The pensions dashboards connection deadline will be pushed back to 31 October 2026 under the Pensions Dashboards (Amendment) Regulations 2023 which were laid before Parliament on 8 June 2023. The new regulations follow Pensions Minister Laura Trott’s 2 March announcement that the Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP), the body responsible for delivering the digital architecture which underpins pensions dashboards, was to be reset ...
In an uncertain market, there is often a renewed emphasis from investors not just on liquidity and rate of return on property investment opportunities, but also on the structuring of legal interests and the ability to ‘exit’ from a scheme ...
Throughout the United States and globally there is an undisputed trend towards renewable energy as much of the world seeks to decarbonize in response to the risks of climate change. As the article, “Clean energy investment is now nearly 2x that of fossil fuels – here’s why,” from Electrek notes, as of 2023, for every $1 spent on fossil fuels globally, now more than $1.70 is spent investing in clean energy, a ratio that was 1:1 just five years ago ...
What do a squeak toy, whiskey, and dog poop have in common? If you are silently thinking to yourself “absolutely nothing,” it may surprise you to hear that the U.S. Supreme Court has spent months considering this question. On June 8, 2023, in a long-awaited win for trademark owners, SCOTUS ruled that a lower court erred when it issued a decision finding that a dog toy that parodies a famous liquor bottle, was covered by First Amendment free speech protections ...
When the Supreme Court in 2020 issued its decision in Liu v. SEC, placing limits upon the Securities and Exchange Commission's ability to obtain disgorgement, many observers believed that the decision would significantly diminish the SEC's capability to seek and obtain significant disgorgement recoveries in civil enforcement actions alleging violations of the securities laws ...
In May, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi, which addressed the statutory enablement requirement for patents. The decision is consistent with ongoing efforts to strike a balance between innovation and competition, while preventing the extension of monopolies beyond the invention disclosure ...
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is at the forefront of everybody’s considerations when looking at property investment, development and management decisions. The Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) sector has always been naturally pre-disposed to considering such ESG issues from the sector’s early days ...
June 5, 2023 By: Joshua Robbins and Stephanie Shea While we wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the fate of the Chevron doctrine governing courts’ deference to agencies’ interpretations of law, its recent decision in another case has flown under the radar. In Calcutt, III v. FDIC, 598 U.S ...
On June 1, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued an important decision addressing the intent element of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) in United States ex rel. Tracy Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. and United States ex rel. Thomas Proctor v. Safeway, Inc. The FCA imposes liability on anyone who “knowingly” submits a false claim to the federal government and defines “knowingly” to include actual knowledge, deliberate ignorance, or recklessness ...
On 16 March 2023, in Joined Cases C‑438/21P to C‑440/21P, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) interpreted the concept of a ‘global marketing authorisation’. It held that Article 6(1) of Directive 2001/83 (the Community Code) sets out exhaustively the line extensions for which the marketing authorisations (MAs) will fall under the same global MA as the initial MA ...
On May 30, 2023, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo took yet another step to ban restrictive covenants in the employment context. In a memo issued to all regional offices, she set forth her view that nearly all non-compete provisions, with very limited exceptions, violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) ...
May 31, 2023 By: Stephanie Shea The California Unruh Act (specifically, California Civil Code § 51) prohibits “all business establishments of every kind whatsoever” from discriminating based on citizenship or immigration status, among other things. That protection applies to all persons within the jurisdiction of California. At the federal level, (simply put,) the federal civil rights statute (specifically, 42 U.S.C. § 1981), prohibits alienage discrimination ...
May 31, 2023 By: Marissa Alkhazov Governor Jay Inslee signed HB 1047, Washington State’s Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act (the Act) into law on May 15, 2023. The Act bans some of the most concerning chemicals added into cosmetic and personal care products, including PFAS, phthalates, formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasing agents ...
On 7 April 2023, the Belgian Cour de Cassation reversed its long standing case law and decided that (from now on) disputes concerning the termination of exclusive distribution agreements are eligible to be settled by arbitration. 1. The legal background The Belgian Economic Code (previously known as the 1961 Distributorship Act – the “Act”) provides special protection against the unwarranted termination of an exclusive distribution agreement ...
On 11 March 2023, the Law on Clean Water Supply Management was promulgated to regulate clean water supply business within Cambodia (“Law on Clean Water Supply Management”). This new law is aimed to ensure the quality, safety, sustainability and affordability of clean water supply. The scope of this law applies to commercial supply of clean water in Cambodia ...
May 24, 2023 By: Peter McGaw When Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) settle CERCLA cases, they want finality. They don't expect to be asked to pay a second time for a claim they have already resolved by settlement. However, a concurring opinion in a recent Ninth Circuit decision casts doubt on the ability of a PRP to achieve finality through settlement. The Ninth Circuit’s decision in GP Vincent II v Beard was issued on May 17, 2023 ...
The much-awaited Renters (Reform) Bill received its first reading in the House of Commons last week, on Wednesday 17 May 2023. After five years of consultation and refinement, the reforms aim to improve the leasehold system through increased regulation, digitisation and standardisation. The Bill seeks to provide greater flexibility and security for residential tenants by imposing additional restrictions on private landlords ...
Why is ESG of importance to charities when they already make such a positive difference to society? Because there is still much to be done about how charities undertake their valuable work, and many do not yet communicate to stakeholders all the things they do well, in a systematic and measurable way. And because two thirds of millennials consider the social and environmental commitments of an organisation when deciding where to work ...
As a matter of important update that may impact potential and scheduled payments of dividends, interest, royalties and other similar “passive types” of income from Russia, please be informed that on 18th of May 2023 Russian Media has announced that Double Tax Treaties (the “DTTs”) with “Unfriendly States” will be temporarily suspended by the Presidential Decree in June 2023 ...
The IDP is valid for 10 years (unless extended) and the States are required by law to keep it under review. The DPA was about to embark on a review in 2020 but this was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the States approved an action to carry out a targeted review of the IDP between 2023 and 2025. The review The review commenced on 25 January 2023, and it focuses on amending certain policies to meet government priorities ...
