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Public Policy
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July 31, 2024
5th Circ. Pause Spells Doom For DOT Airline Fees Rule
The Fifth Circuit gave the airline industry a temporary reprieve from a new U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring carriers to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, a decision that stands to embolden opponents of the Biden administration's more aggressive consumer-focused policies.
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July 31, 2024
Black Worker Says PBGC Didn't Promote Him Due To His Race
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. passed over a Black worker for a senior director role in favor of a less qualified white woman and retaliated against him for a previously filed race discrimination complaint, a lawsuit filed in D.C. federal court said.
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July 31, 2024
NC Defense Attys Say Virus Law Case Can 'Unsettle' Immunity
A North Carolina defense attorney group asked to jump into a medical malpractice suit in the state's high court Wednesday, offering what it described as a warning that if a decision stands on a COVID-19 law, immunity from lawsuits will be "unsettled."
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July 31, 2024
Corteva Unit Ordered To Search 110K Boxes For PFAS Docs
A former North Carolina Superior Court judge in charge of ironing out a dispute between the state and a Corteva Inc. subsidiary over allegedly missing documents ordered the company to search through 110,000 boxes for information related to "forever-chemicals," finding it failed to give assurance the boxes were thoroughly searched.
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July 31, 2024
Age Limits On Owning Senior Units Unlawful, NJ Panel Says
A New Jersey appellate panel on Wednesday backed a lower court's finding that a Garden State municipality's ordinance limiting property ownership in senior housing communities to those 55 years old or older violated the federal Fair Housing Act and state Law Against Discrimination, holding that both statutes prohibit discrimination based on familial status.
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July 31, 2024
PayPal Alum Joins Forensic Consultancy As Crypto Leader
Compliance consultancy and investigations firm Forensic Risk Alliance said Wednesday that it's hired an alum of PayPal and Paxos to direct its global cryptocurrency investigations and compliance practice.
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July 31, 2024
Minn. Tax Court Agrees Parking Lot's Value Is $4M, Not $10M
A Minneapolis parking lot would be best valued as a buy-and-hold investment property and thus its assessed value should be lowered from $10.3 million to $3.9 million, the Minnesota Tax Court said.
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July 31, 2024
Minn. Shopping Center's $97M Value Upheld By State Justices
A Minnesota shopping center was correctly valued for tax purposes at nearly $97 million, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday, rejecting the property owner's argument that the valuation should consider a calculation of effective rent instead of market rent.
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July 31, 2024
Pa. Court Says Mail-In Ballot Images Are Public Records
Scanned copies of Pennsylvanians' absentee and mail-in ballots are public records subject to the state's Right-to-Know Law, even though copies of votes cast in person are not, a state appellate court ruled Wednesday.
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July 31, 2024
Where Trump's 4 Criminal Cases Could Stand On Election Day
A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, a dismissal order from a trial judge in Florida and scandal in Georgia threaten to derail state and federal criminal cases that had been moving full steam ahead against Donald Trump just a few months ago.
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July 31, 2024
Copyright Office Warns Of 'Urgent Need' For Deepfakes Law
The U.S. Copyright Office said Wednesday that "there is an urgent need" for new federal legislation to tackle the proliferation of deepfakes created through artificial intelligence, saying in a long-awaited report with recommendations to Congress that "an era of sophisticated digital replicas has arrived."
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July 31, 2024
Ex-Chicago Alderman Should Serve Full Supervision, Feds Say
A former Chicago alderman and attorney convicted of tax crimes should not be allowed an early reprieve from his court-ordered supervision because it has become his main form of punishment following his compassionate release from prison, the government has told an Illinois federal court.
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July 31, 2024
Attys Can Seek Security Clearance In Cuellar Bribery Case
Attorneys for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar can apply for a security clearance to facilitate potential discussions of classified information in connection with bribery charges against the congressman, a Texas federal judge said Wednesday, remarking multiple times that federal prosecutors had taken "inconsistent" positions on classified material connected to the case.
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July 31, 2024
NC Sens. Continue Fight Against 4th Circ. Nom
Ryan Young Park, the solicitor general of North Carolina and nominee for the Fourth Circuit, defended his record and commitment to the law on Wednesday amid attacks from North Carolina's U.S. senators, who oppose his nomination and claim they were not properly consulted on his selection.
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July 31, 2024
5 Trials To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024
Upcoming high-profile trials over star lawyer Tom Girardi's alleged fraud, Hunter Biden's taxes and Washington state's "patent troll" law are among the cases to watch in the latter half of the year.
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July 31, 2024
Judge Won't Undo IRS' Pause On Worker Retention Credits
An Arizona federal judge rejected a tax advisory firm's request to lift the IRS' pause on processing claims for the pandemic-era employee retention credit, saying he wasn't eager to stop the agency from addressing the fraud it alleges has been widespread.
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July 31, 2024
Mich. High Court Restores Strengthened Wage, Leave Laws
The Michigan Supreme Court put back in place higher minimum wage and broader paid sick leave laws on Wednesday, finding the laws were unlawfully amended by the state Legislature in a controversial move to keep a $12 minimum wage law off the ballot.
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July 31, 2024
5th Circ. Slams Injunction Against Texas In Buoy Fight
The majority of the full Fifth Circuit ruled that a Texas federal court abused its discretion by ordering Texas to move a 1,000-foot buoy barrier meant to deter migrants in the Rio Grande to its own riverbank.
