Alerts

Fashion accessory and luxury goods importers of fine jewelry and costume jewelry containing gemstones and/or precious metals (e.g., gold), should be aware of a current proposal being considered by State Department officials.

Parties engaged in multidistrict litigation (MDL) face a crucial decision: which case or cases should be tried first? For both plaintiffs and defendants, bellwethers — the first trial or trials from the similar cases making up the MDL — can determine how the rest of the cases proceed.

The New York Convention has been interpreted as favoring the availability of provisional remedies to aid in effectuating a future arbitral award.

Yesterday, in a 5-4 decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the United States Supreme Court held that ambiguous arbitration agreements do not provide the affirmative contractual basis required to send a dispute to classwide arbitration.

The US Supreme Court ruled in Lamps Plus, Inc., et. al. v. Varela, No 17-988 (April 24, 2019), that class-wide arbitration is not available to parties when the underlying arbitration agreement between them is ambiguous as to whether it was contemplated.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commission recently released a report on Emergency Arbitrator Proceedings.

Companies have been on high alert since hearing about a potential shut down of the US-Mexican border, which we reported on in our prior alert. We provide the most up to date information on the situation on the border below:

Earlier this month, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued a no-action letter saying that ExxonMobil could exclude a shareholder proposal that called for the disclosure of specific greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets – specifically, targets that correspond with goals outlined in the Par

After years and years of waiting, it popped out of the hat like a Bunny just in time for Easter. The new 22 CFR 126.4 ITAR license exemption for transfers of defense articles and defense services by or for the US Government (USG) went into effect on April 19, 2019.

On April 17, 2019, the newly created Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (the Department) released the notices required to be provided by employers and covered business entities to their current workforce. The notices must be provided no later than May 31, 2019.

On April 18, 2019, FinCEN announced its first penalty against an individual for operating as a peer-to-peer exchanger for converting virtual currency.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it has settled charges against a company called UrthBox, Inc., that allegedly promoted misleading consumer reviews and that failed to disclose key terms of its  “free trial” offers.

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced the launch of the Technology Task Force, which has been designed to monitor, investigate, and take enforcement actions against anti-competitive conduct and industry practices in US technology markets.

It’s been 10 months since the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) was signed into law, and the retail sector is grappling with ways to comply. The law goes into effect January 1, 2020, but the time to prepare is now.

Colleges and universities should take steps now to implement a plan in response to the investigation dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues,” in which federal prosecutors charged at least 50 people in an elaborate scheme to gain admission for their children at elite universities.

With city after city setting 100 percent clean energy goals and states following in lockstep, opportunities are growing for renewable energy companies to develop utility-scale projects.

Earlier this month, the New York Department of Motor Vehicles Appeals Board affirmed a win for Wide World Maserati in a precedent-setting 23-page opinion that will reshape the dealer law landscape for years to come.

We have written extensively on this blog about personal jurisdiction and how the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California changed the rules regarding specific jurisdiction.

The governor of Utah recently signed legislation requiring state and local law enforcement agencies to secure a search warrant from a judge before obtaining anyone’s electronic data.

This case shows the risks of imitating a market leader’s packaging, even if it appears to be common place, without market research and careful consideration.

There’s no debate that online shopping offers time saving and convenience, which has diminished the need for physical stores.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced charges in a billion-dollar health care fraud scheme involving telemedicine and the provision of allegedly unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) to Medicare beneficiaries. 

On April 8, 2019, the USTR announced that it is initiating an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to enforce the rights of the United States in the WTO dispute involving subsidies provided to the large civil aircraft industry by the European Union.

In separate decisions, a federal district court in Alaska recently struck down two Trump Administration efforts to roll back President Obama’s environmental initiatives.