough to swallow.

  • November 20, 2024

    DC Circ. Skeptical Of Texas AG's Bid To Revive X Probe

    A D.C. Circuit panel seemed skeptical Wednesday of the Texas attorney general's claims that Media Matters lacks a valid claim to challenge the state enforcer's investigation into the media watchdog's reporting about the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, but one judge expressed uncertainty about the suit's readiness for judicial review.

  • November 20, 2024

    FERC Says There's No Need To Ref Mich. Grid Upgrade Fight

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission defended its decision that Michigan Electric Transmission Co. failed to establish that shared ownership of new grid updates needed to serve a Michigan solar farm was necessarily precluded, telling the D.C. Circuit the electric utility hasn't shown how it's harmed.

  • November 20, 2024

    Cross-Border Sales Were Unlawful Monopoly, Feds Say

    Prosecutors have urged a Texas federal judge to deny a dismissal bid from two people accused of using violence to monopolize cross-border sales of used cars, saying the individuals were not operating the lawful clerical service they claimed to be running.

  • November 20, 2024

    Gas Bill Challenge Finds Little Purchase With Colo. Justices

    Colorado Supreme Court justices questioned Wednesday why a state regulator-backed plan to charge customers for extra natural gas ahead of a snowstorm was unreasonable, appearing to dash a company's challenge to its utility bill.

  • November 20, 2024

    Colo. Justices Doubtful Students' COVID Fee Suit Will Survive

    Colorado's justices were skeptical Wednesday that Colorado State University students seeking fee refunds for coronavirus campus shutdowns can bring an unjust enrichment claim, with one justice saying the students' attorney is advocating for an "enormous" extension of existing law.

  • November 20, 2024

    Ga. Judge Cuts Claims From Jail Book Policy Challenge

    A Georgia federal judge Tuesday dismissed several claims in a bookstore's lawsuit alleging a Georgia sheriff and jail commander imposed an unlawful policy of only allowing books into the county jail from authorized retailers, only keeping alive claims against the two men in their official capacities.

  • November 20, 2024

    En Banc DC Circ. Eyes Court Power Over FEC

    The D.C. Circuit's decision to sit for its first en banc rehearing since 2021 might signal that the court is inclined to reconsider an oft-challenged precedent barring judges from second-guessing federal election regulators when they decline to take enforcement actions, experts say.

  • November 20, 2024

    Amid Legal Challenge, La. Hemp Law On Hold

    A Louisiana law that would issue new regulation on the potency of hemp-derived intoxicants along with where they can be sold will not go into effect until the end of March, allowing time for briefing from state officials and hemp interests challenging the law.

  • November 20, 2024

    11th Circ. Told Everglades Project Will Reduce Water Supplies

    Several Florida sugar growers urged the Eleventh Circuit Wednesday to reverse a decision allowing an Everglades flood control project to proceed, saying a lower court wrongly accepted a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers impact analysis that will result in water supply loss to the surrounding area.

  • November 20, 2024

    Uber, Lyft, Chicago Ignored Due Process, Banned Driver Says

    A former Uber and Lyft driver has sued the platforms in Illinois federal court for deactivating her accounts over false claims she spit on a passenger, and she also sued the city of Chicago over its ordinance allowing rideshare platforms to ban drivers without notice or an opportunity to defend themselves.

  • November 20, 2024

    Texas Offers Up Land To Help Trump's Mass Deportation Plan

    The Texas General Land Office is offering up 1,400 acres of ranch land near the U.S.-Mexico border to the incoming Trump administration to construct deportation facilities to support the president-elect's plan for mass removals.

  • November 20, 2024

    NJ Court Must Revisit Assessor's Workplace Retaliation Claim

    A New Jersey trial court must revisit a municipal tax assessor's workplace retaliation claim as the case used by the court in its decision doesn't exempt assessors from the state's employee protection law, an appellate panel ruled Wednesday.

  • November 20, 2024

    Insurance Mogul Seeks Transfer To Fla. Halfway House

    A billionaire businessman embroiled in a host of criminal and civil suits centered on his crumbling insurance empire wants to relocate to a halfway house in Florida as he awaits sentencing on federal bribery charges, saying restrictions at the county jail have hamstrung his ability to talk to his defense attorneys.

  • November 20, 2024

    Judge Keeps Emails Redacted In Apple Foe's FOIA Row

    The patent office convinced a D.C. federal judge Wednesday to keep in place redacted portions of six emails detailing the agency's response to a Freedom of Information Act request from a longtime legal foe of Apple Inc. that is suing the agency to find out more about administrative decisions that wiped out a $533 million jury verdict.

  • November 20, 2024

    'Rip And Replace' Woes Underscored By Senate Hearing

    A major industry group has again called on lawmakers to address the lack of funding needed to completely remove risky Chinese-made gear from U.S. telecommunications networks.

  • November 20, 2024

    FERC Made Climate Case For Tennessee Pipeline, DC Circ. Told

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission properly considered the climate change benefits of a Tennessee pipeline project that will serve a Tennessee Valley Authority gas-fired power plant set to replace a coal-fired plant, the project's developers and customers told the D.C. Circuit.

  • November 20, 2024

    PBMs Sue To Block FTC's In-House Insulin Pricing Case

    Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx have lodged a constitutional challenge of the Federal Trade Commission's in-house case accusing the pharmacy benefits managers of artificially inflating insulin prices through unfair rebate schemes.

