Public Policy

  • August 09, 2024

    Judge Nixes Ex-Defender's Bias Suit, But Calls For Reform

    A former public defender in North Carolina failed to show how her equal protection and due process rights were violated during an allegedly botched internal investigation of her sexual harassment claim, a federal judge ruled Friday in a candid opinion that nevertheless called out what he described as a "flawed" dispute resolution process for judiciary employees.

  • August 09, 2024

    Pa. Firm Seeks Over $790K In Employee Retention Credit

    The Internal Revenue Service has failed to pay Ostroff Injury Law PC the more than $790,000 it is owed in pandemic-era employee retention credits, the Pennsylvania firm alleges in a federal court complaint, despite satisfying two separate tests the firm says qualify it for the relief.

  • August 09, 2024

    Illinois Appeals Court Nixes $7B Power Line Certification

    A state appeals court scrapped Illinois regulators' authorization for part of the $7 billion Grain Belt Express high-voltage transmission line, ruling that they issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the project even though the company behind the line had not shown any ability to pay for it, as required.

  • August 09, 2024

    Cars' 'Unique Place' In Mich. Justifies Tough Laws, Panel Says

    A Michigan Court of Appeals panel said Thursday that cars "occupy a unique place in the lives of Michigan citizens," which supports the constitutionality of the state punishing carjacking more harshly than other robberies.

  • August 09, 2024

    Off The Bench: NCAA Antitrust Woes, Ohio Trans Sports Ban

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA still faces pushback from athletes after an NIL settlement, transgender youth athletes in Ohio lost their legislative battle, and the Seventh Circuit set an insurance broker straight on its actions in an NFL team's settlement with a former player.

  • August 09, 2024

    3 Notable Trade Disputes Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    This year the U.S. Supreme Court refused its last outstanding challenge to the president’s tariff power, a split Federal Circuit panel expanded decades-old duties on plumbing pipes, and the first North American trade pact labor panel tossed Washington’s claims. Here, Law360 revisits the most notable international trade cases of 2024 so far.

  • August 09, 2024

    Newest Mich. Justice, 3 GOP Contenders In Top Court Race

    Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra H. Bolden, preparing to defend her seat for the first time, says she doesn't like to label her judicial philosophy and that her flexible approach is informed by her experience creating law as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. She will face one of three Republican opponents in November, after the GOP picks a nominee this month. 

  • August 09, 2024

    4th Circ. Will Hear FERC Grid Policy Overhaul Fight

    The Fourth Circuit is set to take on consolidated challenges to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's sweeping overhaul of its regional transmission planning policy, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said in an order Thursday.

  • August 08, 2024

    15 Red-State AGs Sue To Block ACA Coverage For Dreamers

    Fifteen states led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sued the Biden administration Thursday over a new regulation that is expected to allow about 100,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. as children without authorization to enroll in federal health insurance programs through Affordable Care Act exchanges.

  • August 08, 2024

    In Reddit Hot Seat, Chopra Touts CFPB Medical Debt Proposal

    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra took to social media on Thursday to pitch the agency's proposed ban on medical debt reporting, defending it against concerns that the plan could interfere with credit scores and encourage people to skip out on medical bills.

  • August 08, 2024

    FCC Told To Drop Weiss For Broadband Funding Bank Ratings

    More voices are lending themselves to the chorus calling on the Federal Communications Commission to look beyond Weiss Ratings' bank grading system when setting the standard for letters of credit that companies can use to back federally funded broadband networks.

  • August 08, 2024

    Feds Award $36M To Boost Wyo. Indigenous Ecotourism

    The Biden-Harris administration has announced that it plans to award about $36 million to a tribal economic development fund to stimulate growth on or near the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming.

  • August 08, 2024

    House Rep. Wants Calif. To Pump Brakes On AI Safety Bill

    Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who represents Silicon Valley in Congress, has taken the rare step of voicing her opposition to a proposed California bill to set safety standards for large artificial intelligence models, arguing that the measure lacks a "sound evidentiary basis" and would stifle innovation without addressing real-world harms. 

  • August 08, 2024

    Fed Hits Customers Bank With Crypto-Related Consent Order

    The Federal Reserve said Thursday that it had entered into an enforcement action with Pennsylvania-based Customers Bank, pointing to risk management and anti-money laundering compliance deficiencies tied to the bank's "digital asset strategy."

  • August 08, 2024

    Calif. Justices Side With Hartford Unit In Virus Coverage Fight

    The California Supreme Court on Thursday reversed an appellate court's finding that a virus endorsement rendered a restaurant's policy illusory in a coverage dispute with a Hartford entity over pandemic-related losses, instead ruling that the endorsement clearly provides coverage "only if the virus results from certain specified causes of loss."

  • August 08, 2024

    Texas Acts Like It Has 5th Circ. In 'Back Pocket,' Judge Says

    U.S. District Judge David Ezra accused a Texas state attorney of misleading the Fifth Circuit by hinting that he may ignore the appellate court's decision to overrule his order for the state to move a barrier deterring migrants from crossing the Rio Grande.

