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Attorney	Latest Publications
Darby C. Allen	Groundhog Day for Tuomey: Jury Finds Hospital Violated Stark Law and False Claims Act On May 8, 2013, a jury in the Columbia Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina returned a verdict finding that Tuomey Healthcare Systems, Inc. (Tuomey) violated the Stark Law and the federal False…more False Claims Act, Healthcare, Hospitals, Medicare, Physicians	See All Updates »
Tina Amin	Blood Bank Data Breach Class Action Settlement Preliminarily Approved by California District Court Judge In Johansson-Dohrmann v. CBR Systems, Inc. et al, No. 3:12-cv-01115 (S.D. Cal., filed May 7, 2012), the latest data privacy class action to reach settlement, Judge Michael M. Anello on February 5, 2013 granted preliminary…more Attorney's Fees, CBR Systems, Class Action, CRA, Credit Protection Package	See All Updates »
M.J. Asensio	The NLRB Finishes 2012 with a Bang and Shows No Sign of Slowing Down in 2013 The National Labor Relations Board (the "NLRB") released a number of important decisions in late December 2012. The most significant of these decisions, which seemingly signal continued activism by the NLRB, address employee…more Collective Bargaining, Dues Checkoff, NLRB, Union Dues, Unions	See All Updates »
Ameena Ashfaq	CMS Proposes Increased Rewards for Reporting Fraud and Abuse The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published a proposed rule modifying certain provisions in their Incentive Reward Program (IRP) to sweeten the incentives for reporting sanctionable conduct. Revisions…more CMS, False Claims Act, Fraud, HIPAA, Incentives	See All Updates »
Stuart J. Bassin	Sixth Circuit Denies Government Motion for Rehearing in Quality Stores Employment Tax Challenge The Sixth Circuit has unanimously and summarily denied a Government request for en banc rehearing of a taxpayer-favorable ruling in United States v. Quality Stores, Inc., 693 F.3d 605 (6th Cir. Sept. 7, 2012)…more FICA Taxes, IRS, Quality Stores, Refunds, Statute of Limitations	See All Updates »
Edward Beckwith	President Obama Signs "Fiscal Cliff" Legislation into Law As you likely have heard, the President signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act (H.R. 8) (the "Act") on January 2, 2013. The Act, popularly known as the "fiscal cliff" legislation, permanently extends the Bush era tax cuts for…more 3.8% Medicare Tax, Alternative Minimum Tax, American Taxpayer Relief Act, Bush-Era Tax Cuts, Business Taxes	See All Updates »
Jennifer Benda	IRS Reporting Requirements for Class Action Settlement Payments and Court Awarded Damages When finalizing class action settlements, or paying damage awards after a class action judgment, it is important to be mindful of the taxation of these payments and the related IRS information reporting requirements triggered by…more 1099s, Class Action, Compensatory Damages, Damages, Injunctions	See All Updates »
Scott Bent	Ohio Legislative Proposal Regulating Radioactive Drilling Wastes To Be Delayed Until Fall Ohio Governor John Kasich’s proposed budget was introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives in early February as HB 59. Our prior analysis of the original bill can be found here. HB 59 includes amendments requested by three…more Proposed Legislation, Radioactive Drilling Waste, State Budgets	See All Updates »
Ted Bernert	Ohio Budget Bill Introduced On February 12, 2013, the text of the Governor's budget proposal for the 2014-2015 biennium, announced on February 4, 2013, was made public as House Bill 59 ("HB 59"). The new HB 59 includes a state income tax deduction for…more Local Taxes, Pass-Through Entities, Sales & Use Tax, Severance Tax, State Budgets	See All Updates »
Matthew I. Bobb	EEOC Approves Strategic Enforcement Plan On December 18, 2012, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) approved its Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) highlighting six high-priority target areas. The SEP stresses that the EEOC’s enforcement efforts over…more Anti-Retaliation Provisions, Discrimination, EEOC, Equal Pay, Hiring & Firing	See All Updates »
Fernando Bohorquez, Jr.	Potential Bad News for UGC Music Sites: Pre-1972 Tracks May Not Be Covered By the DMCA’s Safe Harbor When you think of “Peggy Sue” by Buddy Holly, “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry, and “My Girl” by the Temptations, you think classic, iconic, rock and roll. Now, in light of the most recent legal setback against music sharing…more Copyright, DMCA, Music, Music Industry, Safe Harbors	See All Updates »
Martin Booher	Vapor Intrusion Guidance Update U.S. EPA has extended the deadline for comments on its OSWER Final Guidance for Assessing and Mitigating the Vapor Intrusion Pathway from Subsurface Sources to Indoor Air and its Guidance for Addressing Petroleum Vapor Intrusion…more EPA, Vapor Intrusion, Vapor Intrusion Guidance	See All Updates »
John Boyd	Modification of Roth In-Plan Conversion Rules Provides Participants Greater Flexibility Tucked in the provisions of the year-end financial cliff legislation (the "American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012") was a provision which creates greater flexibility in the conversion of qualified plan dollars to tax-free status…more 401k, 403(b) Plans, American Taxpayer Relief Act, Distribution Rules, Roth Conversions	See All Updates »
Deborah Bracy	Modification of Roth In-Plan Conversion Rules Provides Participants Greater Flexibility Tucked in the provisions of the year-end financial cliff legislation (the "American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012") was a provision which creates greater flexibility in the conversion of qualified plan dollars to tax-free status…more 401k, 403(b) Plans, American Taxpayer Relief Act, Distribution Rules, Roth Conversions	See All Updates »
Elizabeth Braverman	Sixth Circuit Further Defines Requirements of Commonality Under Dukes; Distinguishes Seventh Circuit Case Relaxing Those Requirements In a recent case, Miller v. Countrywide Bank (In re Countrywide Financial Corp. Mortgage Lending Practices Litigation), — F.3d —, No. 12-5250, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 924 (6th Cir. Jan. 15, 2013), the Sixth Circuit provided more…more Class Action, Class Certification, Commonality, Countrywide, Delegation of Discretion	See All Updates »
Maureen Brennan	Vapor Intrusion Guidance Update U.S. EPA has extended the deadline for comments on its OSWER Final Guidance for Assessing and Mitigating the Vapor Intrusion Pathway from Subsurface Sources to Indoor Air and its Guidance for Addressing Petroleum Vapor Intrusion…more EPA, Vapor Intrusion, Vapor Intrusion Guidance	See All Updates »
Melissa Brown	Novel “Bad Faith Admission” EMTALA Theory Survives Motion to Dismiss The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently denied Contra Costa Regional Medical Center’s (CCRMC) motion to dismiss regarding an alleged violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act…more EMTALA, Liability, Motion to Dismiss	See All Updates »
John Burke	Export Control Reform to Move Wide Array of Aircraft Parts off the Munitions List The Departments of State and Commerce published final rules in the Federal Register on April 16, 2013, moving export control jurisdiction from the State Department to the Commerce Department for a wide range of aircraft and…more Export Administration Regulations, Export Controls, ITAR, New Regulations, US Munitions List	See All Updates »
