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Public Policy
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December 16, 2024
The Biggest Massachusetts High Court Rulings Of 2024
Massachusetts' highest court added two justices this year while taking up several novel legal issues, including one town's effort to phase out the sale of tobacco, a paralyzed Uber rider's fight against arbitration, and a dispute over whether a hospital website's use of tracking cookies violates the state wiretap statute.
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December 16, 2024
IRS Corrects Regs On Direct Pay Of Partnership Tax Credit
Internal Revenue Service issued a correction Monday to final regulations that make it easier for tax-exempt entities that co-own development projects to qualify for a direct cash payment of clean energy tax credits by electing out of their partnership tax status.
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December 16, 2024
4th Circ. Judge Reverses Senior Status Decision
U.S. Circuit Judge James Wynn of the Fourth Circuit has rescinded his decision to take senior status, coming shortly after President Joe Biden's nominee to replace him withdrew his nomination after it was clear he would not get a vote.
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December 16, 2024
High Court Passes On Navarro's Presidential Records Fight
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review former Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro's appeal in his yearslong fight over orders that he hand over emails sent or received using a nonofficial account during his tenure at the White House.
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December 16, 2024
Court Culture Seen As Barrier To Workplace Misconduct Fixes
The federal judiciary's internal system for resolving workplace misconduct allegations has gone through a six-year overhaul that officials tout as evidence of sustained progress, but some experts say the tight bonds that unite court personnel may still be an impediment to meaningful change.
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December 16, 2024
3rd Circ. Nominee Decries 'Broken' Confirmation Process
Adeel Mangi, the nominee for the Third Circuit who would have been the first federal Muslim appellate judge if confirmed, sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday saying the selection process for federal judges is "broken."
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December 16, 2024
Justices Won't Hear 3rd Circ. CFPB Student Loan Trust Case
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that it would leave in place a lower court decision allowing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to sue securitization trusts over their servicers' treatment of borrowers, declining to take up a challenge to the scope of the agency's enforcement authority.
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December 16, 2024
Justices Preserve Calif. Vehicle Emissions Autonomy
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to allow California to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles, a power red states had challenged as unconstitutional.
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December 14, 2024
IRS Criminal Probes On Worker Retention Cases Still Early
The Internal Revenue Service's criminal arm is still in the early stage of investigating the most extremely fraudulent claims of a tax credit intended to reward businesses for retaining employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, an official said Saturday.
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December 13, 2024
3 Pa. Counties Urge Justices To Review Ballot Date Rule
The election boards of Pennsylvania's three most populous counties have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether the state's requirement that mail-in ballots have handwritten dates on their outer envelopes violates the materiality provision of the Civil Rights Act, arguing that a Third Circuit panel interpreted the provision too narrowly.
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December 13, 2024
Feds Suggest Protections For Salamander, Mussels Habitat
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed protections for the eastern hellbender salamander as well as for the habitats of several species of endangered freshwater mussels, according to a pair of recent announcements.
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December 13, 2024
Texas Panel Prods Harrison County About Tank Leakage
A Texas appeals court judge on Friday questioned whether Harrison County is seizing on a legal ambiguity to avoid required testing of underground storage tanks, saying its loose interpretation of the word "year" in a state law "doesn't sound like a very good idea."
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December 13, 2024
Advocacy Group Has Change Of Heart On SEC Reg Challenge
An investor advocacy organization that sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its recently adopted "tick size" rule has said it will let others take the reins of the lawsuit because it is worried that the incoming administration will not propose the stronger stock market regulations it wants.
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December 13, 2024
YSL Defendant Sues Sheriff Over Fulton Co. Jail Conditions
One of the defendants in the recently wrapped Young Slime Life racketeering and gang trial is now leading a class action against Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat and the county's chief jailer John Jackson over allegations that the two allowed unconstitutional conditions at the jail that violated detainees' Eighth and 14th amendment rights.
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December 13, 2024
SEC Sued In 9th Circ. To Move On Accredited Investor Petition
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is facing a Ninth Circuit lawsuit seeking to force it to address a proposal that would change the definition of "accredited investor" so that lower and middle-income Americans can invest in the private markets.
