The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently concluded that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Coinbase Inc. v. Bielski is not limited to interlocutory appeals involving arbitration....more
5/2/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Automatic Stay ,
Coinbase Inc v Bielski ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Drug Distribution ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Jurisdiction ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated a decision holding that a union could not compel arbitration of a grievance related to an expired collective bargaining agreement....more
4/29/2025
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Disputes ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Labor Relations ,
Retirement ,
Unions ,
Xerox
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently rejected challenges to a district court’s decision to confirm a Hong Kong arbitration award, including arguments that confirming the award violated public policy and international...more
2/25/2025
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
China ,
Comity ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Judgments ,
Hong Kong ,
International Arbitration ,
Jurisdiction ,
New York Convention ,
Public Policy
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that it lacked jurisdiction over a petition to vacate an arbitration award....more
2/4/2025
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lack of Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Vacate ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently rejected an attempt to vacate an arbitration award related to a maritime contract....more
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently refused to invalidate an arbitration award in a breach of contract case involving patent royalties based on purported violations of public policy....more
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 does not provide an implied right of action for sex discrimination in employment. This decision deepens an...more
11/12/2024
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Coaches ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hostile Environment ,
Professors ,
Retaliation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Title IX ,
Title VII
Penn State recently agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle allegations of False Claims Act violations related to its cybersecurity controls after a whistleblower alleged that the university failed to adhere to cybersecurity...more
11/5/2024
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Penn State ,
Settlement ,
Statutory Violations ,
Whistleblowers
Gone With the Wind?
Closed-End Funds Risk Extinction -
Shares of SEC-registered closed-end funds (CEFs) have long held significant potential advantages for some investors. For example, unlike shares of mutual funds...more
10/16/2024
/ Cybersecurity ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Social Media
A federal judge in Texas has enjoined the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on noncompete agreements, leaving the FTC’s attempt to quash such agreements waiving in the breeze, at least for the time being....more
10/4/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
New Rules ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
SCOTUS
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration after concluding, contrary to the district court’s decision, that a “sign-in wrap agreement” provided conspicuous notice of...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has rejected an argument that opting out of arbitration clauses precluded arbitration under prior arbitration agreements in a dispute between Uber drivers and...more
6/5/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Compel ,
Opt-Outs ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
Last Lap in SEC RILA Rulemaking Critical Unresolved Issues -
Congress directed the SEC to adopt a new registration statement for registered indexed annuities (RILAs) by the end of June. Several months ago, the SEC...more
5/29/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
NLRB ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The SEC has opened a new track in the whistleblower litigation derby. While SEC enforcement actions concerning whistleblower violations are nothing new, they typically involve claims that companies precluded employees from...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a district court’s decision to deny a motion to compel arbitration in a case involving a request to refund the cost of airline tickets after a cancellation....more
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has issued an aggressive scheduling order that “should allow prompt resolution of” one of the initial challenges to the FTC’s noncompete ban “with sufficient time,...more
5/3/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Competition ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas recently dismissed certain claims brought by a reinsurer related to its efforts to audit an insurer’s broker....more
The U.S. Tax Court recently upheld a determination by the IRS that premium payments to certain microcaptives could not be deducted for tax purposes because the premium payments were not actually for “insurance.”...more
The 2024 Carlton Fields Class Action Survey has revealed that labor and employment class actions jumped approximately 10% in the last year. Nearly four out of five companies surveyed reported that they faced a labor and...more
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a district court lacked jurisdiction to confirm an arbitration award because the court did not have an independent basis for jurisdiction on the face of the application...more
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court’s decision to vacate and remand an arbitration decision in a case concerning companies’ withdrawal from a retirement fund....more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a decision compelling arbitration based on an arbitration provision in website “terms of use,” even though those terms were in a hyperlink....more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a district court’s refusal to enjoin arbitration was immediately appealable because the arbitration agreement was governed by state law rather than the Federal...more
Funds Not Caged by SEC Names Rule Amendments: Roaming Room Remains -
The SEC recently adopted amendments to its investment company “names” rule that apply to most SEC-registered funds, including underlying funds in which...more
1/11/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Life Insurance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Whistleblowers
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana recently refused to compel arbitration on the ground that the arbitral forum had ceased to exist and that a purported replacement forum was not the same forum and...more