Carey Busen	Nothing Goes Better with Race Tires than . . . Wine?! – Fourth Circuit Limits Taxable eDiscovery Costs As we’ve discussed multiple times, the issue of what types of ediscovery costs are taxable under 28 U.S.C. § 1920 was first addressed by a federal appellate court last spring in Race Tires America, Inc. v. Hoosier Racing Tire…more Cost-Shifting, Legal Costs	See All Updates »
Sam Camardo	Disproportionately Favoring the Named Plaintiffs Kills Settlement, Says Sixth Circuit The Sixth Circuit recently limited defendants’ ability to craft settlements that disproportionately favor the class representatives. Vassalle v. Midland Funding LLC, — F.3d –, 2013 WL 673517 (6th Cir. Feb. 26, 2013). Though the…more Class Action, Class Representatives, Debt Collection, Robo-Signing, Settlement	See All Updates »
John Carney	CFPB Criminal Referral In what he called "a harbinger of an especially potent partnership," Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced Tuesday the filing of criminal charges against a New York debt settlement firm…more CFPB, Criminal Prosecution	See All Updates »
Raj Chohan	Individualized Causation and Reliance Defenses Render Class Representative Inadequate in the Northern District of Illinois Class action defense practitioners routinely face uphill battles on the issue of individualized defenses for class members. However, these arguments should not be overlooked as tools to defeat class certification. Lipton v…more Class Action, Class Certification, Class Representatives, Consumer Fraud, Predominance Requirement	See All Updates »
Donna S. Clark	Groundhog Day for Tuomey: Jury Finds Hospital Violated Stark Law and False Claims Act On May 8, 2013, a jury in the Columbia Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina returned a verdict finding that Tuomey Healthcare Systems, Inc. (Tuomey) violated the Stark Law and the federal False…more False Claims Act, Healthcare, Hospitals, Medicare, Physicians	See All Updates »
Dennis O. Cohen	CFPB Criminal Referral In what he called "a harbinger of an especially potent partnership," Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced Tuesday the filing of criminal charges against a New York debt settlement firm…more CFPB, Criminal Prosecution	See All Updates »
Casie Collignon	Common and Predominating Damages: Comcast Opinion Extends Wal-Mart v. Dukes' Standards for Class Certification but Leaves the Question of Daubert for Another Day On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, Case No. 11-864, which provides a valuable tool for the defense in combatting class certification in antitrust cases and other types of class actions…more Class Action, Class Certification, Comcast, Comcast v. Behrend, Damages	See All Updates »
S. Jeanine Conley	UniTek Argues $3.8M FLSA Award Cannot Stand in Light of Seventh Circuit Decertification Decision In a recent motion filed in Monroe v. FTS USA, LLC, No. 2:08-cv-02100 (D.E. 441-1), defendants Unitek USA, LLC and its subsidiary, FTS USA, LLC, (collectively “UniTek”) asserted that a $3.8 million judgment awarded to a class of…more Class Action, Class Certification, Espenscheid v DirectStat USA, FLSA, FTS USA	See All Updates »
J. Garrett Cornelison	U.S. Eases Burma (Myanmar) Import Ban On November 16, 2012, the Obama Administration announced that the U.S. would begin to allow imports from Burma (Myanmar), ending a decade-old ban on Burmese imports. The decision, published in a joint announcement by the U.S…more Barack Obama, Department of State, Imports, OFAC, Sanctions	See All Updates »
William Culbertson	IRS Releases Community Health Needs Assessment and Other Guidance for Charitable Hospitals On April 3, the U.S. Treasury Department released proposed regulations that provide guidance on the community health needs assessment (CHNA) requirements for charitable hospitals under § 501(r)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,…more Affordable Care Act, CHNA, Healthcare, Hospitals, IRS	See All Updates »
Barry Cutler	FTC Amends Its COPPA Rule to Protect Children Online After Technology Advances In Gathering Their Personal Information Technology advances often help consumers do things quicker or easier. For regulators and law enforcers, such advances often present challenges in keeping laws and regulations up to date…more COPPA, FTC, Parental Consent, Personally Identifiable Information, Privacy Policy	See All Updates »
Cassie J. Dallas	New York Court Upholds Local Hydraulic Fracturing and Oil and Gas Development Bans Last Friday, a four judge panel of a New York appeals court upheld two local zoning laws that prohibit activities related to oil and gas exploration and development, including hydraulic fracturing. The decisions in Norse Energy…more Energy Exploration, Fracking, Local Ordinance, Oil & Gas	See All Updates »
Bill Devinney	LIBOR Going Forward: How Will Dismissal of Antitrust Claims Effect Investigations and Private Claims? We recently wrote about the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ antitrust claims against banks involved in the LIBOR manipulation scandal for failure to allege an antitrust injury. Since that dismissal, the court has granted plaintiffs…more Antitrust Litigation, Dismissals, Investigations, Libor, Sherman Act	See All Updates »
Dustin Dow	Common and Predominating Damages: Comcast Opinion Extends Wal-Mart v. Dukes' Standards for Class Certification but Leaves the Question of Daubert for Another Day On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, Case No. 11-864, which provides a valuable tool for the defense in combatting class certification in antitrust cases and other types of class actions…more Class Action, Class Certification, Comcast, Comcast v. Behrend, Damages	See All Updates »
Rodger Eckelberry	Common and Predominating Damages: Comcast Opinion Extends Wal-Mart v. Dukes' Standards for Class Certification but Leaves the Question of Daubert for Another Day On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, Case No. 11-864, which provides a valuable tool for the defense in combatting class certification in antitrust cases and other types of class actions…more Class Action, Class Certification, Comcast, Comcast v. Behrend, Damages	See All Updates »
David Einhorn	New gTLDs Raise Data Security Concerns ICANN is well on its way to the launch of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) with the first ones being approved as early as April 23rd. The handful of TLDs currently in use, such as “.com”, “.org”, and “.edu”, may soon be…more Data Protection, gTLD, ICANN, PayPal, VeriSign	See All Updates »
Paul Enockson	BLM Issues New Draft Fracking Regulations On Thursday, May 16, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued its lasted proposed fracking regulations. The proposed regulations would require wider disclosure of fracking chemicals. The regulations also require water…more Bureau of Land Management, Disclosure Requirements, Fracking, Oil & Gas	See All Updates »
Jeffry Erney	Ohio Budget Bill Introduced On February 12, 2013, the text of the Governor's budget proposal for the 2014-2015 biennium, announced on February 4, 2013, was made public as House Bill 59 ("HB 59"). The new HB 59 includes a state income tax deduction for…more Local Taxes, Pass-Through Entities, Sales & Use Tax, Severance Tax, State Budgets	See All Updates »
Joshua Farnsworth	Consumer Debt Collectors Join the Federally Supervised Community For the consumer debt collection industry, the federal regulators have arrived. In February 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) began supervising roughly 175 large consumer debt collectors, defined as those…more CFPB, Debt Collection, Dodd-Frank, Enforcement, ESI	See All Updates »