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December 13, 2024
NJ Town Fights DuPont Bid To Pause $1B Pollution Suit
A small New Jersey township's billion-dollar suit against Chemours and E.I. du Pont de Nemours should continue without delay, the municipality argued, saying the companies "in their effort to race to" an appeal failed to follow proper court protocol.
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December 13, 2024
5th Circ. Revives Challenge To Dallas Flood Project
A Texas federal judge jumped the gun dismissing two Dallas property owners' claims that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has failed to fully analyze the potential impacts of a flood control project in the city, a Fifth Circuit panel said Friday.
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December 13, 2024
IoT Trade Group Opposes Geolocation Plan At FCC
A trade group that advocates for the development of the Internet of Things is not a fan of a geolocation company's plan to license a chunk of the lower 900 megahertz to launch a network that will provide mobile broadband and back up the Global Positioning System.
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December 13, 2024
DC Judge Questions DOT On Rail Line 'Buy America' Waiver
A D.C. federal judge Friday scrutinized the Federal Railroad Administration's rolling stock grant for Brightline's high-speed rail line from the Los Angeles area to Las Vegas, questioning whether a waiver of "Buy America" mandates was justified for Siemens trainsets with competitor Alstom claiming some components could be made domestically.
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December 13, 2024
ND Judge Speeds Up Review Of DACA Health Coverage Block
A North Dakota federal judge agreed Friday to expedite the federal government's request to halt an order blocking the enforcement of a regulation that extends health coverage to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children without authorization.
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December 13, 2024
SEC's Corporation Finance Director Gerding To Step Down
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday that the head of its Division of Corporation Finance, who oversaw the finalization of controversial new rules covering environmental disclosures and share repurchases, will leave the agency at the end of the year.
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December 13, 2024
DC Circ. Declines To Disturb Law That Could Ban TikTok
The D.C. Circuit on Friday rejected TikTok's request for a preliminary injunction delaying implementation of a law requiring the app to split with its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. or face a nationwide ban, saying that TikTok wants to block "the enforcement of a presumptively valid act of Congress."
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December 13, 2024
10th Circ. Leans Against Spiking Colo. Air Plan
A Tenth Circuit panel appeared inclined Friday to order the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its approval of a Colorado air emissions permitting program that a green group challenged as too permissive.
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December 13, 2024
FCC Says It Won't Look At Telecom's SIM Card Beef Again
The FCC isn't going to rethink its contention that it has no say over a Haitian mobile carrier's decision to deactivate a bunch of SIM cards that were brought into the United States to trick the carrier into thinking calls from the U.S. were coming from the Caribbean country.
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December 13, 2024
EPA Mandates More Worker Safety For Carbon Tetrachloride
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule this week on carbon tetrachloride exposure, requiring "robust" employee safety planning on worksites but continuing to allow for its use as a feedstock for refrigerants.
Expert Analysis
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5 Ways SEC's Crypto Approach Could Change Under Trump
Given the Trump campaign's procrypto stance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could take a number of different approaches to crypto policy in the next administration, including pausing registration-only enforcement actions and proposing tailored rules that take into account the differences between crypto-assets and traditional securities, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Health Policy Predictions For Trump's Second Administration
As President-elect Donald Trump's nominations for health policy and enforcement heads work their way through the confirmation process, healthcare organizations can look at nominee backgrounds, campaign statements and actions from Trump's previous presidency to predict incoming priorities, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Opinion
FTC Actions In Oil Cases Go Against Its Own Rulemaking
Two recent Federal Trade Commission actions concerning the oil and gas industry appear to defy its own merger guidelines, with allegations that fall far short of the commission's own standard — raising serious questions about the agency's current approach, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.
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How Global Data Center Regs May Influence US Policies
As regulators around the world react to the growth of data centers, and their increasing consumption of energy, water and land, international policies in this area may influence how the incoming U.S. administration regulates data centers in this country, say attorneys at HWG.
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Series
Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.
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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 The Norton Law Firm.
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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.