  • August 08, 2024

    2 States Eyeing Mark Cuban-Backed App's Cash Advances

    Dave Inc., the maker of a digital banking app backed by billionaire Mark Cuban, is facing scrutiny from Maryland and Connecticut regulators in the wake of recent state efforts to treat paycheck advance products more like small-dollar loans, the financial technology company has told investors.

  • August 08, 2024

    Nasdaq Seeks To Step Up Delistings For Cheap, Risky Stocks

    Nasdaq is proposing to accelerate delisting procedures for companies whose shares fall below $1 for extended periods by tightening compliance deadlines and cracking down on those companies that seek to avoid delisting by enacting reverse stock splits, marking the exchange's latest effort to combat risky stocks.

  • August 08, 2024

    Amazon Must Face Pandemic Price-Gouging Claims In Wash.

    Washington's high court said on Thursday that Amazon can be sued under the state's Consumer Protection Act over alleged price-gouging early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but stopped short of agreeing with customers that the law bars specific markup percentages. 

  • August 08, 2024

    Nat'l Business Groups Sound Off Against Colo. Climate Case

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers are urging the Colorado Supreme Court to block the county and city of Boulder from pursuing state law claims aiming to hold Exxon Mobil Corp. and Suncor subsidiaries liable for climate change harms.

  • August 08, 2024

    Texas LNG Investor's Estate Sues In Del. Over Stake Valuation

    The estate of a deceased investor who had a minority stake in a long-delayed liquified natural gas export project in Texas has sued his investment company and co-investors in Delaware's Chancery Court, alleging they are attempting to short-change the estate by undervaluing his stake in the project.

  • August 08, 2024

    FCC Adopts New Emergency Code For Missing Persons

    The Federal Communications Commission has established a new alert code for missing and endangered persons that will deliver critical messages through television, radio and cellphones, a move the federal agency says will be of particular benefit to tribal communities that have a disproportionate risk of violence, murder or vanishing.

  • August 08, 2024

    Apple Must Produce Docs In Epic Antitrust Fight By Sept. 30

    A California federal judge overseeing discovery in Epic Games' antitrust compliance fight with Apple gave the iPhone-maker a Sept. 30 deadline to hand over documentation on its response to foreign antitrust regulations and other internal documents, rejecting Apple's suggested December deadline and calling the 92,000-document review large but "not huge."

  • August 08, 2024

    Ga. City Argues Immunity In $33M Yale Student Death Suit

    An attorney for the city of Milton urged the Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday to reverse the denial of its request for judgment notwithstanding a $33 million verdict over the death of a Yale University student whose car crashed into a roadside planter, arguing the city had sovereign immunity.

  • August 08, 2024

    FCC Takes Closer Look At Geolocation Plan For 900 MHz

    The Federal Communications Commission asked the public to weigh in on a geolocation company's bid for more airwaves in the lower 900-megahertz spectrum band for technologies to back up GPS.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: Uniform Tax Law Interpretation Not Guaranteed

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    The loss of Chevron deference will significantly alter the relationship between the IRS, courts and Congress when it comes to tax law, potentially precipitating more transparent rulemaking, but also provoking greater uncertainty due to variability in judicial interpretation, say Michelle Levin and Carneil Wilson at Dentons.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Environmental Law May Face Hurdles

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning Chevron deference could prove to be as influential as the original 1984 decision, with far-reaching implications for U.S. environmental laws, including rendering recently promulgated regulations more vulnerable to challenges, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated

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    In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Good News For Gov't Contractors In Litigation

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    The net result of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Chevron deference is that individuals, contractors and companies bringing procurement-related cases against the government will have new pathways toward success, say Joseph Berger and Andrés Vera at Thompson Hine.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies

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    The loss of Chevron deference may indirectly aid parties in challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretations of regulations and could immediately influence several pending cases challenging HHS on technical questions and agency authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FDA Regulations In The Crosshairs

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine is likely to unleash an array of challenges against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing on areas of potential overreach such as the FDA's authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Realtor Settlement May Create New Antitrust Pitfalls

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    Following a recent antitrust settlement between the National Association of Realtors and home sellers, practices are set to change and the increased competition may benefit both brokers and homebuyers, but the loss of the customary method of buyer broker compensation could lead to new antitrust concerns, says Colin Ahler at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation

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    As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Limited Changes In USPTO Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Chevron deference will have limited consequences for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office given the USPTO's unique statutory features, but it is still an important decision for matters of statutory interpretation, especially those involving provisions of the America Invents Act, say Andrei Iancu and Cooper Godfrey at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Preparing For CFPB 'Junk Fee' Push Into Mortgage Industry

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    As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau considers expanding its "junk fee" initiative into mortgage closing costs, mortgage lenders and third parties must develop plans now that anticipate potential rulemaking or enforcement activity in this space, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections

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    While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.

  • Series

    After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue

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    As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Impact On Indian Law May Be Muted

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    Agency interpretations of Indian law statutes that previously stood the test of judicial review ​are likely to withstand new challenges even after the end of Chevron deference, but litigation in the area is all but certain, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

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