Dr. Elliot J. Feldman	So What's The Big Idea? The discovery and development of economically efficient means to extract shale oil and gas, “fracking,” is undermining efforts to reduce the use of hydrocarbons because alternative energy production, especially through solar…more Climate Change, Energy Policy, Fracking, Green Energy, Oil & Gas	See All Updates »
Gerald Ferguson	What You Should Be Doing Now to Prepare for Implementation of the Cybersecurity Executive Order A tempting response to the Cybersecurity Executive Order (the "Order"), announced by President Obama at his State of the Union address, is to ignore it. It is vague in key particulars, such as which companies are part of the…more Critical Infrastructure Sectors, Cybersecurity, DHS, Executive Orders, Information Sharing	See All Updates »
Eric Fish	Seventh Circuit Allows Class Certification Despite Attorney Misconduct Do you ever wonder how plaintiffs’ class action lawyers find their class representatives? And whether there is any possibility of defeating class certification if their efforts are sleazy or downright unethical?…more Attorney Misconduct, Class Action, Class Certification, Class Representatives, Reliable Money Order v McKnight Sales	See All Updates »
Danyll Foix	Common and Predominating Damages: Comcast Opinion Extends Wal-Mart v. Dukes' Standards for Class Certification but Leaves the Question of Daubert for Another Day On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, Case No. 11-864, which provides a valuable tool for the defense in combatting class certification in antitrust cases and other types of class actions…more Class Action, Class Certification, Comcast, Comcast v. Behrend, Damages	See All Updates »
Anne Foster	Ohio Adopts New Patient Notification Law for Terminating Physician Employment Until recently, physicians were required by rules of the State Medical Board of Ohio to notify their patients upon termination of services or retirement from practice. As of March 22, 2013, Ohio law requires healthcare entities…more Hiring & Firing, Notice Requirements, Patient Notice, Termination	See All Updates »
Cory Fox	HHS Considers Amending HIPAA Privacy Rule to Permit Disclosure of Mental Health Information for Firearm Background Checks Adding yet another wrinkle to the nation’s contentious gun control debate, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) soliciting information and public…more Background Checks, Data Protection, Firearms, Gun Laws, HHS	See All Updates »
Jessie Gabriel	A Big Week for the Securities Bar: Amgen and Gabelli The Supreme Court last week issued two opinions of major importance to the securities bar. In Amgen Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans & Trust Funds, 568 U.S. (2013), the court held that no proof of materiality was required to…more	See All Updates »
Christopher Gallagher	FINRA Offers Regulatory Road Map for 2013 On January 11, 2013, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued its annual Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter (Priorities Letter) to member firms, which highlights its primary areas of focus for the…more Algorithmic Trading, Cybersecurity, FINRA, High Frequency Trading, Insider Trading	See All Updates »
Judy Gechman	Buyer Beware: Increase in HSR Thresholds Does Not Mean Your Non-Reportable Transaction is Safe The purpose of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR Act”) Act is to preserve the agencies’ ability to investigate competitive consequences of a transaction before closing, provide an opportunity to obtain an effective remedy, and…more Buyer Beware, Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, Non-Reportable Transactions, Size of Persons Test, Size of Transaction Test	See All Updates »
Christopher Giaimo	Always Be Prepared: Forecasting a Business Partner's Financial Problems and How to Prepare As the American economy continues to slog through the ongoing Great Recession, even financially sound companies face challenges due to the continued economic malaise. In particular, a company that works with suppliers, customers…more Adequate Assurances, Business Development, Client Services, Contract Claims, Creditors	See All Updates »
Ellen Shadur Gross	District Court Sides With DOL in Dispute Over Whether Healthcare Providers Are Government Contractors In a significant victory for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently found providers of healthcare services are subject to federal equal employment opportunity mandates…more Affirmative Action, Contractors, Discrimination, DOL, EEOC	See All Updates »
Susan Feigin Harris	Healthcare Provisions In The American Taxpayer Relief Act - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly In late night action on December 31, 2012, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) was passed by the Senate and finalized days later by Congress and the President with a set of tax and spending policy provisions intended…more Affordable Care Act, American Taxpayer Relief Act, Budget Control Act of 2011, Co-Op, Disproportionate Share Adjustments	See All Updates »
Jeremiah Hart	Noel Canning v. NLRB: The Decision, Its Potential Impact, and the Future of the National Labor Relations Board On Friday, January 25, 2013, we informed you that the federal circuit court of appeals in Washington D.C. had struck down President Obama's "recess appointments" of three National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) members as…more Barack Obama, Canning v NLRB, NLRB, Political Appointments, Pro Forma Sessions	See All Updates »
Holli L. Hartman	Exotic Dancers Continue to Rake in Class Action Dollar Bills In our continuing coverage of exotic dancer performances on the class action stage, another group of dancers from California recently won approval of a multi-million dollar settlement in a wage and hour class action suit…more Wage and Hour	See All Updates »
Ruth E. Hartman	Class Action Waivers And Arbitration Agreements - Justices Divided On Validity Of Effective Vindication Of Rights Analysis In AMEX Oral Argument The U.S. Supreme Court heard the much anticipated oral argument in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant on February 27, 2013. The issue before the Court was whether an arbitration clause which prohibits class…more AmEx, Arbitration, Class Action, Class Action Arbitration Waivers, Vindication of Statutory Rights Doctrine	See All Updates »
Lori Herf	Ohio Budget Bill Introduced On February 12, 2013, the text of the Governor's budget proposal for the 2014-2015 biennium, announced on February 4, 2013, was made public as House Bill 59 ("HB 59"). The new HB 59 includes a state income tax deduction for…more Local Taxes, Pass-Through Entities, Sales & Use Tax, Severance Tax, State Budgets	See All Updates »
Marc E. Hirschfield	Pledges By Debtors To Nonprofits May Not Be Enforceable After Bankruptcy Is a bankrupt pledgor legally bound to fulfill its promise to pledge a gift; or will a nonprofit have a successful claim against a pledgor if there is a subsequent failure to make payment because of a bankruptcy filing? A…more Clawback Agreements, Pledges	See All Updates »
Craig Hoffman	APT Threat Report Shows Cybersecurity Risks Not Limited to Identity Theft We often talk to companies who believe they are an unlikely target for hackers because they do not have financial account information, Social Security numbers, or medical information. However, personal information is not the…more China, Critical Infrastructure Sectors, Cyber Attacks, Cyber Espionage, Cybersecurity	See All Updates »
