The Oregon Legislature adopted a bill in 2021 to ensure planned communities eliminate discriminatory language from their governing documents by the end of this year. House Bill 2534, which amends Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) chapters 94 and 100, imposes a responsibility on homeowners associations and condominium associations to review their governing documents and remove certain discriminatory language ...
Atlanta Gas Light Company v. Bennett Regulator Guards Inc., Appeal Nos. 2021-1759 (Fed. Cir. May 13, 2022) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit Court addressed the third appeal from an underlying inter partes review proceeding in the wake of a recent Supreme Court decision holding time-bar determinations as unreviewable. The Court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction ...
On May 23, 2022, the Oregon Medical Board (OMB) is hosting a public hearing on rules that propose major changes to the way physician assistants (PAs) practice in Oregon. The rules were written in response to House Bill 3036, which supporters have dubbed the “Physician Assistant Modernization Bill.” More broadly, the rules were written in response to mounting concerns about health care access and equity, especially for rural and minority populations ...
Mitek Systems, Inc. v. United Services Automobile Association, Appeal No. 2021-1989 (Fed. Cir. May 20, 2022) Our Case of the Week this week is a declaratory judgment action brought against USAA. In a 27-page opinion, the Federal Circuit addressed three issues: subject matter jurisdiction for declaratory judgment actions under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, the discretionary authority of courts to decline declaratory judgment jurisdiction, and venue for hearing such a case ...
Horenstein Law Group Joins Schwabe, Enhancing the Firm's Presence and Depth in Southwest Washington Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt P.C. (Schwabe) and Horenstein Law Group (HLG) are pleased to announce HLG is joining Schwabe, effective May 25, 2022 ...
On May 16, 2022, the Colorado Supreme Court issued an opinion that serves as a cautionary tale for health care providers hoping to bill patients at chargemaster rates. The court’s decision in French v. Centura Health turned on the meaning of the phrase “all charges of the Hospital,” as set forth in the hospital service agreement (HSA) signed by Ms. French. Centura argued that the phrase “unambiguously refers to a hospital’s chargemaster rates.” Ms ...
Horenstein Law Group of Vancouver is merging with Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt’s Portland office, effective Wednesday. The combined offices will offer more real estate, land use and business services for Schwabe clients, as well as a “significant spectrum of business, employment, tax, intellectual property, data security for HLG clients, the two firms announced Wednesday ...
Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., Appeal No. 2018-2140 (Fed. Cir. May 27, 2022) In a return to the Federal Circuit, this case again sets precedent concerning Patent Office Director review of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decisions ...
On June 9, 2022, Senate Bill (SB) 5910 will take full effect, providing assistance and a host of incentives to the development of green hydrogen production in Washington. The Washington legislature passed SB 5910 to take advantage of funds available under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which allocates $8 billion for the development of regional clean hydrogen hubs ...
With inflation in the United States ballooning 8.2% since April of 2022, government contractors with firm fixed price (FFP) contracts are looking for relief. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense (DoD) recently issued a memorandum indicating that requests for equitable adjustments will not mitigate inflation’s impact to existing FFP contracts. On May 25, 2022, DoD issued a memorandum providing “Guidance on Inflation and Economic Price Adjustments ...
I've spent half my career helping business and real estate owners solve their problems - or at least that is what I thought I was doing as a commercial litigator. I've grown increasingly convinced, though, that most commercial cases do not belong in court. Courts are public, slow, and generally not equipped to deal with business, real estate, or land use questions. Courts don't care about fluctuations in market prices, construction seasons, or building cycles ...
Pavo Solutions LLC v. Kingston Technology Company, Inc., Appeal No. 2021-1834 (Fed. Cir. June 3, 2022) In our Case of the Week, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a $7M compensatory damages award and, in doing so, dealt with questions of when a district court can correct errors in patent claims, whether a defendant can willfully infringe a patent that has been judicially corrected, when to exclude expert testimony, and when an issue has been preserved for appeal ...
While Oregon has enjoyed a relatively mild spring, summer is right around the corner—and with it comes the risks of extreme heat and wildfires. Although Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Oregon OSHA) previously issued guidance for employers to protect their employees from these risks, the agency recently adopted formal rules related to exposure to heat and wildfire smoke ...
In 2019, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2001, which was aimed at providing more affordable housing to Oregonians. To achieve that goal, HB 2001 made it easier to build denser housing in residential zones by requiring medium-size cities to allow duplexes on each lot or parcel zoned for residential use that allows single-family homes ...
University of Massachusetts v. L’Oréal S.A., Appeal No. 2021-1969 (Fed. Cir. June 13, 2022) In an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, the Federal Circuit addressed (1) whether the district court relied on the proper claim construction to arrive at its indefiniteness conclusion; and (2) whether UMass was entitled to jurisdictional discovery before the district court granted a motion to dismiss based on lack of personal jurisdiction ...
On May 24, 2022, Schwabe and Columbia Bank hosted the “Getting Ahead of Agriculture's Rising Wages and Tightening Labor Market” seminar to assist those working in Oregon’s agricultural industry to address concerns over rising wages and the tight labor market. Attendees heard from a group of industry professionals on a selection of relevant topics. The seminar was informative, engaging, and a big success ...
Novartis Pharms. Corp. v. Accord Healthcare, Inc., Appeal No. 2021-1070 (Fed. Cir. June 21, 2022) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit granted panel rehearing of and vacated its prior decision in Novartis Pharms. Corp. v. Accord Healthcare, Inc., 21 F.4th 1362 (Fed. Cir. 2022). Our write-up of that opinion can be found here ...
In last week’s only precedential opinion issued in a patent case, the Federal Circuit reversed contempt and sanctions orders entered by the District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin following defendant’s alleged violations of a stipulated protective order governing discovery. This case offers useful guidance for patent litigants contemplating a coordinated defense with similarly-situated parties in other litigation ...
On Friday, June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in West Virginia v. EPA resolving the seven-year debate over the Environmental Protection Agency’s statutory authority to promulgate the President Obama-era Clean Power Plan (“CPP”). In 2015, the Obama administration promulgated the CPP regulations under the Clean Air Act § 111(d), imposing standards of operation that require a reduction of carbon dioxide from existing coal power plants ...
On July 5, 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury issued updated guidance that confirmed that Alaska Native Corporations are subject to the requirements of the Single Audit Act and its implementing regulations (2 Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Subpart F) with respect to Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) payments received as a result of the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act and related Supreme Court litigation ...
As communities continue to be shocked at the gas pump, soaring inflation and whispers of “recession,” we have noted an increase in layoffs in certain industries — particularly technology, retail and food. Given the economic uncertainty, our regional developers and builders could also feel the adverse impacts. These impacts could, unfortunately, require companies to consider layoffs or reductions in force (RIFs) ...
LG Electronics Inc. v. Immervision, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2021-2037, -2038 (Fed. Cir. 2022) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit considered how to treat a prior art reference in which the alleged teaching of a claim element would be understood by a skilled artisan not to be an actual teaching, but rather an error of a typographical or similar nature ...
On June 1, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule that would modify its requirements for water quality certification under Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 (the “Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule would revise and replace the EPA’s water quality certification rule promulgated in 2020 (the “2020 Rule”) ...
The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade’s constitutional right to abortion has had sweeping implications that affect employers, along with the general public ...
In an effort to counteract the economic damage wrought by the COVID-19 Pandemic, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November of 2021. Part of that bill set aside $370 billion to improve and expand transportation, and further earmarked 10% of those funds for socially and economically disadvantaged government contractors ...