  • November 20, 2024

    Trump Seeks Dismissal Of Central Park Five Defamation Suit

    President-elect Donald J. Trump has told a Pennsylvania federal judge that a lawsuit brought by the Central Park Five should be dismissed, calling their allegations that he defamed them with comments about their criminal case "meritless" and saying his statements are protected as public expression under the state's anti-SLAPP statute.

  • November 20, 2024

    Infant Sleep Co. Says CPSC Wrongly Maligned Products

    Dreamland Baby Co. is suing the Consumer Product Safety Commission and other government agencies in D.C. federal court, alleging that the CPSC broke its own rules when a "rogue" commissioner told retailers that its infant weighted sleep products were dangerous.

  • November 20, 2024

    Judiciary Touts Reforms In Handling Workplace Complaints

    The federal judiciary is successfully reforming the controversial process that aims to protect its 30,000 employees from sexual harassment in the workplace, according to a new internal report released Wednesday, even as lawmakers have called for scrapping that process altogether and replacing it with a new one.

  • November 20, 2024

    Irish Social Democrats Run On Wealth Tax For Millionaires

    Ireland's Social Democrats are campaigning for this month's general election on a 0.5% tax on individuals' assets over €1 million ($1.1 million) — excluding homes, family businesses, art and pensions — and 1% for assets over €2 million, according to its manifesto.

  • November 20, 2024

    Conn. Regulator Slashes $35M From Utility Revenue Plans

    The Connecticut utilities regulator has rejected bids by two Avangrid Inc. units seeking a ratepayer-funded boost of $63 million, instead slashing their bottom lines by a collective $35 million in a move that was praised by the Constitution State's top enforcer. 

  • November 20, 2024

    Asylum Grant Rates Under Biden Drop To 35.8%

    Immigration judges are granting fewer asylum requests, with the latest data showing that asylum approval rates have dropped from above 50% earlier in President Joe Biden's administration to roughly 35.8% in October, according to a report published Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • Staying Off The CFPB's Financial Services Offender Registry

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's soon-to-launch registry of financial services companies that have faced public enforcement orders is designed to ratchet up long-term scrutiny of entities that could become repeat offenders, so companies should take their new compliance and filing requirements seriously, say Andrea Mitchell and Chris Napier at Mitchell Sandler.

  • New TCPA Rule Faces Uncertain Future Post-Loper Bright

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    The Federal Communications Commission's new rule aiming to eliminate lead generators' use of unlawful robocalls is now in doubt with the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, and the Eleventh Circuit's Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC is poised to be a test case of the agency's ability to enforce the Telephone Consumer Protection Act post-Chevron, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • A Look At Calif.'s New AI Law For Health Insurers

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    A newly enacted California law prohibits artificial intelligence tools from making medical necessity determinations for healthcare service plans or disability insurers, addressing core questions that have arisen around AI's role in coverage decisions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • New HHS Research Misconduct Rules Bring Seismic Changes

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new rule regarding research misconduct investigations brings significant changes that focus on remediation, appeals and confidentiality, while other changes could result in institutions causing undue harm to scientists accused of such misconduct, say attorneys at Cohen Seglias.

  • To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations

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    A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.

  • Earned Wage Access Laws Form A Prickly Policy Patchwork

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    Conflicting earned wage access laws across the country, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently issued rule, mean providers must adopt a proactive compliance approach and adjust business models where needed, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • What FDIC Expansion Of Change In Bank Control Could Mean

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    A recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal pertaining to the Change in Bank Control Act has the potential to create uncertainty around investments by mutual fund complexes in banking organizations, which represent a stable source of capital for the banking industry, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • HSR Amendments Intensify Merger Filing Burdens, Data Risk

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    The antitrust agencies' long-awaited changes to premerger notification rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act stand to significantly increase the time and cost involved in preparing an initial HSR notification, and will require more proactive attention to data issues, says Andrew Szwez at FTI Technology.

  • Deadline Extension Highlights PFAS Reporting Complexities

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent extension of reporting and recordkeeping timelines for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act offers relief to the regulated community, but the unprecedented volume of data required means that businesses must remain diligent in their data collection efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Can SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail Survive Post-Chevron?

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is currently in a showdown at the Eleventh Circuit over its authority to maintain a national market system and require that the industry spend billions to maintain its consolidated audit trail, a case that is further complicated by the Loper Bright decision, says Daniel Hawke at Arnold & Porter.

  • What's Inside Feds' Latest Bank Merger Review Proposals

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    Recent bank merger proposals from a trio of federal agencies highlight the need for banks looking to grow through acquisition to consider several key issues much earlier in the planning process than has historically been necessary, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

  • Cos. Should Focus On State AI Laws Despite New DOL Site

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    Because a new U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored website about the disability discrimination risks of AI hiring tools mostly echoes old guidance, employers should focus on complying with the state and local AI workplace laws springing up where Congress and federal regulators have yet to act, say attorneys at Littler.

  • How Biden Admin Has Used Antitrust Tools, And What's Next

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    The last four years have been marked by an aggressive whole-of-government approach to antitrust enforcement using a broad range of tools, and may result in lasting change regardless of the upcoming presidential election result, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits

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    Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.

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