Thomas Hogan	EPA Lifts Threat of CERCLA Liability for Some Tenants of Brownfields Tenants who lease currently or formerly contaminated property can now benefit from protections from cleanup liability that were once available only to purchasers of such property. EPA announced its new policy in a December…more Bona Fide Purchaser, Brownfield Properties, CERCLA, Commercial Leases, Contaminated Properties	See All Updates »
Shawn Hough	U.S. Supreme Court To Review Fifth Circuit’s SLUSA Decision in Stanford Ponzi Scheme Case The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari to examine the “in connection with” requirement of the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (“SLUSA”) in Chadbourne & Parke LLP v. Troice, No. 12-79…more Chadbourne & Parke LLP v Troice, Class Action, Ponzi Scheme, SCOTUS, SLUSA	See All Updates »
Matthew Hoyt	New I-9 Form Released - U.S. Employers Should Begin Using New Form to Verify Employment Eligibility of All Newly Hired Workers On March 8, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Federal Register notice announcing that Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification has been revised. The newly revised Form I-9 makes several…more Eligibility, Hiring & Firing, I-9, USCIS	See All Updates »
Susan Whittaker Hughes	New Affordable Care Act Fees Impact Group Health Plans in 2013 and 2014 On July 31, 2013, the first of various fees will be due that are imposed by the Affordable Care Act on self-insured group health plans and/or issuers of insured health policies providing accident and health coverage. Beyond the…more Affordable Care Act, Employer Group Health Plans, Fees, Healthcare, PCORI	See All Updates »
Karin Jenson	Proportionality and Predictive Coding: A Hip Combination Ok, excuse that bad joke. But the recent decision in In re: Biomet, the hip replacement multi-district litigation out of the Northern District of Indiana, is noteworthy because it discusses proportionality and predictive coding…more Discovery, Hip Replacement, Multidistrict Litigation, Predictive Coding	See All Updates »
Paul Karlsgodt	Materiality Can Wait, Says the Supreme Court in Amgen The following post is reprinted with permission from Paul Karlsgodt’s blog, www.classactionblawg.com. The Supreme Court has issued its opinion in one of the most highly anticipated class action-related cases on the docket…more Amgen, Amgen Inc. v Connecticut Retirement Plans, Class Action, Class Certification, Fraud-on-the-Market	See All Updates »
Brian Karp	Delta's Mobile Application's "Wings Clipped" A powerful reminder to the business community that it must take mobile application (“App”) privacy seriously was provided by California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris in the form a complaint filed against Delta Airlines, Inc…more Delta Airlines, Kamala Harris, Mobile Apps, Online Privacy Protection Act, Privacy Policy	See All Updates »
Dawn Kennedy	California Appellate Court Orders Arbitration and Rules that Claims May Not Proceed On Behalf of a Class Plaintiff in Macy's OT Action Gets What She Bargained For A recent decision from a California court of appeals reflects a growing, if at times reluctant, acceptance by California courts of employment arbitration. In Outland v. Macy’s Department Stores, Inc., Case No. A133589 (Ct. Cal…more Arbitration, AT&T Mobility, Class Action, D.R. Horton, Federal Arbitration Act	See All Updates »
Gil Keteltas	Letterman: Take the “e” out of eDiscovery! Those of a certain age may recall the television show The Electric Company’s leading superhero, Letterman. He could resolve nearly any crisis by deleting, adding, or changing a letter, all while grooving to funky 70s’ music…more Discovery, ESI	See All Updates »
Erica Gann Kitaev	Court Denies Motion for Class Certification in Hannaford In an order surely to reverberate with both the plaintiffs’ and defense bar, on March 20, 2013, Judge D. Brock Hornby of the United States District Court for the District of Maine denied the plaintiffs’ motion to certify a class…more	See All Updates »
George Klidonas	Pledges By Debtors To Nonprofits May Not Be Enforceable After Bankruptcy Is a bankrupt pledgor legally bound to fulfill its promise to pledge a gift; or will a nonprofit have a successful claim against a pledgor if there is a subsequent failure to make payment because of a bankruptcy filing? A…more Clawback Agreements, Pledges	See All Updates »
Theodore Kobus III	HHS Reaches $400,000 Settlement Of Alleged HIPAA Security Rule Violations For Disabling Firewall Protections The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reported a $400,000 settlement with Idaho State University (ISU) for alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)…more Cybersecurity, Data Protection, HHS, HIPAA, OCR	See All Updates »
Mark Kornfeld	Third Circuit Holds Rule 10b-5 Violations May Be Imputed to Investment Management Company on Basis of Apparent Agency The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently issued a decision that highlights the importance of investment management companies using extreme caution when promoting investment products to their clients, as…more FINRA, Fraud, Hedge Funds, Investment Management, Marketing	See All Updates »
Kelvin Lawrence	Ohio Budget Bill Introduced On February 12, 2013, the text of the Governor's budget proposal for the 2014-2015 biennium, announced on February 4, 2013, was made public as House Bill 59 ("HB 59"). The new HB 59 includes a state income tax deduction for…more Local Taxes, Pass-Through Entities, Sales & Use Tax, Severance Tax, State Budgets	See All Updates »
John Lehrer II	President Obama Signs "Fiscal Cliff" Legislation into Law As you likely have heard, the President signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act (H.R. 8) (the "Act") on January 2, 2013. The Act, popularly known as the "fiscal cliff" legislation, permanently extends the Bush era tax cuts for…more 3.8% Medicare Tax, Alternative Minimum Tax, American Taxpayer Relief Act, Bush-Era Tax Cuts, Business Taxes	See All Updates »
Richard Levin	SEC Releases National Examination Program Priorities for 2013 On February 21, 2013, the National Examination Program (NEP), which is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), published its examination priorities…more Broker-Dealer, Clearing Agents, Investment Adviser, NEP, SEC	See All Updates »
John Lewis	Common and Predominating Damages: Comcast Opinion Extends Wal-Mart v. Dukes' Standards for Class Certification but Leaves the Question of Daubert for Another Day On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, Case No. 11-864, which provides a valuable tool for the defense in combatting class certification in antitrust cases and other types of class actions…more Class Action, Class Certification, Comcast, Comcast v. Behrend, Damages	See All Updates »
Jonathan Lewis	NC Governor Signs Law Banning Most Favored Nations Provisions in Health Care Contracts Despite opposition and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina’s claim that it “has not used ‘most favored nation’ clauses in [its] new contracts and in fact [they are] not part of our strategy to use those clauses on contracts…more Contract Drafting, Healthcare, Most-Favored Nations	See All Updates »
Patrick Lewis	Common and Predominating Damages: Comcast Opinion Extends Wal-Mart v. Dukes' Standards for Class Certification but Leaves the Question of Daubert for Another Day On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, Case No. 11-864, which provides a valuable tool for the defense in combatting class certification in antitrust cases and other types of class actions…more Class Action, Class Certification, Comcast, Comcast v. Behrend, Damages	See All Updates »
