Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Public Policy
-
December 11, 2024
Ariz. Ending Local Taxes On Long-Term Residential Rentals
Long-term rentals of residential property in Arizona will no longer be subject to local taxes or fees after Jan. 1 under recent legislation, the state Department of Revenue said Wednesday.
-
December 11, 2024
CFPB's Chopra Won't Head For Exit Ahead Of Trump's Arrival
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra signaled Wednesday that he won't leave his post early unless and until the incoming Trump administration fires him next month, indicating that he plans to keep running the agency in the meantime.
-
December 11, 2024
Albertsons Sues Kroger In Chancery After Blocked Megadeal
Grocery giant Albertsons, in a Wednesday lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery, said Kroger did not put forth its "best efforts" into getting their planned $24.6 billion megamerger cleared while also announcing official plans to nix the deal, moves that came just one day after two judges blocked the proposed acquisition.
-
December 10, 2024
3rd Circ. Judge Unsure Subpoena Chills Anti-Abortion Donors
A Third Circuit panel on Tuesday weighed whether an anti-abortion pregnancy center would suffer irreparable harm absent a court order blocking the enforcement of a subpoena seeking information about its donors, questioning whether donors would be imminently chilled if their names are disclosed to New Jersey investigators.
-
December 10, 2024
Abu Ghraib Torture Plaintiffs Say CACI Shoudn't Get New Trial
Former prisoners tortured at the Abu Ghraib military prison in Iraq, who were recently awarded $42 million in a case against defense contractor CACI, have pushed back at the company's request for a new trial, arguing it was rehashing arguments already rejected by the court.
-
December 10, 2024
Property Manager At Center Of Gang Claims Sues Colo. AG
A property management company caught up in a national controversy following allegations a Venezuelan gang had taken over some of its buildings in Aurora, Colorado, is suing the state to block probes by the state's attorney general into the company's management of its properties.
-
December 10, 2024
Feds Propose Enviro Protections For Monarch Butterfly
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a proposed rule on Tuesday that would list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and designate 4,395 acres of critical habitat in coastal California.
-
December 10, 2024
Use Of 1798 Law For Mass Removals Could Be Tough Sell
If President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his promise to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants, he may have an uphill battle convincing federal courts that the law can be used to quell an immigrant "invasion."
-
December 10, 2024
9th Circ. Says Idaho Can't 'Veto' Federal Law In Abortion Row
The Ninth Circuit seemed poised on Tuesday to turn away fresh arguments from Idaho officials claiming a state abortion ban does not conflict with a federal emergency stabilizing law, after the officials said the federal government can't impose conditions on private hospitals receiving Medicare funds.
-
December 10, 2024
5th Circ. Asks ATF Where To 'Draw The Line' In Trigger Ban
A Fifth Circuit panel has pressed the government on how so-called "forced reset triggers" are different from bump stocks, asking where it was supposed to draw the line to determine whether the triggers turn semiautomatic firearms into federally banned machine guns.
-
December 10, 2024
Kid Climate Activists Ask Justices To Save Twice-Nixed Case
Youth plaintiffs have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive their climate change lawsuit against the federal government but said the court should decide a key death penalty case first that involves a similar constitutional question.
-
December 10, 2024
FCC Gives Church, Not University, Ill. Low Power FM Station
A Pentecostal church has won a face-off with a Christian university over which one of them would get to build and run a new low power FM station in the northern Chicago suburbs after the Federal Communications Commission compared their applications and heard a complaint.
-
December 10, 2024
Google Takes Aim At Ad Tech Antitrust Claims In States' Suit
Google has blasted the lawsuit accusing it of illegally manipulating the advertising market, saying that Texas and the roughly dozen other states behind the litigation are "playing a shell game" in which they serially amend their complaints to "avoid the weaknesses of their antitrust claims."
-
December 10, 2024
Ga. Justices Say Courts To Decide Whether Utilities Are Taxes
A Georgia trial court wrongly decided it could not judge whether a county's utility rates are a backdoor tax on property owners, the state's highest court said Tuesday, ruling that a restriction on the state Legislature's power to "regulate or fix" rates doesn't bar review by the judicial branch.
-
December 10, 2024
AFL-CIO Backs DOL In Effort To Keep H-2A Labor Rule Alive
The AFL-CIO on Tuesday backed the U.S. Department of Labor's efforts to toss a suit in North Carolina federal court challenging the department's final rule protecting union-related activities for agricultural workers on seasonal H-2A visas, saying that it doesn't violate federal labor law.
-
December 10, 2024
Mich. Panel Advances Bill To Raise Med Mal Damage Caps
Michigan lawmakers could increase the state's caps on certain medical malpractice damages and lift damages caps entirely in cases of extreme misconduct under a proposal approved by a state Senate committee Tuesday.
-
December 10, 2024
Utah Counties' Narrow NEPA Test Meets High Court Critics
Utah counties looking to narrow courts' ability to review federal agencies' environmental analyses of proposed projects hit roadblocks Tuesday from skeptical U.S. Supreme Court justices and the U.S. Department of Justice, who said the proposed limits go too far.
-
December 10, 2024
FinCEN Says CTA Still Constitutional In Post-Injunction Alert
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has alerted companies that they do not currently need to file so-called beneficial ownership information with the agency after a federal judge's nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Corporate Transparency Act, though the bureau maintained that the law calling for such information is constitutional.