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July 31, 2024
Biden's Latest Judicial Noms Include Ex-Congressman
President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday judicial nominees for district courts in New York, Georgia and Pennsylvania, one of whom is a former congressman.
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July 30, 2024
DOJ Says Norfolk Southern To Blame For Amtrak Delays
The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday accused Norfolk Southern Corp. of illegally refusing to give passenger trains preference over freight trains, leading to widespread delays for Amtrak passenger trains on the route between New York and Louisiana last year.
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July 30, 2024
11th Circ. Upholds Geofence Warrant In Carjacking Case
The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday rejected a convicted carjacker's attempt to quash a geofence warrant that allowed law enforcement to obtain information from cellphones within a certain geographic area, finding that the man lacked standing to challenge a search that revealed no information from his own electronic device.
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July 30, 2024
Pa. House Majority Leader Fights Robocall Suit At 3rd Circ.
The Democratic majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the Third Circuit to undo a ruling that his automated calls informing constituents about government programs violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
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July 30, 2024
Texas Border Buoy Trial Must Go On, Judge Says
A Texas federal judge denied an attempt by Texas to stall an upcoming trial over the state's use of a buoy barrier meant to prevent illegal border crossings, saying in a Tuesday order that the state didn't explain why it had a "sudden emergency" that warranted a stay.
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July 30, 2024
Tribe Says Sovereignty 'Sea Change' At Stake In Tobacco Row
A California tribe has opposed the U.S. government's bid to toss its suit fighting placement on a "non-compliant list" under a law that targets tobacco trafficking, telling a federal judge that forcing it to stop sales would cause a "sea change" in tribal sovereignty.
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July 30, 2024
FDIC Moves To Revamp Brokered Deposit Regs In Policy Push
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday unveiled a proposal that would subject more bank deposits to heightened regulation as "brokered" funds, outlining new rules that the agency pitched as addressing risks highlighted by failures of firms like First Republic Bank and Voyager, a crypto lender.
Expert Analysis
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Parsing Controversial Del. General Corporation Law Proposals
In response to issues raised in three recent high-profile Delaware Court of Chancery decisions, many amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law were quickly proposed that, if enacted, would bring significant changes likely to be hotly debated — and litigated — for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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A Look At US-EU Consumer Finance Talks' Slow First Steps
The unhurried and informal nature of planned discussions between the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the European commissioner for justice and consumer protection suggests any coordinated regulatory action on issues like AI and "buy now, pay later" services is still a ways off, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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Opinion
It's Time To Defuse The Ticking Time Bomb Of US Landfills
After recent fires at landfills in Alabama and California sent toxic fumes into surrounding communities, it is clear that existing penalties for landfill mismanagement are insufficient — so policymakers must enact major changes to the way we dispose of solid waste, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
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5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits
Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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What Junk Fee Law Means For Biz In California And Beyond
Come July 1, companies doing business in California must ensure that the price of any good or service as offered, displayed or advertised is inclusive of all mandatory fees and other charges in compliance with S.B. 478, which may have a far-reaching impact across the country due to wide applicability, say Alexandria Ruiz and Amy Lally at Sidley Austin.
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EPA Heavy-Duty Vehicle GHG Rules Face Bumpy Road Ahead
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for owners and operators of heavy-duty vehicles are facing opposition from both states and the transportation industry, and their arguments will mirror two pending cases challenging the EPA's authority, says Grant Laizer at Adams and Reese.
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8 Steps Companies Should Take After An Internal Investigation
Given the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasing focus on corporate compliance and remediation of misconduct, companies must follow through in several key ways after an internal investigation to ensure history does not repeat itself, say Jonathan Aronie and Joseph Jay at Sheppard Mullin.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Opinion
US Solar Import Probe's Focus On China Is Misguided
The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation focuses on the apparent Chinese ownership of solar device importers in four Southeast Asian countries — a point that is irrelevant under the controlling statute, says John Anwesen at Lighthill.
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DC Circ. Ruling Heightens HHS Contract Pharmacy Challenges
The D.C. Circuit's recent ruling that the Section 340B program does not bar manufacturers from restricting deliveries of discounted drugs to contract pharmacies represents a second strike against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' current contract pharmacy policy and raises the stakes surrounding an upcoming Seventh Circuit ruling on the same issue, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.
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Ohio Tax Talk: The Legislative Push For Property Tax Relief
As Ohio legislators attempt to alleviate the increasing property tax burden, four recent bills that could significantly affect homeowners propose to eliminate replacement property tax levies, freeze property taxes for longtime homeowners, adjust homestead exemptions annually for inflation, and temporarily expand the homestead exemption, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.
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Aviation Watch: Mostly Smooth Landing For New FAA Law
The recently signed Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act enhances air safety in several key ways, including strengthened passenger rights and cockpit voice recorder requirements, but an expansion of slot exemptions at Reagan National Airport is a notable misstep, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
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Series
In The CFPB Playbook: Regulatory Aims Get High Court Assist
Newly emboldened after the U.S. Supreme Court last month found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding is constitutional, the bureau has likely experienced a psychic boost, allowing its already robust enforcement agenda to continue expanding, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.