On May 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court issued its 5-4 decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, No. 16-285; Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris, No. 16-300; and NLRB v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc., No. 16-307 holding that an employer may require its employees to sign a dispute resolution arbitration agreement that includes an employee’s waiving the right to bring a claim on a class or collective action basis ...
In a much anticipated opinion, the Supreme Court on Monday held that class action waivers in arbitration agreements are enforceable. In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Court stated that “Congress has instructed in the Arbitration Act that arbitration agreements providing for individualized proceedings must be enforced, and neither the Arbitration Act’s saving clause nor the NLRA suggests otherwise ...
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, resolving an issue on which several Courts of Appeals and various federal agencies and administrations had disagreed. At issue in Epic Systems (and two companion cases presenting the same issue: Ernst & Young LLP. v. Morris and National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc ...
The approval of the long awaited Federal Law on Arbitration by the Federal National Council was announced earlier this year ...
With Administrator Scott Pruitt at its helm, cooperative federalism is the frequently recited principle underlying recent EPA enforcement efforts. As the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory oversight in areas like the Clean Water Act is delegated to the states, the agency is relying more upon state and local authorities to enforce the laws. There are shortcomings associated with this approach, which were raised in the recent U.S ...
Abu Dhabi has introduced new rules governing the functioning of the Emirate’s judiciary. The new rules appear in Abu Dhabi Law 13 of 2018, which amends Abu Dhabi Law 23 of 2006 on the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department. The new provisions largely address internal matters related to the functioning of the courts, such as the composition of panels of the courts and the accountability of judges. But two features could be of more general interest ...
The Administrative provisions that set forth the guidelines for comprehensive management of waste requiring special management in the hydrocarbons sector (the “Guidelines”) were published in Mexico’s Federal Official Gazette on May 2, 2018 and became effective the following day ...
EPA Administrator Pruitt recently issued another policy to help streamline the New Source Review (NSR) Program. After receiving comments from many industry sources that the NSR Program should be reformed given its heavy time and cost burden, the Trump EPA has made reforming the NSR Program a priority ...
On April 12, 2018, President Trump issued a memorandum to Administrator Pruitt to promote domestic manufacturing and job creation through policies intended to streamline implementation of national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) ...
Earlier this year, revisions to the requirements for new and existing indirect heat exchangers contained in 401 KAR 59:015 and 401 KAR 61:015 became effective. Indirect heat exchangers with a heat input capacity greater than one million Btu/hour (MMBtu/hour) are subject to either 401 KAR 59:015 (new sources) or 401 KAR 61:015 (existing sources). The classification as new or existing depends upon when the indirect heat exchanger was installed ...
Artificial intelligence is a burning topic in many sectors today and the legal industry is no exception. Recently, at the World Services Group’s annual employment law1 conference held in February, AI was heavily debated along with its’ impact not only on the legal profession, lawyers, clients, the way business is done, but also our traditional understanding of concepts such as “law” or “justice” ...
View the PDF version of the April 2018 IP Beacon. Are Works Generated by AI Subject to IP Protection? When Philip Dick wrote the 1968 novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?," the inspiration for the 1982 film "Blade Runner," artificial intelligence was more fiction than science. Fifty years later, theHarvard Business Reviewpredicts that AI will be the single biggest technological development of our era, as transformative as the steam engine or electricity ...
When a half-mile from the nearest body of water, must you obtain a federal permit when discharging treated wastewater to groundwater? According to a recent Ninth Circuit decision, the answer may be yes.[1] This alarmed many because the Clean Water Act regulates discharges to navigable waters from "point sources" like pipes or ditches ...
Population growth has become the be-all and end-all for economic prosperity, but how on Earth can we cope with the extra billions of people? While “leafing” – or should I instead say “scrolling” in today’s need to sound tech savvy – through the news websites, the two subjects seemed to have captured the media’s attention: immigration and plastic ...
The Federal Court in Johor Coastal Development Sdn Bhd v Constrajaya Sdn Bhd[1] (“Johor Coastal”) was invited to consider if the legal principles enunciated and the application of section 75 of the Contracts Act 1950 (“CA”) in Selva Kumar a/l Murugiah v Thiagarajah a/l Retnasamy[2] (“Selva Kumar”) remains good law ...
On February 12, 2018 the Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (“SCT”) published the draft of Mexican Environmental Standard PROY-NOM-036-SCT3-2017 in the Official Daily Gazette, which sets forth the maximum allowable limits of noise generated by aircraft. Within the next 60 calendar days, any interested party may provide comments to the National Consultation Committee of Air Transportation Standardization ...
Alvarado v. Dart Container Corporation, Case No. S232607 (Cal. Sup. Ct, March 5, 2018) On March 5, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued its long awaited overtime calculation decision in Alvarado v. Dart Container Corporation, Case No. S232607 (March 5, 2018). The specific question before the Court was "how an employee’s overtime pay rate should be calculated when the employee has earned a flat sum bonus during a single pay period ...
On February 22, 2018, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) sent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a notice of intent to sue letter for failure to approve Kentucky’s air quality plan for limiting fine particulate (PM2.5) emissions in the Louisville, Kentucky area. Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet submitted a revision to the Jefferson County portion of the Kentucky State Implementation Plan (SIP) to EPA December 21, 2016 ...
Insolvency that stems from the obligations assumed by a joint venture may concern any of the associates. Such proceeding, especially when it has an international dimension, requires a broader perspective on some of the requirements set forth by law with respect to the initiation and application of the proceeding. Through its effects on the debtor, creditors and on the socioeconomic environment in general, insolvency is more than a mere legal procedure ...
On 7 February 2018, a new specialist International Chamber within the Paris Court of Appeal was launched by the French Ministry of Justice together with the Paris Bar Association. The chamber is intended to deal with international commercial matters governed by French as well as foreign law, and the use of English as well as certain common law procedures will be permitted ...
1.1 What type of legal system has your jurisdiction got? Are there any rules that govern civil procedure in your jurisdiction? The Philippine legal system is primarily a civil law system, although it may be considered a mixed regime consisting of both civil andcommon law traditions. Civil procedure is governed primarily bythe 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, or Rules 1 to 71 of the Rules of Court (“ROC”), and various issuances promulgated by the Supreme Court. 1 ...
On January 31, 2017, the First Appellate District Court in the case Santa Barbara Channelkeeper v. City of San Buenaventura found that an allegation of excessive water diversion to protect endangered fish species under the rule of reasonableness and the public trust doctrine, could not be resolved without consideration of all competing water users in the system ...
In vacating a jury’s award of almost $54 million based on a finding of willful trademark and trade dress infringement, an Illinois federal district court granted the defendants’ motion for a new trial, finding the trial “fundamentally unfair due to the admission of unreliable and prejudicial expert testimony.” The Black & Decker Corporation et al v. Positec USA Inc.,No. 1:2011cv05426 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 11, 2017) ...
In a major departure from over 20 years of practice, the EPA announced on January 25 that it is withdrawing the “once in, always in” (OIAI) interpretation of the hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) program. The OIAI required sources of HAPs to permanently comply with Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards applicable to major sources of HAPs, even when those sources’ emissions are below major source levels ...