-
December 10, 2024
Michigan Tribe Asks High Court To Undo Land Trust Order
A Michigan tribe is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a decision that rejected its bid to compel the federal government to take land into trust for a casino venture outside Detroit, arguing that if the ruling is left to stand, it will forever impair its ability to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
-
December 10, 2024
Pa. Deputy AG, Calif. Judge Confirmed To Federal Bench
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Keli M. Neary, an executive deputy attorney general for the state of Pennsylvania, to serve as a federal judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and Judge Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon for the Central District of California.
-
December 10, 2024
6th Circ. Wary Of Axing Fishing Pact Over Tribe's Objections
A Sixth Circuit panel gave an icy reception Tuesday to a tribe's request that it unwind a Great Lakes fishing decree because the tribe was excluded from late-stage negotiations and denied a trial on its objections.
-
December 10, 2024
Trump Taps Ferguson As FTC Chief, Kressin Atty To GOP Seat
President-elect Donald Trump named current Federal Trade Commission member Andrew N. Ferguson to be its next chair Tuesday night while also picking Kressin Meador Powers LLC partner Mark Meador, a former deputy chief counsel to Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to round out the FTC as its third Republican member.
-
December 10, 2024
8th Circ. Remands Sexual Misconduct Removal Case
The Eighth Circuit sent a Minnesota man's removal case back to immigration court for further review after finding that the third-degree sexual misconduct statute that he pled guilty to doesn't fall within the federal definition of rape that would allow him to be removed.
-
December 10, 2024
Tribe Says Feds Cast Aside Calls For Consult On Ore. Casino
A number of Indigenous communities, along with state and federal lawmakers are calling on the federal government to take a harder look at Oregon's first proposed off-reservation casino project before its final approval, saying requests for tribal consultation on the endeavor have been ignored for more than a decade.
-
December 10, 2024
FTC's Holyoak Says Chair OK With Some Cartels
Federal Trade Commissioner Melissa Holyoak said Lina Khan, the agency's current chair, is suggesting enforcers ignore anticompetitive activity if it's not being committed by what she considers "dominant firms."
Expert Analysis
-
New TCPA Rule Faces Uncertain Future Post-Loper Bright
The Federal Communications Commission's new rule aiming to eliminate lead generators' use of unlawful robocalls is now in doubt with the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, and the Eleventh Circuit's Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC is poised to be a test case of the agency's ability to enforce the Telephone Consumer Protection Act post-Chevron, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
-
A Look At Calif.'s New AI Law For Health Insurers
A newly enacted California law prohibits artificial intelligence tools from making medical necessity determinations for healthcare service plans or disability insurers, addressing core questions that have arisen around AI's role in coverage decisions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
-
New HHS Research Misconduct Rules Bring Seismic Changes
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new rule regarding research misconduct investigations brings significant changes that focus on remediation, appeals and confidentiality, while other changes could result in institutions causing undue harm to scientists accused of such misconduct, say attorneys at Cohen Seglias.
-
To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations
A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.
-
Earned Wage Access Laws Form A Prickly Policy Patchwork
Conflicting earned wage access laws across the country, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently issued rule, mean providers must adopt a proactive compliance approach and adjust business models where needed, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
-
What FDIC Expansion Of Change In Bank Control Could Mean
A recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal pertaining to the Change in Bank Control Act has the potential to create uncertainty around investments by mutual fund complexes in banking organizations, which represent a stable source of capital for the banking industry, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.
-
HSR Amendments Intensify Merger Filing Burdens, Data Risk
The antitrust agencies' long-awaited changes to premerger notification rules under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act stand to significantly increase the time and cost involved in preparing an initial HSR notification, and will require more proactive attention to data issues, says Andrew Szwez at FTI Technology.
-
Deadline Extension Highlights PFAS Reporting Complexities
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent extension of reporting and recordkeeping timelines for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act offers relief to the regulated community, but the unprecedented volume of data required means that businesses must remain diligent in their data collection efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
-
Can SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail Survive Post-Chevron?
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is currently in a showdown at the Eleventh Circuit over its authority to maintain a national market system and require that the industry spend billions to maintain its consolidated audit trail, a case that is further complicated by the Loper Bright decision, says Daniel Hawke at Arnold & Porter.
-
What's Inside Feds' Latest Bank Merger Review Proposals
Recent bank merger proposals from a trio of federal agencies highlight the need for banks looking to grow through acquisition to consider several key issues much earlier in the planning process than has historically been necessary, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
-
State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
-
Cos. Should Focus On State AI Laws Despite New DOL Site
Because a new U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored website about the disability discrimination risks of AI hiring tools mostly echoes old guidance, employers should focus on complying with the state and local AI workplace laws springing up where Congress and federal regulators have yet to act, say attorneys at Littler.
-
How Biden Admin Has Used Antitrust Tools, And What's Next
The last four years have been marked by an aggressive whole-of-government approach to antitrust enforcement using a broad range of tools, and may result in lasting change regardless of the upcoming presidential election result, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
-
Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits
Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.
-
How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure
Updated incentives, penalties and enforcement resources in the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently published final rule revising the Export Administration Regulations should help companies decide how to implement export control compliance programs and whether to disclose possible violations, say attorneys at Freshfields.