Allen Littman	Highlights of Recently Released FATCA Regulations On January 17, the Internal Revenue Service issued long-awaited final regulations (the Final Regulations) for implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) (the Final Regulations are contained in T.D. 9610). For…more Due Diligence, FATCA, FFI, Foreign Banks, Foreign Financial Accounts	See All Updates »
Sammi Malek	New Iran Sanctions Enacted Satellite Export Controls Now Eligible to be Returned to Commerce Department Jurisdiction - On January 3, 2013, President Obama signed into law Public Law No. 112-239, the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012…more Export Controls, Foreign Banks, Human Rights, IFCPA, Iran Sanctions	See All Updates »
Christopher Marraro	EPA Lifts Threat of CERCLA Liability for Some Tenants of Brownfields Tenants who lease currently or formerly contaminated property can now benefit from protections from cleanup liability that were once available only to purchasers of such property. EPA announced its new policy in a December…more Bona Fide Purchaser, Brownfield Properties, CERCLA, Commercial Leases, Contaminated Properties	See All Updates »
Kimberly M. Maynard	Filing Objections to Applications for the Registration of New gTLDs In June 2011, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization responsible for the global coordination of the use of domain names, IP addresses and the like, announced that it would accept…more Community Objection, Dispute Resolution Services, gTLD, ICANN, Legal Rights Objection	See All Updates »
B. Scott McBride	CMS Proposes Increased Rewards for Reporting Fraud and Abuse The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published a proposed rule modifying certain provisions in their Incentive Reward Program (IRP) to sweeten the incentives for reporting sanctionable conduct. Revisions…more CMS, False Claims Act, Fraud, HIPAA, Incentives	See All Updates »
John McGowan	New Affordable Care Act Fees Impact Group Health Plans in 2013 and 2014 On July 31, 2013, the first of various fees will be due that are imposed by the Affordable Care Act on self-insured group health plans and/or issuers of insured health policies providing accident and health coverage. Beyond the…more Affordable Care Act, Employer Group Health Plans, Fees, Healthcare, PCORI	See All Updates »
M. Scott McIntyre	United States Supreme Court Confirms that a Timely and Properly Worded Offer of Judgment May Moot a Collective Action Last week, the United States Supreme Court confirmed what we informed readers of in our Employment Class Action Blog on February 21, 2011, "A timely and properly worded offer of judgment may moot a collective action and…more Collective Actions, Genesis HealthCare, Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, Mootness, SCOTUS	See All Updates »
David McMillan	Publish or Perish: Sony Releases Compilation of 50-Year-Old Bob Dylan Bootlegs to Comply with EU Directive Exploiting a recent European Union Directive extending the term of copyright for sound recordings, Sony released an 86-track collection of Bob Dylan recordings, including studio outtakes and live recordings from 1962-63…more Bob Dylan, Copyright, EU, Music, Sony	See All Updates »
Greg Mersol	California Courts Issue Multiple Decisions for Employers in Class Cases Just two years ago, a California case declining certification of an action would have been cause for comment. But since then, in 2011 the United States Supreme Court decided Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541…more Class Action, Class Certification, Rule 23	See All Updates »
Jennifer Mills	New Affordable Care Act Fees Impact Group Health Plans in 2013 and 2014 On July 31, 2013, the first of various fees will be due that are imposed by the Affordable Care Act on self-insured group health plans and/or issuers of insured health policies providing accident and health coverage. Beyond the…more Affordable Care Act, Employer Group Health Plans, Fees, Healthcare, PCORI	See All Updates »
Matthew J. Moody	Seventh Circuit Certifies Washing Machine Class Action on Efficiency Grounds In Butler v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., No. 11-8029 (7th Cir. Nov. 13, 2012), a decision authored by Judge Richard Posner, the Seventh Circuit ruled that the question of predominance in class actions “is a question of efficiency,”…more	See All Updates »
Patrick Muldowney	D.C. Circuit Court Shuts Down NLRB Rule Requiring Union Poster On May 7, 2013, a federal appellate court in Washington, D.C., struck down the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB or Board) requirement that employers subject to its jurisdiction post on their properties and websites a…more Anti-Union Actions, Free Speech, NLRA, NLRB, Notice Requirements	See All Updates »
John Mulhollan	Ohio Adopts New Patient Notification Law for Terminating Physician Employment Until recently, physicians were required by rules of the State Medical Board of Ohio to notify their patients upon termination of services or retirement from practice. As of March 22, 2013, Ohio law requires healthcare entities…more Hiring & Firing, Notice Requirements, Patient Notice, Termination	See All Updates »
Sanja Muranovic	EPA To Revisit Oil and Gas Air Rules, Requests Stay Of Suit Challenging Regulations Two weeks ago we reported that Texas withdrew from a multi-party lawsuit challenging USEPA’s new air pollution standards regulating the oil and gas industry (including hydraulic fracturing operations)…more Air Pollution, Air Quality Standards, EPA, Fracking, Oil & Gas	See All Updates »
Erin Murdock-Park	The Joint DOJ and PTO Perspective on Standards-Essential Patents as Compared to that of the FTC On January 8, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“PTO”) (collectively, “the Agencies”) issued a joint policy statement regarding remedies for Standards-Essential…more DOJ, FRAND, Google, Injunctions, License Agreements	See All Updates »
Jay Nanavati	Indian American Neurosurgeon Sentenced to Probation for Unreported Offshore Bank Accounts On February 1, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin sentenced Arvind Ahuja, a Milwaukee neurosurgeon, to serve three years of probation and to pay a fine of $350,000 following his conviction by a…more Criminal Prosecution, DOJ, FBAR, Income Taxes, Offshore Funds	See All Updates »
Pamela Nieto	New I-9 Form Released - U.S. Employers Should Begin Using New Form to Verify Employment Eligibility of All Newly Hired Workers On March 8, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Federal Register notice announcing that Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification has been revised. The newly revised Form I-9 makes several…more Eligibility, Hiring & Firing, I-9, USCIS	See All Updates »
Christina Novotny	U.S. Treasury Awards $3.5 Billion in New Markets Tax Credit Allocations On April 24, 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (the CDFI Fund) announced the community development entities (CDEs) selected to receive the $3.5 billion in New Markets…more Community Development Entities, New Market Tax Credits, U.S. Treasury	See All Updates »
Jonathan Nowakowski	SEC Greenlights Use of Social Media for Publicly Disclosing Company Information Recognizing the reality that many investors likely get more information from Facebook and Twitter than a corporate 10-K and that most public companies have a robust social media presence, the U.S. Securities and Exchange…more Disclosure Requirements, Facebook, Information Sharing, Material Nonpublic Information, Netflix	See All Updates »
