Public Policy

  • October 31, 2024

    Chicago Cubs To Boost Wheelchair Access To End DOJ Probe

    The Chicago Cubs and the U.S. government told an Illinois federal judge Thursday they have entered into a consent decree that will bring more accessible seating to Wrigley Field, ending litigation over claims that the ball field's $575 million renovation gave the worst seats to wheelchair users.

  • October 31, 2024

    Valero To Pay 'Historic' $82M Fine For Bay Area Air Pollution

    Valero Refining Co. will pay a record $82 million penalty to settle claims that it failed to report cancer-causing emissions from its Northern California petroleum refinery for nearly two decades, state and Bay Area air pollution regulators announced Thursday, saying nearly all of the fine will fund local community projects.

  • October 31, 2024

    Copyright Office Says Rest Of AI Report To Come By Year End

    The U.S. Copyright Office plans to submit the remainder of a report on the intersection of artificial intelligence and copyright law by the end of the year, the office told House lawmakers who expressed concern over what they said were late submissions.

  • October 31, 2024

    FCC's Senior Republican Blasts Bulk-Billing Restrictions

    One-half of the Federal Communicatiions Commission's Republican minority is coming out strong against the majority's plans to restrict bulk billing for broadband services, saying that the commission was under pressure by the Biden administration to "raise the price of Internet service for Americans living in apartments by as much as 50%."

  • October 31, 2024

    Enviros Call On EPA To Address Petcoke Plant Water Pollution

    A dozen environmental groups filed a petition Thursday demanding the EPA implement national water pollution standards for petroleum coke processing plants, which they said have slipped through the Clean Water Act's protections.

  • October 31, 2024

    Judge Trims Retaliation Suit Against Miami After Settlement

    A Florida federal judge on Thursday trimmed a suit brought by two businessmen accusing top-level Miami officials of weaponizing city resources against them after the city agreed to settle related claims in a similar lawsuit.

  • October 31, 2024

    Texas Says It Has Right To Stop Drivers Transporting Migrants

    The state of Texas told an El Paso federal judge that an executive order allowing officers to pull over drivers suspected of transporting unauthorized migrants is within the state's authority and doesn't conflict with federal law.  

  • October 31, 2024

    Exxon Entitled To Interest Deduction On Qatar Deal

    Exxon Mobil is entitled to an interest expense deduction on payments to Qatar under a natural gas deal, a Texas federal judge ruled, rejecting the U.S. government's classification of an underlying transaction as a royalty rather than a loan.

  • October 31, 2024

    Philly DA's Suit Over Musk's $1M Voter 'Lottery' Goes Federal

    A Pennsylvania federal judge is set to decide whether Elon Musk's $1 million daily giveaway to battleground state voters who sign a pledge from his PAC is an illegal lottery, as Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner claimed in a suit transferred to federal court on Thursday.

  • October 31, 2024

    Oversight GOP Reps. Take Big Swing At FTC Chair

    House Republicans on Thursday accused Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan of becoming a "political tool" of the Biden administration, which they say has undermined the independent nature of the agency.

  • October 31, 2024

    FERC Unlawfully Rewrote Grid Hookup Policy, DC Circ. Told

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's revised policy on hooking up new power projects to the grid unlawfully imposes a punitive, one-size-fits-all system on transmission owners, regional grid operators and transmission companies told the D.C. Circuit Wednesday.

  • October 31, 2024

    Airbnb Insurance Providers Sued Over Undisclosed Fees

    A proposed class of Airbnb users sued two insurers for the rental platform in Washington federal court, alleging the providers violate state law by charging consumers who buy their travel insurance with an unavoidable "assistance fee."

  • October 31, 2024

    Ga. Election Worker Ties Firing To Accessible Voting Concerns

    White County, Georgia, was sued Thursday in federal court by a former elections supervisor, who alleged he was fired for repeatedly raising concerns that local polling locations weren't compliant with state and federal disability accessibility laws and regulations.

  • October 31, 2024

    Suit Against Indicted NJ Power Broker Sent To Biz Court 

    A New Jersey state court on Wednesday granted indicted Garden State power broker George E. Norcross III's request to transfer the civil racketeering suit brought against him and his attorney brother by a Philadelphia developer to the state's complex business litigation program.

  • October 31, 2024

    Pro Services Contract Nixes NJ Public Defender's Pension

    A New Jersey appellate court backed the Public Employees' Retirement System board's finding that a former municipal public defender is ineligible to receive pension benefits from 2008 onward, ruling that there was enough evidence to show the attorney's services were procured through a professional services contract.

  • October 31, 2024

    EU Expected To Close Final Digital VAT Deal Next Week

    The European Union is close to a final deal on its plan to bring the bloc's value-added tax rules more in line with the digital economy after representatives reached an agreement in principle, the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU confirmed Thursday.

  • October 31, 2024

    SBA Cries Foul On Globetrotters' $10M COVID Grant Suit

    The U.S. Small Business Administration has defended its denial of a $10 million COVID-19 relief grant to the Harlem Globetrotters, telling a D.C. federal judge that it had no legal obligation to hand over the money to the basketball entertainment organization.

  • October 31, 2024

    The 2024 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard

    Check out the Law360 Pulse Leaderboard to see which firms made the list of leaders in all-around excellence this year.

  • October 31, 2024

    Firms' Hiring Strategies Are Evolving In Fight For Top Spot

    Competition for top talent among elite law firms shows no signs of slowing down, even amid economic uncertainty, with financially strong firms deploying aggressive strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals to solidify their market position.

