Public Policy

January 09, 2025
Amgen Says Enbrel Protected By Legit Patents, Rulings

Amgen has asked a Virginia federal judge to permanently toss the latest version of a proposed class action accusing it of illegally entrenching and expanding patent rights to stave off cheaper competition for Enbrel, arguing the blockbuster arthritis treatment is protected by legitimate patents and court rulings of validity.
January 09, 2025
Fla. Condos Tied To Sanctioned Russians Transferred To Feds

The U.S. government has taken ownership of two Florida luxury condominiums allegedly tied to Russians sanctioned for their roles in the annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014 and for their involvement in the properties being used to launder rental proceeds.
January 09, 2025
5th Circuit Wrong To Toss Subsidy Fund, FCC Tells High Court

The Federal Communications Commission urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn last year's Fifth Circuit decision gutting the FCC's multibillion-dollar subsidy fund, arguing the appeals court got it wrong in finding Congress unlawfully relinquished its taxing powers.
January 09, 2025
AT&T Settles Suit Over Faux Pine Tree Antennas

AT&T is dropping its suit against the city of Walla Walla, Washington, over a 65-foot-tall utility pole that was slated to look like a pine tree, agreeing to use a separate location just outside the city limits.
January 09, 2025
Inventor Group Warns Of Issa's Return As House IP Panel Chair

Policy outfit US Inventor Inc. has spoken out against the return of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to head the U.S. House subcommittee overseeing intellectual property in the new Congress, warning on Thursday Issa's leadership role will have distressing affects on American startups and innovators while benefiting foreign competitors in other countries like China.
January 09, 2025
Colo. Oil Co. Says Unfair Order Threatens Its Demise

Oil and gas operator K.P. Kauffman Co. Inc. is asking a Colorado state judge to scrap a $5.8 million penalty against it, claiming regulators unlawfully imposed an unfair order that threatens to drive it into insolvency and bankruptcy.
January 09, 2025
Biden's Title IX Gender Identity Rule Struck By Ky. Judge

A Kentucky federal judge on Thursday struck down the Biden administration's expansion of Title IX to include gender identity, saying the rule "impermissibly redefines discrimination on the basis of sex" in excess of U.S. Department of Education authority.
January 09, 2025
ND Voting Laws May Be Undone In 8th Circ., Justices Told

Two local North Dakota Republican Party officials are urging the Supreme Court to take up their bid to reverse a lower court's ruling over newly created subdistricts for Native American voters, arguing that the "highly unusual" procedural posture of similar suits in the Eighth Circuit are likely to be overturned.
January 09, 2025
Wash. Justices Won't Review $160M Seattle Property Tax Win

Seattle can keep $160 million in property taxes for waterfront improvements, after Washington's Supreme Court declined to review a lower appellate court's ruling rejecting property owners' bid to recalculate the tax to reflect the hit property values had taken from COVID-19.
January 09, 2025
Kroger Drops FTC Constitutionality Fight After Nixed Merger

Kroger on Thursday voluntarily dismissed its case challenging the constitutionality of the Federal Trade Commission's in-house court, after the agency dropped its administrative case targeting the grocery chain's abandoned deal for Albertsons.
January 09, 2025
4th Circ. Asked To Pause NC High Court Ballot Challenge

North Carolina election officials have asked the Fourth Circuit to press pause on a Republican judge's efforts to plow ahead with his state Supreme Court challenge seeking to throw out votes in his race for an associate justice seat, while his Democratic challenger called for expediency.
January 09, 2025
Senate Dems Help Push Sweeping Immigration Bill Toward Vote

A majority of Senate Democrats joined Republicans Thursday to pave the way for a vote on a bill that would require detention for theft-related crimes by unauthorized immigrants, while bestowing broad powers on state attorneys general over federal immigration matters.
January 09, 2025
Ill. Captive Meetings Ban Flouts 1st Amendment, Groups Say

If Florida couldn't outlaw corporate diversity training without violating the First Amendment, then Illinois can't outlaw so-called captive audience meetings, a libertarian think tank and business group told an Illinois federal judge, saying Illinois' law restricts employers' freedom of speech as much as Florida's now-stricken statute did.
January 09, 2025
CFPB Taps First Open Banking Industry Standards Setter

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has given Financial Data Exchange Inc. the green light to set standards for open banking in a first of its kind approval aimed at giving customers more control over their financial data.
January 09, 2025
Supreme Court Declines To Halt Trump's NY Sentencing

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday denied Donald Trump's request to halt New York criminal proceedings in his hush money case, clearing the way for a state judge to sentence the president-elect on Friday, days before he takes the oath of office.
January 09, 2025
New Mexico Justices Say Local Gov'ts Can't Restrict Abortion

New Mexico's highest court on Thursday struck down four local ordinances that restricted abortion access in the state, chastising the cities and counties behind them for running afoul of state laws on reproductive health and medical licensing.
January 09, 2025
Grocers Say Nothing Left To Fight In Colo. Merger Challenge

Kroger and Albertsons told a Denver District Court that the state's challenge to its merger should be dismissed now that the deal is dead, arguing in a motion that the state always knew that decisions in other lawsuits could render its claim moot.
January 09, 2025
Colo. Urges 10th Circ. Not To Vacate Air Emissions Plan