Michael Nydegger	Highlights of Recently Released FATCA Regulations On January 17, the Internal Revenue Service issued long-awaited final regulations (the Final Regulations) for implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) (the Final Regulations are contained in T.D. 9610). For…more Due Diligence, FATCA, FFI, Foreign Banks, Foreign Financial Accounts	See All Updates »
Frank Oliva	U.S. Supreme Court To Review Fifth Circuit’s SLUSA Decision in Stanford Ponzi Scheme Case The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari to examine the “in connection with” requirement of the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (“SLUSA”) in Chadbourne & Parke LLP v. Troice, No. 12-79…more Chadbourne & Parke LLP v Troice, Class Action, Ponzi Scheme, SCOTUS, SLUSA	See All Updates »
Ferve Ozturk	Bankruptcy Claims vs. Class Actions: Southern District of New York Finds Class Action Process Superior In bankruptcy proceedings, is a class action superior to the claims administration process as a vehicle for resolving claims under the federal and New York State Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the “WARN…more Chapter 11, Class Action, Rule 23, WARN Act	See All Updates »
Jeffrey Paravano	President Obama Signs "Fiscal Cliff" Legislation into Law As you likely have heard, the President signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act (H.R. 8) (the "Act") on January 2, 2013. The Act, popularly known as the "fiscal cliff" legislation, permanently extends the Bush era tax cuts for…more 3.8% Medicare Tax, Alternative Minimum Tax, American Taxpayer Relief Act, Bush-Era Tax Cuts, Business Taxes	See All Updates »
Alan Pate	New gTLDs Raise Data Security Concerns ICANN is well on its way to the launch of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) with the first ones being approved as early as April 23rd. The handful of TLDs currently in use, such as “.com”, “.org”, and “.edu”, may soon be…more Data Protection, gTLD, ICANN, PayPal, VeriSign	See All Updates »
Kathleen M. Portman	On Second Thought — The Ohio Supreme Court Reverses Course and Holds that a Merger Does Not Trigger the Beginning of a Noncompetition Period In October, the Ohio Supreme Court reconsidered and reversed, in part, its May 24, 2012, decision in Acordia of Ohio, L.L.C. v. Fishel, 2012-Ohio-2297 (Acordia I), which sharply restricted the ability of employers to enforce…more Non-Compete Agreements	See All Updates »
David A. Posner	Arbitrators, Not Judges, Must Decide Whether Noncompetes Are Enforceable if There is an Arbitration Clause, Says U.S. Supreme Court On November 26, 2012, the United States Supreme Court held that the enforceability of a noncompete agreement containing a valid arbitration clause must be determined by an arbitrator in the first instance, not by a federal or…more Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Federal Arbitration Act, Non-Compete Agreements	See All Updates »
Marc Powers	SEC Releases National Examination Program Priorities for 2013 On February 21, 2013, the National Examination Program (NEP), which is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), published its examination priorities…more Broker-Dealer, Clearing Agents, Investment Adviser, NEP, SEC	See All Updates »
Edward Ptaszek, Jr.	President Obama Signs "Fiscal Cliff" Legislation into Law As you likely have heard, the President signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act (H.R. 8) (the "Act") on January 2, 2013. The Act, popularly known as the "fiscal cliff" legislation, permanently extends the Bush era tax cuts for…more 3.8% Medicare Tax, Alternative Minimum Tax, American Taxpayer Relief Act, Bush-Era Tax Cuts, Business Taxes	See All Updates »
Erik Raven-Hansen	DOJ Announces Changes to Antitrust Division’s “Carve Out” Practice On April 12, 2013, the Department of Justice announced changes to the Antitrust Division’s carve out practices concerning negotiations with companies that plead guilty to criminal antitrust violations. These changes were issued…more Carve Out Provisions, Criminal Prosecution, DOJ, Plea Agreements	See All Updates »
Deborah Renner	Supreme Court Rejects Efforts to Avoid CAFA Jurisdiction Editors’ Note: This post is a joint submission to this blog and rennerclassactions.com. In The Standard Fire Insurance Co.v. Knowles, No. 11-1450, a unanimous decision yesterday written by Justice Breyer, the Supreme…more Amount in Controversy, CAFA, Class Action, Damages, Jurisdiction	See All Updates »
David Rice	FINRA Offers Regulatory Road Map for 2013 On January 11, 2013, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued its annual Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter (Priorities Letter) to member firms, which highlights its primary areas of focus for the…more Algorithmic Trading, Cybersecurity, FINRA, High Frequency Trading, Insider Trading	See All Updates »
C. Zachary Rosenberg	Courts Are Liberally Construing Litigation Insurance Coverage for Class Action Defenses and So Should Defendants Although the Supreme Court continues to set the bar for class certification higher and higher, plaintiffs’ attorneys continue to file class action lawsuits of questionable merit. The litigation costs required to gain dismissal…more Class Action, Class Certification, Insurers, Litigation Insurance	See All Updates »
Gregory Saikin	Federal Healthcare Fraud Enforcement Efforts Yield a 790% Return Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the DOJ jointly released a report concluding that, for every dollar spent on healthcare fraud investigations in the last three years, the government recovered…more DOJ, Healthcare, Healthcare Fraud, HHS	See All Updates »
Nathan Schacht	D.C. Circuit Court Shuts Down NLRB Rule Requiring Union Poster On May 7, 2013, a federal appellate court in Washington, D.C., struck down the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB or Board) requirement that employers subject to its jurisdiction post on their properties and websites a…more Anti-Union Actions, Free Speech, NLRA, NLRB, Notice Requirements	See All Updates »
David Schick	Stark Exception For ESRD Not Recognized In Florida On January 10, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. v. Tucker, that an arrangement can violate Section 456.053 of the Florida Statutes, also known as Florida's…more Commerce Clause, ESRD, HHS, Patient Self-Referral, Preemption	See All Updates »
Paul Schmidt	Ohio Budget Bill Introduced On February 12, 2013, the text of the Governor's budget proposal for the 2014-2015 biennium, announced on February 4, 2013, was made public as House Bill 59 ("HB 59"). The new HB 59 includes a state income tax deduction for…more Local Taxes, Pass-Through Entities, Sales & Use Tax, Severance Tax, State Budgets	See All Updates »
Elizabeth Schutte	Third Circuit Holds Rule 10b-5 Violations May Be Imputed to Investment Management Company on Basis of Apparent Agency The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently issued a decision that highlights the importance of investment management companies using extreme caution when promoting investment products to their clients, as…more FINRA, Fraud, Hedge Funds, Investment Management, Marketing	See All Updates »
Melvin Schwechter	New Iran Sanctions Enacted Satellite Export Controls Now Eligible to be Returned to Commerce Department Jurisdiction - On January 3, 2013, President Obama signed into law Public Law No. 112-239, the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012…more Export Controls, Foreign Banks, Human Rights, IFCPA, Iran Sanctions	See All Updates »
