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Public Policy
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December 17, 2024
Revised LNG Export Study Flags Gas Price And Climate Worries
The Biden administration on Tuesday said that unconstrained U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas would increase both domestic energy prices and cumulative greenhouse gas emissions, and retained a pause on export project reviews that President-elect Donald Trump is expected to lift upon taking office.
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December 17, 2024
Biden Enacts Law Setting Exception To Some USPTO Fines
President Joe Biden signed a bill into law Tuesday that gives the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office the ability to waive fines for patent applicants who falsely claim they are entitled to fee reductions, if the error was made in good faith.
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December 17, 2024
Texas Judge Won't Pause Block Of Corp. Transparency Law
A Texas federal judge on Tuesday denied the government's request to stay his nationwide block of a corporate transparency law while an appeal is pending, saying his view that Congress lacks the constitutional authority to enact the legislation is likely to prevail at the Fifth Circuit.
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December 17, 2024
5th Circ. Tosses EPA Rule After Agency Loses Docs
The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday granted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's unusual request that the court vacate a challenged 2016 rule that partially disapproved regional haze plans created by Texas and Oklahoma and imposed a federal plan.
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December 17, 2024
House GOP Asks CVS How Its PBM Treats Smaller Pharmacies
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are demanding documents from CVS on its pharmacy benefit manager's treatment of independent pharmacies, continuing to press the healthcare giant over potentially anticompetitive conduct.
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December 17, 2024
The Biggest Georgia Legal Developments Of 2024
From navigating bombshell prosecutor romance allegations in the Georgia election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump and his co-defendants to vacating a $1.7 billion verdict against Ford Motor Co. in a fatal "Super Duty" rollover case, to seeing the state's longest-running criminal trial to a close, 2024 was a busy year for courts in the Peach State.
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December 17, 2024
CFPB Finalizes Rule For PACE Loans
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday finalized a rule that applies standard mortgage protections to so-called Property Assessed Clean Energy loans, where homeowners pay for upgrades through property tax bills.
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December 17, 2024
DHS Unveils H-1B Overhaul As Biden Admin Winds Down
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday unveiled its highly anticipated overhaul of the H-1B visa program for foreign specialty workers, codifying deference to prior approvals and tightening eligibility standards for the kinds of occupations that qualify.
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December 17, 2024
3M Fights Michigan's Mootness Claims In PFAS Rule Suit
Michigan is wrong to allege that 3M's challenge to rules on PFAS in tap water is moot, the company has told the state Supreme Court, claiming it will still be affected by the challenged regulations despite the state's arguments that new regulations supersede them.
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December 17, 2024
Ariz. Families Seek Class Cert. Over Sober Home Living Scam
A group of Arizona families is seeking class certification in an effort to hold the state and its healthcare agencies accountable for the so-called sober living crisis, arguing that despite knowing the magnitude of fraud that was occurring, it continued to enable the multibillion-dollar scam.
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December 17, 2024
Biden Admin Finalizes Revamp Of Seasonal Visa Programs
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday finalized changes to the program for foreign seasonal workers that will bolster worker protections, penalize employers who impose prohibited fees and make it easier for workers to change employers.
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December 17, 2024
US Seeks Foreclosure To Pay 'Survivor' Winner's $3.3M Taxes
A federal magistrate judge should have recommended allowing the U.S. government to foreclose on two properties it claims are controlled by a winner of the "Survivor" TV series who owes $3.3 million in taxes, the government told a Rhode Island federal court.
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December 17, 2024
Seattle, Solar Group Sue To Block Natural Gas Ballot Initiative
The city of Seattle and solar industry and environmental groups have sued the state of Washington to preserve municipalities' ability to curb natural gas use in new buildings, arguing a voter-approved measure blocking that power had unrelated provisions that made it unconstitutional.
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December 17, 2024
Tulsa Tribal Jurisdiction Fight Is Paused For Settlement Talks
An Oklahoma federal judge has hit pause on a dispute between the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the city of Tulsa over jurisdictional rights after the parties asked for time to participate in settlement discussions.
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December 17, 2024
Senate Dem's Bill Would Mandate New FCC Outage Reports
Networks that receive funding to help them rebound from climate-related disasters would need to file new reports of outages to the Federal Communications Commission under a Democratic bill filed in the U.S. Senate.
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December 17, 2024
Nevada Defeats DOJ Military Bias Suit Over Pension Credits
A Nevada federal judge tossed the U.S. Department of Justice's suit claiming Nevada and its public employees' retirement system overcharged service members for pension credits, ruling that a law protecting troops' reemployment rights doesn't let service members beef up their retirement benefits at a discounted rate.
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December 17, 2024
Split Pa. High Court Revives Kleinbard Fee Row Over DA Work
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday revived Kleinbard LLC's bid to get Lancaster County to pay for legal work on behalf of a former district attorney, reasoning that a lower court hastily rejected the firm's factual assertions.
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December 17, 2024
PG&E Secures $15B Energy Dept. Loan To Upgrade Grid
The U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday that it has conditionally committed to lending Pacific Gas & Electric Co. up to $15 billion for projects aimed at expanding hydropower generation and clean energy infrastructure in California.
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December 17, 2024
NYC Mayor Must Face Bribery Charge For Turkish Travel Perks
A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday rejected New York City Mayor Eric Adams' request to dismiss the bribery charge from his indictment, finding that prosecutors clearly alleged a corrupt bargain with Turkish government agents to receive lavish travel perks.
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December 17, 2024
NC Legal Advice Law Challenge Meets Early Demise
A lawsuit by two paralegals and a nonprofit challenging North Carolina's ban on the unauthorized practice of law restricting who can offer legal advice has been cut short after a federal judge found the statute falls within a substantial state interest to protect its citizens.