  • October 31, 2024

    IFC Projects Must Do More On Emissions, Report Says

    An accountability arm of the International Finance Corp. is encouraging it to bolster its methods to identify and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from financed projects, saying its current approaches are not fully up to date and limit its effectiveness in addressing global warming.

  • October 31, 2024

    Meta Says CFPB Mulling Enforcement Action Over Advertising

    Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said Thursday that it is facing a potential Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement action following an agency probe into financial-related advertising on its platform.

  • October 30, 2024

    5th Circ. Keeps Most No Surprises Act Provisions Intact

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday upheld several provisions for calculating qualifying payments under a federal law aimed at protecting Americans from surprise medical bills, saying in a published opinion that the provisions were neither inconsistent with the law nor arbitrary and capricious.

  • October 30, 2024

    FDA Didn't Flub Approval In Orphan Drug Case, DC Court Says

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration didn't err in determining that a rival narcolepsy treatment is not the "same drug" as Jazz Pharmaceuticals' exclusive treatment, a D.C. federal judge ruled Wednesday, holding that the FDA's approval of the rival drug didn't run afoul of the Orphan Drug Act.

  • October 30, 2024

    Texas Trying To 'Cloak' Uvalde Records Forever, Justices Hear

    Justices on a Texas appeals court questioned why the state should get to keep almost three terabytes worth of data relating to the Uvalde school massacre away from the public eye, saying during oral arguments Wednesday that Texas was seemingly claiming it could hold onto all of its records.

  • October 30, 2024

    Calif. Panel Axes $10.6M Abex Asbestos Verdict

    A California appellate panel has thrown out a $10.6 million asbestos verdict against Pneumo Abex LLC and ordered a new trial, finding that the trial court erred in granting a directed verdict that rejected the now-bankrupt braking lining manufacturer's sophisticated user defense.

Expert Analysis

  • Commerce Proposal Could Ease Trade Remedy Administration

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    Recently proposed international trade enforcement regulations could help the U.S. Department of Commerce more easily administer antidumping and countervailing duty remedies, in turn maximizing relief to American companies adversely affected by unfair trade, says Natan Tubman at Buchanan Ingersoll.

  • What To Know About Ill. Employment Law Changes

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    Illinois employers should review their policies in light of a number of recent changes to state employment law, including amendments to the state’s Human Rights Act and modifications to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

  • Complying With FTC's Final Rule On Sham Online Reviews

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    The Federal Trade Commission's final rule on deceptive acts and practices in online reviews and testimonials is effective Oct. 21, and some practice tips can help businesses avert noncompliance risks, say Airina Rodrigues and Jonathan Sandler at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • 7 Takeaways For Investment Advisers From FinCEN AML Rule

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    With a new FinCEN rule that will require covered investment advisers to implement anti-money laundering programs and comply with extra recordkeeping requirements by 2026, companies should begin planning necessary updates to their policies and procedures by focusing on seven of the rule’s key requirements, identified by attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs

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    An unexpected settlement in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund, based on specific details of an Atlanta venture capital fund's challenged minority grant program, leaves the legal landscape wide open for organizations with similar programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion to chart a path forward, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Opinion

    A Fuzzy Label With Bite: FTC Must Define Surveillance Pricing

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently issued orders to eight companies — including Mastercard, McKinsey and Chase — seeking information on "surveillance pricing," but the order doesn't explain the term or make the distinction between legal and illegal practices, leaving any company that uses personalized pricing in the dark, says Chris Wlach at Huge.

  • Opinion

    CMS' New 'Breakthrough' Device Policy Shows Little Promise

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    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ recent procedural notice outlining a new Medicare coverage pathway for breakthrough medical devices will, at best, be a failed experiment and, at worst, result in Medicare beneficiaries denied access to innovative treatments, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Missouri Injunction A Setback For State Anti-ESG Rules

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    A Missouri federal court’s recent order enjoining the state’s anti-ESG rules comes amid actions by state legislatures to revise or invalidate similar legislation imposing disclosure and consent requirements around environmental, social and governance investing, and could be a blueprint for future challenges, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • An Overview Of New Export Controls On Advanced Tech

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    With a new rule that took effect this month, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security continues to expand export controls on advanced technologies, including semiconductor, additive manufacturing and quantum computing, in coordination with international partners, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address

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    The petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas stands out for a number of reasons — including a deepening circuit split regarding the NRC's nuclear waste storage authority under the Atomic Energy Act, and broader administrative law implications, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • How States Are Approaching AI Workplace Discrimination

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    As legislators across the U.S. have begun addressing algorithmic discrimination in the workplace, attorneys at Reed Smith provide an overview of the status, applicability and provisions of 13 state and local bills.

  • SBA Proposal Materially Alters Contractor Recertification

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    The Small Business Administration's new proposed rule on recertification affects eligibility for set-aside contracts, significantly alters the landscape for mergers and acquisitions in the government contracts industry, and could have other unintended downstream consequences, says Sam Finnerty at PilieroMazza.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges

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    The Bureau of Land Management's interpretation of land "use" in its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is contrary to the agency's past practice and other Federal Land Policy and Management Act provisions, leaving the rule exposed in four legal challenges that may carry greater force in the wake of Loper Bright, say Stacey Bosshardt and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.

  • A Preview Of AI Priorities Under The Next President

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    For the first time in a presidential election, both of the leading candidates and their parties have been vocal about artificial intelligence policy, offering clues on the future of regulation as AI continues to advance and congressional action continues to stall, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • DOJ Must Overcome Hurdles In RealPage Antitrust Case

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent claims that RealPage's pricing software violates the Sherman Act mark a creative, and apparently contradictory, shift in the agency's approach to algorithmic price-fixing that will face several key challenges, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

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