Jessie Schweller	Girl Under Fire: Alicia Keys Sued for Copyright Infringement over Girl on Fire Songwriter Earl Shuman sued Alicia Keys for allegedly “sampling” parts of the composition “Hey There Lonely Boy” (“Lonely”) that he co-wrote in 1962. According to the complaint, Keys’ recording of “Girl on Fire” (“Fire”), which…more Alicia Keys, Copyright, Digital Sampling, Earl Shuman, Infringement	See All Updates »
Ned Searby	Antitrust Lessons in Africa – Part III This is the account of a week spent teaching antitrust law in a World Bank sponsored program for the Tanzanian Fair Competition Commission and members of their High Court. Before I leave, my seven year old daughter asks “why do…more	See All Updates »
Steven Sebastian	Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements: New Reporting Requirements, Civil Penalties and Other Regulations Generally, a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) is a welfare benefit program that is sponsored by a group of employers that have common business and industry interests, but not common ownership interests. The…more DOL, Form M-1, MEWAs	See All Updates »
James W. Seegers	The NLRB Finishes 2012 with a Bang and Shows No Sign of Slowing Down in 2013 The National Labor Relations Board (the "NLRB") released a number of important decisions in late December 2012. The most significant of these decisions, which seemingly signal continued activism by the NLRB, address employee…more Collective Bargaining, Dues Checkoff, NLRB, Union Dues, Unions	See All Updates »
Judy Selby	All of These Things Are Not Like the Others; Class Certification Denied in YouTube Case When the judge deciding a motion for class certification begins his Opinion by describing the proposed class as a “Frankenstein monster,” you don’t need to be very prescient to predict the outcome of the motion…more Class Action, Class Certification, Copyright, Infringement, YouTube	See All Updates »
Lynn Sessions	HHS Considers Amending HIPAA Privacy Rule to Permit Disclosure of Mental Health Information for Firearm Background Checks Adding yet another wrinkle to the nation’s contentious gun control debate, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) soliciting information and public…more Background Checks, Data Protection, Firearms, Gun Laws, HHS	See All Updates »
Sabrina L. Shadi	New California Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) Regulations Adopted BakerHostetler's Employment and Labor Group would like to bring to your attention the following recent changes to the California Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) Regulations affecting employer obligations and…more Disability, Discrimination, FEHA, FMLA, Medical Leave	See All Updates »
Lindsey Shoshany	Creative, But Perhaps Too Creative, Lawyering U.S. District Judge Rakoff ruled on whether copying legal filings amounts to copyright infringement. His verdict: it does not. Judge Rakoff granted summary judgment to defendants Lexis and Westlaw, dismissing plaintiffs’…more Copyright, Fair Use, Infringement, Legal Filings	See All Updates »
John Siegal	Arbitrators, Not Judges, Must Decide Whether Noncompetes Are Enforceable if There is an Arbitration Clause, Says U.S. Supreme Court On November 26, 2012, the United States Supreme Court held that the enforceability of a noncompete agreement containing a valid arbitration clause must be determined by an arbitrator in the first instance, not by a federal or…more Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Federal Arbitration Act, Non-Compete Agreements	See All Updates »
Lee Simowitz	NC Governor Signs Law Banning Most Favored Nations Provisions in Health Care Contracts Despite opposition and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina’s claim that it “has not used ‘most favored nation’ clauses in [its] new contracts and in fact [they are] not part of our strategy to use those clauses on contracts…more Contract Drafting, Healthcare, Most-Favored Nations	See All Updates »
Marc Skapof	Seventh Circuit Reaffirms Absolute-Priority Rule in In re Castleton Plaza, LP Can an equity investor who directs an insider to contribute "new value" to a debtor under a plan of reorganization, so as to retain his interest in the company, avoid an express market test for that new equity? The answer to…more Absolute Priority Rule, Chapter 11, Competitive Bidding, Debtors, Equity Investors	See All Updates »
Nicole Skolout	Johns v. Bayer Corporation: Southern District of California Dismisses “Lack of Substantiation” False Advertising Class Action In false advertising cases involving a wide range of consumer products, including dietary supplements and cosmetics, plaintiffs often allege that the manufacturer does not have adequate scientific “substantiation” for its…more Advertising, Bayer, Class Action, False Advertising, FTC	See All Updates »
George Skupski	U.S. Treasury Awards $3.5 Billion in New Markets Tax Credit Allocations On April 24, 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (the CDFI Fund) announced the community development entities (CDEs) selected to receive the $3.5 billion in New Markets…more Community Development Entities, New Market Tax Credits, U.S. Treasury	See All Updates »
Ericka Spears	Domino's Pizza Drivers Fail to Deliver Common Circumstances to the Eighth Circuit Despite their work uniforms and company cars, pizza delivery drivers do not have much in common (at least according to the Eighth Circuit). Recently, in Luiken v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC, No. 12-1216, 2013 WL 399248 (8th Cir…more Class Action, Class Certification, Commonality, Delivery Drivers, Dominos	See All Updates »
George Stamboulidis	CFPB Criminal Referral In what he called "a harbinger of an especially potent partnership," Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced Tuesday the filing of criminal charges against a New York debt settlement firm…more CFPB, Criminal Prosecution	See All Updates »
Maryanne Stanganelli	Appropriation Art Alive and Well after Second Circuit Ruling in Cariou v. Prince Today, the Second Circuit handed down its much anticipated decision in Cariou v. Prince regarding the legality of appropriation art by artist Richard Prince. Just over two years ago, in federal district court in New York,…more Artists, Cariou v Prince, Copyright, Fair Use, Infringement	See All Updates »
David Strauss	U.S. Treasury Awards $3.5 Billion in New Markets Tax Credit Allocations On April 24, 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (the CDFI Fund) announced the community development entities (CDEs) selected to receive the $3.5 billion in New Markets…more Community Development Entities, New Market Tax Credits, U.S. Treasury	See All Updates »
Lawrence M. Sung	Patent Watch: Forrester Envtl. Servs., Inc. v. Wheelabrator Techs., Inc. [P]ermitting state courts to adjudicate disparagement cases (involving alleged false statements about U.S. patent rights) could result in inconsistent judgments between state and federal courts [but] this possibility of future…more Claim Construction, Disparagement, Infringement, Jurisdiction, Patents	See All Updates »
Summer Swallow	Exclusions: OIG Offers Relationship Counseling to Providers On May 8, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an updated Special Advisory Bulletin on the Effect of Exclusion from Participation in Federal Health Care Programs…more Civil Monetary Penalty, Healthcare, HHS, Medicaid, Medicare	See All Updates »