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December 17, 2024
4 Recent Policy Developments Benefits Attys Should Know
A trio of federal agencies finalized new disclosure requirements for how health plans cover mental health treatments, states took steps to regulate pharmacy benefit managers, the U.S. Department of Labor's investment advice regulations failed in court, and Congress passed legislation to make compliance with the Affordable Care Act easier. Here, Law360 looks back at four policy-related developments in the employee benefits field from the latter half of 2024.
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December 17, 2024
Pa. Supreme Court Says Judge's Side Job Sinks Tax Rulings
A Pennsylvania state judge who held a side job on a Philadelphia tax appeals board had nullified rulings he made on a local hospital's tax cases, the state's Supreme Court said Tuesday, reasoning that holding both jobs was a "constitutionally impermissible conflict of duties."
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December 17, 2024
IRS Corrects Proposed Admin Requirements For Direct Pay
The Internal Revenue Service issued a correction Tuesday to proposed regulations laying out administrative requirements for tax-exempt entities to elect out of their partnership status in order to take advantage of new rules enabling direct cash payment of clean energy tax credits.
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December 17, 2024
Possible 6th Circ. Picks Now That Biden's Nominee Is Done
A district judge, state Supreme Court justice and a former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member are among the contenders for a seat on the Sixth Circuit when the outgoing judge retires, a pending vacancy that had been a matter of contention between Tennessee's senators and the Biden administration.
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December 17, 2024
Ex-Pol Can't Shake Fraud Rap Over Jury's Racial Makeup
A Massachusetts federal judge denied a Vietnamese-American former state senator's bid to undo his conviction for unlawfully accepting unemployment assistance and filing a false tax return, rejecting claims that jury selection was tainted by "racial animus" on the part of prosecutors.
Expert Analysis
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What 2024 Election Means For Drugs, Medicare And Medicaid
With Republicans running the White House, U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, the incoming administration is likely to provide pathways — through new initiatives and others returning from Trump's previous presidency — for a range of potential changes to drug pricing, Medicare and Medicaid, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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AV Compliance Is Still A State-By-State Slog — For Now
While the incoming Trump administration has hinted at new federal regulations governing autonomous vehicles, for now, AV manufacturers must take a state-by-state approach to compliance with safety requirements — paying particular attention to states that require express authorization for AV operation, say attorneys at Frost Brown.
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Opinion
Antitrust Posturing Against Algorithmic AI Should End
President-elect Donald Trump needs to rein in the federal government's antitrust crusade against algorithmic AI, sending the message that antitrust enforcement must be grounded in evidence and real harm, says attorney David Balto, a former Federal Trade Commission assistant director of policy and evaluation.
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Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out
In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Immigration Atty Tips For Avoiding Prosecution Under Trump
Under the incoming Trump administration, immigration attorneys may need to protect themselves from prosecution when advising clients who may not qualify for relief sought by choosing their words carefully and keeping other key factors in mind, says Michele Carney at Carney & Marchi.
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Back To The Future? Antitrust Enforcement Under Trump 2.0
While the transition to the second Trump administration's antitrust policy should be accompanied by less uncertainty, we're unlikely to get a full sense of the true focus and tenor of competition enforcement under Trump 2.0 before late next year, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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A Closer Look At SDNY Bankruptcy Rule Amendments
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York’s recent amendments to its local rules aim to streamline key Chapter 11 processes, resolve misunderstandings about previous iterations of the rules and urge caution about the use of artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Skadden.
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How Litigation, Supply Chains Buffeted Offshore Wind In 2024
U.S. offshore wind developers continue to face a range of challenges — including litigation brought by local communities and interest groups, ongoing supply chain issues, and a lack of interconnection and transmission infrastructure — in addition to uncertainty surrounding federal energy policy under the second Trump administration, say attorneys at Liskow & Lewis.
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FTX Exec's Sentencing Shows Pros And Cons Of Cooperation
The sentencing of former FTX tech deputy Gary Wang, whose cooperation netted him a rare outcome of no prison time, offers critical takeaways for attorneys and clients navigating the burgeoning world of crypto-related prosecutions, says Andrew Meck at Whiteford.
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What Bisphenol S Prop 65 Listing Will Mean For Industry
The imminent addition of bisphenol S — a chemical used in millions of products — to California's Proposition 65 list will have sweeping compliance and litigation implications for companies in the retail, food and beverage, paper, manufacturing and personal care product industries, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity
Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Justices Mull Sex-Based Classification In Trans Law Case
After the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in U.S. v. Skrmetti this week, it appears that the fate of the Tennessee law at the center of the case — a law banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents — will hinge on whether the majority read the statute as imposing a sex-based classification, says Alexandra Crandall at Dickinson Wright.
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Permitting, Offtake Among Offshore Wind Challenges In 2024
Although federal offshore wind development started to pick up this year, many challenges to the industry became apparent as well — including slow federal permitting, the pitfalls of restarting permits after changes in project status, and the difficulties of negotiating economically viable offtake agreements, say attorneys at Liskow & Lewis.
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Corporate Liability Issues To Watch In High Court TM Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a trademark dispute between Dewberry Group and Dewberry Engineers next week, presenting an opportunity for the court to drastically alter the fundamental approach to piercing the corporate veil, or adopt a more limited approach and preserve existing norms, say attorneys at Bracewell.
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Every Dog Has Its Sick Day: Inside NYC's Pet Leave Bill
In what would be a first-of-its-kind law for a major metropolitan area, a recent proposal would amend New York City's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act to include animal care as an accepted use of sick leave — and employers may not think it's the cat's meow, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.