Louisiana has been at the center of the Biden Administration’s prioritization of environmental justice (EJ) issues. In United States v. Denka Performance Elastomer, the Eastern District of Louisiana granted a motion by the...more
In the midst of declining infection rates and increasing debate over mask and vaccine mandates, on February 7, 2022, Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene DeWitte Grischow temporarily enjoined COVID-19 mitigation...more
On March 7, 2020, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order No. 202, declaring a statewide disaster emergency in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This Executive Order followed just a few days after...more
Employers should note several recent legislative and regulatory developments in New York State related to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 12, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation entitling all public- and private-sector...more
In Washington: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) continued his 11th-hour standoff on unemployment benefits that ended up holding up the Senate from moving forward with its coronavirus relief package Friday. ...more
In Washington: On Friday, President Biden pushed Congress to act urgently on his proposed COVID-19 relief package as the White House scraps to garner bipartisan support. "[T]his is a time to act now,” Biden said during a...more
As mentioned in our previous post, the legality of state Governors’ emergency powers have come under scrutiny during the pandemic. Michigan’s Supreme Court, for example, recently struck down Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s...more
Are Michigan’s Enhanced Price Gouging Provisions Undone? As much of the country remains under various and often overlapping states of emergency, one Governor’s powers have been limited by a state supreme court. On October...more
This 27th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, sees us start with a discussion of a trend toward class actions, with later discussions on two key areas -- insurance coverage disputes and...more
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Issues Emergency Order - On Friday, October 2, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court issued an opinion invalidating the majority of Governor Whitmer’s executive orders issued after...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Michigan Supreme Court recently ruled that Michigan Governor Whitmer lacked the authority to declare a “state of emergency” or a “state of disaster” beyond April 30, 2020, and that the authority...more
On Friday, October 2, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court, in a 4-3 opinion, invalidated Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 executive orders, finding the Governor did not have the authority to issue executive orders...more
The Supreme Court’s decision does not mean that businesses and individuals in Michigan may return to pre-COVID-19 behavior or ignore Executive Order standards which have an independent legal basis. Employers, businesses, and...more
Since March 2020, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has relied on the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945 (EPGA) and the Emergency Management Act (EMA) as authorities for her ability to declare and extend the...more
On October 2, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion (the “Opinion”) limiting Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s authority to issue and renew executive orders relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Court...more
On Wednesday, September 2, 2020, Governor Janet Mills issued a proclamation extending Maine’s state of civil emergency through October 1, 2020. This is the sixth proclamation renewing the state of civil emergency, and keeps...more
The Situation: In response in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Delaware legislature amended the Delaware General Corporation Law to address emergency bylaws and related powers exercised by a corporation's board of...more
Overview Governor Carney recently signed into law certain amendments (the Amendments) to the Delaware General Corporation Law (the DGCL) that (i) clarify the powers of boards of directors in an emergency...more
On June 23, 2020, the Delaware General Assembly adopted amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) proposed by the Delaware State Bar Association, including provisions confirming certain powers that a board of...more
This sixth edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19 litigation, sees us reporting on many of the same types of cases. Consumers continue to seek refunds for goods and services that have been disrupted by the...more
Lessons For The COVID-19 Pandemic Landscape - INTRODUCTION - Over the last two months, there has been a flurry of federal, state, and local government action to stem the spread of COVID-19. These efforts have included...more
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic crisis—infecting more than 2.7 million people worldwide, with almost 870,000 cases in the United States alone as of the writing of this article—has thrown nearly every industry into chaos as the...more
“Openness in government is essential to the functioning of a democracy.” This straightforward declaration by the California Supreme Court bears repeating during the COVID-19 health crisis. “Newspapers, television, radio, and...more