Christopher Swift	Ohio Budget Bill Introduced On February 12, 2013, the text of the Governor's budget proposal for the 2014-2015 biennium, announced on February 4, 2013, was made public as House Bill 59 ("HB 59"). The new HB 59 includes a state income tax deduction for…more Local Taxes, Pass-Through Entities, Sales & Use Tax, Severance Tax, State Budgets	See All Updates »
Alexander Szilvas	New Markets Tax Credit Program Extended for Two Years by American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 On January 2, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (H.R. 8) into law which, in addition to addressing other "fiscal cliff" issues, extends the New Markets Tax Credit ("NMTC") Program for…more American Taxpayer Relief Act, Fiscal Cliff, New Market Tax Credits	See All Updates »
William Toomajian	Sixth Circuit Denies Government Motion for Rehearing in Quality Stores Employment Tax Challenge The Sixth Circuit has unanimously and summarily denied a Government request for en banc rehearing of a taxpayer-favorable ruling in United States v. Quality Stores, Inc., 693 F.3d 605 (6th Cir. Sept. 7, 2012)…more FICA Taxes, IRS, Quality Stores, Refunds, Statute of Limitations	See All Updates »
Ernest Vargo	U.S. Supreme Court Considers Arbitration Clauses and Class Actions Next Year The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari to consider Oxford Health Plans’ appeal of a ruling compelling class arbitration with its providers over the insurer’s payment practices…more Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Class Action, Oxford Health, Sutter	See All Updates »
Jeffrey Vlasek	The Fourth Circuit Uncovers A Lack Of Certification Analysis In Recent Pinkerton Class Action On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States. Shortly after his election, rumors of a possible plot to assassinate the decidedly pro-Union President-elect began to circulate. With…more Class Action, Dukes v Wal-Mart, FLSA, Rest and Meal Break, Security Guards	See All Updates »
Michael von Ansbach-Young	Massachusetts Follows California in Finding Retailers Vulnerable to Suit for Collecting Zip Codes in Credit Card Transactions Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Supreme Court issued an opinion holding that zip codes “may well qualify” as personally identifiable information under the Massachusetts law controlling the treatment of PII in credit card…more Credit Cards, Data Collection, Data Protection, Personally Identifiable Information, Retailers	See All Updates »
Jessica Wade	California Law Requires Certain Business Establishments to Post a Notice Regarding Human Trafficking and Slavery California's Department of Justice recently posted a model notice on their website with a variety of human trafficking and slavery hotlines. Under California Civil Code §52.6, now that this model notice has been posted, certain…more Human Rights, Human Trafficking, Notice Requirements, Slavery	See All Updates »
Nathan Ware	New Markets Tax Credit Program Extended for Two Years by American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 On January 2, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (H.R. 8) into law which, in addition to addressing other "fiscal cliff" issues, extends the New Markets Tax Credit ("NMTC") Program for…more American Taxpayer Relief Act, Fiscal Cliff, New Market Tax Credits	See All Updates »
William J. Weber	Rockefeller Releases Results of Fortune 500 Survey on Cybersecurity Back in September, I posted here about Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller’s (D-WV) letters to all FORTUNE 500 companies inquiring about business opposition to cybersecurity legislation…more Big Data, Cyber Attacks, Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity and American Cyber Competitiveness Act of 2013, Data Protection	See All Updates »
David A. Whitcomb	On Second Thought — The Ohio Supreme Court Reverses Course and Holds that a Merger Does Not Trigger the Beginning of a Noncompetition Period In October, the Ohio Supreme Court reconsidered and reversed, in part, its May 24, 2012, decision in Acordia of Ohio, L.L.C. v. Fishel, 2012-Ohio-2297 (Acordia I), which sharply restricted the ability of employers to enforce…more Non-Compete Agreements	See All Updates »
Deborah A. Wilcox	ICANN's Trademark Clearinghouse to Launch March 26 ICANN will make its Trademark Clearinghouse available for trademark recordation on March 26, 2013. All companies who value protection of their brands on the Internet should consider recording their brands in the Clearinghouse…more gTLD, ICANN, Trademark Clearinghouse, Trademarks	See All Updates »
Leigh Ann Wilson	Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements: New Reporting Requirements, Civil Penalties and Other Regulations Generally, a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) is a welfare benefit program that is sponsored by a group of employers that have common business and industry interests, but not common ownership interests. The…more DOL, Form M-1, MEWAs	See All Updates »
Justin Winquist	Recent Trends in Class Actions for Telephone and Fax Solicitation and Advertising Class actions under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227, continue to be an active trend in consumer and privacy class action litigation. The TCPA, which was historically called the "fax blast" statute,…more Advertising, Class Action, Faxes, FCC, Federal Jurisdiction	See All Updates »
Robert Wolin	Bringing Sunlight to Healthcare Pricing: The CMS Release of Hospital Charge Data Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis once said that "Sunlight is the best disinfectant." The release of charges billed by some 3,337 Medicare hospitals for 100 of the most common inpatient diagnosis related groups…more Affordable Care Act, CMS, Healthcare, Hospitals, Medicare	See All Updates »
Kimberly M. Wong	Special Edition: Health Law Update - February 28, 2013 In This Issue: - A Baker's Dozen of Significant Changes From the HIPAA/HITECH Rule 1. Business Associates and Subcontractors 2. Breach Notification 3. Covered Entity Organizational Structures 4. Cloud…more Business Associates, Cloud Computing, Covered Entities, Data Breach, Data Protection	See All Updates »
Stephanie Wong	JOBS Act Update The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Trading and Markets and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently published items of particular interest to firms following the progress of the…more Broker-Dealer, Crowdfunding, FINRA, General Solicitation, JOBS Act	See All Updates »
Donald Workman	Always Be Prepared: Forecasting a Business Partner's Financial Problems and How to Prepare As the American economy continues to slog through the ongoing Great Recession, even financially sound companies face challenges due to the continued economic malaise. In particular, a company that works with suppliers, customers…more Adequate Assurances, Business Development, Client Services, Contract Claims, Creditors	See All Updates »
Jason Yearout	Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Statewide Oil And Gas Conveyance Rules In October of 2012 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral argument on two key cases that potentially could reshape the laws and rules applicable to hydraulic fracturing in the state. We wrote extensively about these cases in…more Dunham Rule, Fracking, Marcellus Shale, Minerals, Oil & Gas	See All Updates »
Jing Zhu	The U.S. Election and China-U.S. Relations Dr. Elliot J. Feldman last week led discussions on the U.S. presidential election’s impact on China-U.S. relations at the University of Chicago Center in Beijing, the Beijing Arbitration Commission, and two other fora in…more	See All Updates »

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