Welcome to the third annual installment of Seyfarth Shaw’s Commercial Litigation Outlook, where our nationally recognized team provides insights about litigation issues and trends to expect in 2023. The continuing global...more
The National Association of Motor Vehicle Boards and Commissions (“NAMVBC”) held its annual fall workshop from September 21-24, in Nashville, Tennessee. The three-day workshop featured panel discussions about electric...more
Welcome to the second annual installment of Seyfarth Shaw’s Commercial Litigation Outlook. Our nationally recognized team provides keen insights about what to expect in 2022. In short, it will be a busy year that will call...more
3/15/2022
/ Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commercial Court ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech
On January 24, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that in 2022 the threshold for applying the size-of-parties test of the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act will increase from $92 million to $101 million. Deals that...more
In September 2021, North Carolina became the first state to amend its dealer statute to expressly permit at-home vehicle delivery in connection with the sale of new and used cars. The amendment clarifies that dealers can...more
Automakers will have to wait a little longer to find out whether they will be required to comply with required changes to installed telematics systems beginning with model year 2022 (MY22) vehicles that Massachusetts voters...more
On February 4, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the agencies would temporarily suspend the practice of granting early termination of the 30 day waiting period in...more
A Boston federal court heard the final round of closing arguments on Wednesday, July 21 in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healy, a lawsuit challenging recent amendments to the Massachusetts Right to Repair Law (the...more
On Friday, June 25, 2021, a Massachusetts federal district court held the first of two closing arguments in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healey, a case involving a motor vehicle manufacturer trade association’s...more
On June 14, 2021, the federal court bench trial commences in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healey, where a motor vehicle manufacturer trade association seeks to invalidate a 2020 ballot initiative amending that...more
Reminding everyone that it is the responsibility of the “court and the parties to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding,” Judge Douglas Woodlock recently settled multiple...more
As the nation emerges from the pandemic, clients face the double-whammy of delayed resolution of existing disputes (thanks to court shutdowns) and increased litigation activity across the board. The third quarter of 2020 saw...more
4/2/2021
/ Biometric Information ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Business Interruption ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Commercial Tenants ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Landlords ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
Massachusetts federal district court judge Douglas Woodlock did not mince words during an hour-long hearing on Thursday, December 3, urging lawyers for the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and Massachusetts Attorney General...more
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently announced that it has concluded that a proposed patent-pooling platform dedicated to “essential” 5G cellular technology standards for use in the automotive...more
8/7/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Automotive Industry ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Internet of Things ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Patent Pools ,
Telecommunications ,
Wireless Industry
Seyfarth Synopsis: At the beginning of 2020, industry pundits predicted only a moderate decline in auto sales for the year. Those “moderate decline” predictions took a sharp turn on Wednesday, with Morgan Stanley slashing its...more
3/17/2020
/ Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Economic Downturn ,
Goods or Services ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Internet Retailers ,
OEM ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Retail Market ,
Suppliers ,
Supply Chain
Acknowledging that “[c]onsumers are clamoring for the opportunity to purchase the vehicles of their choice online because it expands the options available and enables them to save a considerable amount of time and possibly...more
3/4/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Car Dealerships ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
E-Commerce ,
Internet ,
Internet Retailers ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Platforms ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retail Market ,
Websites
The National Association of Motor Vehicle Boards and Commissions (“NAMVBC”) held its annual fall workshop from September 19-21, 2019 in Sacramento, California. The three day workshop featured panel discussions about internet...more
10/1/2019
/ Auction ,
Automotive Industry ,
Dealerships ,
E-Commerce ,
Franchises ,
Fraud ,
Internet Retailers ,
Licensing Rules ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Online Distribution ,
Regulatory Requirements
On June 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) voted to adopt “Regulation Best Interest,” which is intended to increase the duties a broker-dealer owes to its clients. While SEC-registered investment advisors...more
6/7/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
New Rules ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Suitability Rule
In Shareholder Representative Services LLC v. RSI Holdco, LLC, C.A. No. 2018-0517-KSJM (Del. Ch. May 29, 2019), the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a merger agreement provision assigning pre-merger privilege held by...more