Colorado told the Tenth Circuit that a green group challenging an air emissions permitting program in the state misled a panel of judges during oral arguments by asserting that eliminating the program would resolve its concerns.
January 09, 2025
Indiana House Bill Would Abolish Property Taxes

Indiana would disallow the assessment of tangible property beginning in 2026 and end the imposition of property taxes beginning in 2027 under a bill introduced Thursday in the state House of Representatives.
January 09, 2025
Alito-Trump Phone Call Sparks Unanswered Calls For Recusal

Democratic lawmakers' calls for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse from considering Donald Trump's bid to stay sentencing in his New York hush money case due to a phone call the pair had shortly before the emergency application was filed went unaddressed Thursday.
January 09, 2025
5 Questions Attys Have About Supreme Court's TikTok Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Friday in TikTok's challenge to a law requiring the wildly popular social media platform to be divested from its Chinese parent company over national security concerns or face a nationwide ban, in an unusual First Amendment case attorneys say also raises broad procedural and legal questions.
January 09, 2025
Feds Award Millions To Tribes For Safe Water, Homes, Climate

With a week left in its term, the Biden administration has doled out millions to states and tribal communities throughout the country to boost efforts toward more reliable water sources, to take on housing health and safety hazards and to continue the ongoing battle against climate change.
January 09, 2025
9th Circ. To Vote On Rehearing Asylum 'Metering' Case

A Ninth Circuit judge has called for a vote on whether the full court should rehear a split panel decision that border officials are required under federal immigration law to inspect asylum-seekers at the southern border.
January 09, 2025
Calif. Insurance Chief Blocks Policy Cancellation In Fire Zones

Insurance companies can't cancel or refuse to renew homeowners coverage for policyholders in the immediate vicinity of the Los Angeles wildfires for one year, the California Department of Insurance announced as fires continue to ravage Southern California.
January 09, 2025
Kleinbard 'Skill Game' Atty Wins Bid For Lottery Revenue Data

A Kleinbard LLC attorney who represents companies offering "skill games" in Pennsylvania can get a spreadsheet listing how much lottery revenue retailers take in per week compared to the number of skill games they have, after a state appellate court ruled Thursday that the data is a public record and not subject to any exemptions.

Expert Analysis

FTC Picks Augur Pro-Business Bent For Much Of Economy

President-elect Donald Trump's choice of two top Federal Trade Commission officials suggests a business-friendly climate for a significant portion of the U.S. economy, with noteworthy exceptions of continued scrutiny of healthcare and Big Tech companies, excluding artificial intelligence, say attorneys at BCLP.
Takeaways From 2024's Emerging IP Licensing Trends

Themes in intellectual property licensing from the past year – including artificial intelligence; risk management; and name, image and likeness rights – highlight key considerations for navigating an evolving landscape, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
Top 10 Legal Issues This Year For Transportation Industry GCs

General counsel must carefully consider numerous legal and policy challenges facing the automotive and transportation industry in the year to come, especially while navigating new technologies, regulations and global markets, says Francesco Liberatore at Squire Patton.
Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.
Searching For Insight On Requested Google Chrome Remedy

The potential for Google to divest its Chrome browser — a remedy requested by the Justice Department following a D.C. federal court’s finding the company is a monopolist — has drawn both criticism and endorsement, but legal precedent likely supports the former, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
Opinion

3 New Year's Resolutions For Antitrust Agencies To Consider

James Fredricks at Skadden rings in 2025 with his wish list for the federal antitrust agencies, starting with a provision for a presumptive safe harbor for information sharing.
FTC Focus: A Changing Of The Guard

While rigorous antitrust enforcement is unlikely to slow down at the Federal Trade Commission, the focus will undoubtedly change, including when it comes to Big Tech, as Andrew Ferguson prepares to take the reins from Chair Lina Khan, say attorneys at Proskauer.
5th Circ.'s Nasdaq Ruling Another Piece In DEI Policy Puzzle

The Fifth Circuit's recent en banc opinion vacating Nasdaq's board diversity listing rule wades into the hotly debated topic of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at a time when many public companies are navigating the attention that DEI commitments are drawing from activists and shareholders, say attorneys at Debevoise.
8 Trends And Predictions Following PE's Late 2024 Surge

Private equity will remain at the forefront of value creation in 2025, and anticipated market trends include sponsors' desire to return capital to investors and a more business-friendly tack by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, say attorneys at Weil.
Series

Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.
How Changes In State Gift Card Laws May Affect Cos. In 2025

2024 state legislative movements around the escheatment of unused gift card balances and consumer fraud protections should prompt issuers to consider whether changes in company domicile or blanket cash-back policies are needed in the new year, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
Health Tech Regulatory Trends To Watch In 2025

With an upcoming change in administration and the release of some long-awaited rules, the healthcare industry should prepare for shifting trends, including a growing focus on health data and interest in technology-enabled delivery of healthcare, say attorneys at Orrick.
Expect Continued Momentum For Nuclear Power In 2025

With increasing electricity demand, growing interest in carbon-free energy and recent policy initiatives favoring atomic power, the future is looking bright for the U.S. nuclear energy industry — and the imminent switch of administrations in Washington is unlikely to change that, say attorneys at Venable.
An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.
The Securities Litigation Trends That Will Matter Most In 2025

2025 is shaping up to be a significant year for securities litigation, as plaintiffs and defendants alike navigate shifting standards for omission theories of liability, class certification, risk disclosure claims and more, say attorneys at Willkie.