Alerts

The year 2015 provided another bumper crop of decisions in trusts and estates disputes. While the courts generally experienced a nationwide decrease in the filing of civil lawsuits, trust and estate disputes continued to fill court dockets and a few noteworthy trends emerged.

This morning, the European Commission and US Department of Commerce agreed on a Safe Harbor replacement deal, rebranded as the EU-US Privacy Shield.

As 2016 gets underway, companies should be mindful that regulators are paying close attention to automatic recurring debit transactions.

On January 21, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the long-awaited Final Rule implementing changes to the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The Federal and Trade Commission recently released a report outlining the benefits and risks involved in using big data.

Macy’s, Inc. and subsidiary Bloomingdale’s, Inc. were recently served with a class action complaint alleging that the retail chains misled consumers with a “phantom pricing scheme” that inflated the savings available on items marked for sale.

On January 16, 2016, the US Department of State and the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the lifting of certain US sanctions against Iran pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Saturday marked “Implementation Day” when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified that Iran has fulfilled its nuclear-related obligations under the JCPOA. Implementation Day also means the first of the domino impact to US sanctions.

The Federal Trade Commission recently issued its long-anticipated guidance on native advertising.

Detroit business leaders understand the value of product innovation and market expansion. For many of these executives, the official release of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement in November signaled a new opportunity of export growth in a region quickly becoming a consumer powerhouse.

Costco is defending a trademark infringement lawsuit over its sale of Anne Cole swimwear, an iconic line of women’s swimwear that has been sold in the US for over 30 years.

The Federal Trade Commission amended its Telemarketing Sales Rule at the end of 2015 to ban certain forms of abusive payment methods.

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the federal government’s 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines.

Twentieth Century Fox Television recently filed a motion for summary judgment in a dispute with record label Empire Distribution, Inc. over the name of Fox’s popular television series Empire.

The TPP will undoubtedly increase the volume of food choices within the twelve nation pact. Congress is well aware of this anticipated increase in competition and will work to ensure that US border agencies have the resources to enforce regulations to guard against unsafe and counterfeit products.

The EU Commission, Parliament, and Council of Ministers recently reached an agreement on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The Federal Trade Commission announced this week that Lumos Labs had agreed to settle false and deceptive advertising claims related to the company’s promotion of its “Lumosity” cognitive training programs (commonly referred to as “brain training”).

The Federal Trade Commission has a reached a settlement agreement with several major retailers, including Nordstrom, Bed Bath & Beyond, and JCPenney, over claims that they improperly labeled and advertised rayon products as being made of bamboo.

On January 1, 2016, California’s Fair Pay Act (Senate Bill 358) takes effect, making it more difficult for employers to justify pay disparities between opposite sex employees.

In an opinion of potentially sweeping effect, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently held that a key provision of the Lanham Act was unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

On December 18, 2015 President Obama signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (H.R. 2029) that included Section 101 of Division O which officially ended the 40-year US ban on crude oil exports. The law also makes it very difficult to reimpose restrictions.

Employers should be aware of several important changes to federal and New York wage and hour laws, effective December 31, 2015 and January 1, 2016.

Readers of these posts know that we have been closely following developments of US “Buy America” requirements as they are applied to US construction projects ranging from wastewater management, flood control, urban light rail systems, and highway building.

After a difficult November, daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators will need to buckle up for an even more challenging road ahead.

On December 16, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a group of former student-athletes’ bid to rehear the court’s earlier decision that student-athletes do not have to be compensated beyond the cost of attending college.