On May 15, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the long-standing federal policy favoring arbitration agreements. In a lawsuit brought against skilled nursing provider Kindred Nursing Centers, LP, the Court held that states cannot single out arbitration clauses for “disfavored treatment,” because doing so violates the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The case involved two wrongful death lawsuits that were consolidated in the Kentucky Supreme Court ...
On February 19, 2020, The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern district, issued its opinion in Roverano v. John Crane, Inc. and Brand Insulations, Inc. on two critical questions: 1. the applicability of the Pennsylvania Fair Share Act, 42 Pa.C.S. Section 7102, to strict liability asbestos cases pending in the Commonwealth’s courts; and 2. Inclusion of bankrupt entities on the verdict sheet for purposes of liability only ...
Key Points A permitting agency's blanket designation of an entire category of permit decisions as ministerial for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) may be held to be improper if the agency has the ability to modify or deny the permit based on any concern that may be examined under CEQA review. Courts will afford a larger degree of deference to an agency’s designation of a single permit decision as ministerial on a case-by-case basis ...
Last month, the Supreme Court decided TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, which narrowed the definition of where a corporate defendant "resides" for the purpose of suing it for patent infringement. In doing so, it overturned the 1994 holding of the Federal Circuit of what constitutes proper venue in patent infringement cases. Federal law allows a Plaintiff to bring a patent infringement suit against a defendant in any district where one of two conditions are met ...
The Supreme Court, in Minerva Surgical, Inc., v. Hologic, Inc., et al., Case No. 20-440, recently upheld the doctrine of assignor estoppel, but severely limited its reach. The Court limited assignor estoppel to not apply in the cases of a “common employment arrangement” with an employer and employee, when there is a change in law, and when the issued patent has “materially broader” claims than the assigned invention ...
Debtors hoping to discharge their obligations in bankruptcy may find a new hurdle based on the US Supreme Court’s Feb. 22 ruling. Relying on the plain language of the Bankruptcy Code, and Congress’s use of passive voice, the Supreme Court held that funds obtained through fraud, regardless of who committed such fraud, are not dischargeable through bankruptcy ...
“Public service is a noble calling” that requires great sacrifice, often requiring public officials to surrender personal conveniences in favor of public business ...
At the end of its 2023 term, the United States Supreme Court handed down several buzz-worthy decisions. Two opinions may have substantial and lasting impacts on employers and their efforts to promote diversity and inclusion. In Groff v. DeJoy, Postmaster General, the Court addressed religious accommodation and clarified the parameters of its “undue burden” standard set forth in its prior decision in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, 432 U. S. 63 (1977). 2023 U.S. LEXIS 2790 ...
In Lloyd v Google, the Supreme Court denied claims for mere 'loss of control' and ruled against mass class actions for data claims. Here, Philip Tansley and Matthew MacLachlan consider the court's reasoning and the broader implications for such claims. Case In its landmark judgment today, the Supreme Court unanimously held that a representative class action brought on behalf of approximately 4 ...
When the Supreme Court accepted the cert petition to resolve a Circuit split regarding the False Claims Act’s statute of limitations when the government does not intervene, it created thepotential that the Court would extend the limitations periodfor private relators’ FCA actions. That is exactly what happened ...
The Supreme Court this past week denied certiorari in United States ex rel. Schneider v. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., an appeal from a D.C. Circuit case affirming the district court’s dismissal of a qui tam FCA action. See No. 19-678, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 2079 (Apr. 6, 2020). In so doing, the Court declined to address the emerging circuit split over the extent of the government’s dismissal power in qui tam cases ...
On April 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in Lamps, et al. v. Varela, No 17-988 (April 24, 2019), holding class-wide arbitration cannot be compelled when the underlying arbitration agreement is ambiguous. In 2016, a hacker tricked a Lamps Plus employee into disclosing tax information of approximately 1,300 other employees. Not long after, a fraudulent tax return was filed in the name of respondent Frank Valera, a Lamps Plus employee ...
The Supreme Court of the United States has denied a plea[i] to resolve a 20-year circuit split regarding the extent to which the Copyright Act preempts private contracts involving a promise not to copy digital content. The case stemmed from the petitioner Genius’s allegation that Google copied song lyrics from Genius’s website without permission and used them in connection with Google’s competing website ...
February 27, 2023 By: Leah Lively and Jack Darrington All employers should be aware of the recent decision by the United States Supreme in Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. v. Hewitt dealing with exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The Hewitt court held that a well-compensated employee paid a daily rate, rather than a fixed weekly or monthly salary, was not exempt from the FLSA and its rules regarding overtime pay ...
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., v. University of North Carolina (collectively “SFFA”) that Harvard and the University of North Carolina (“UNC”) violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by impermissibly considering race when making undergraduate admissions decisions ...
The cap may no longer fit - In a welcome and well-reasoned decision from the Supreme Court in the case of Manchester Building Society -v- Grant Thornton, the scope of duty and extent of liability of professional advisers has been comprehensively reviewed and clarity provided. The Manchester Building Society (“MBS”) claim related to a claim against Grant Thornton (“GT”) regarding auditing and accounting advice it provided ...
On March 5, 2014, the US Supreme Court rendered a 7-2 decision reinstating a $185 million arbitration award in favor of the BG Group against Argentina under the UK-Argentina bilateral investment treaty (BIT). The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit erred in deciding de novo, and without deference to the tribunal’s award, the issue of the arbitrators’ jurisdiction ...
In its second major False Claims Act decision in as many weeks, the Supreme Court sided with the Department of Justice in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc., holding that the government may move to dismiss actions over the objections of the relator (whistleblower) even in cases where the government initially declined to intervene ...
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 ...
Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division gave an address to the Jersey International Family Law Conference on 8 October 20211. With three years of his term remaining, he set out two areas where he intends on devoting additional time. The first is ‘transparency’ in the Family Court and the second is the resolution of Private Law disputes between parents regarding the care arrangements for their children after separating ...
The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is providing EUR 50 million annually until 2023 to promote computer games in order to strengthen Germany as a location for developers. In the first phase,de minimis funding will be provided with grants of up to EUR 200,000. In a second phase larger-scale funding will also be possible ...
From the legislator, it is relevant to draw attention to the new rules on remote court sessions and remote examination. The rules are based on the principle that court proceedings in Norway shall take place in a meeting where the participants are physically present. However, the preparatory works maintains that it’s time to make these regulations more flexible, to ensure appropriate, modern and efficient court proceedings ...
In our July 2006 legal update, we reported on a ground-breaking agreement (Agreement) signed by the Hong Kong and Mainland China Governments, under which they agreed to recognise and enforce judgments made in each others courts. Legislative changes are now underway in Hong Kong in order to implement the Agreement ...
On 14 July 2006, the Hong Kong and Mainland China Governments signed a ground-breaking agreement, rather lengthily entitled "An Arrangement on Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region pursuant to Choice of Court Agreements between Parties Concerned" (Arrangement), under which they agreed to recognise and enforce judgments made in each others courts ...
In a recent case involving a health care facility, the NLRB issued a 3-1 decision that significantly changed a successor employer's bargaining obligations before imposing the initial terms and conditions of employment on a unionized workforce. While seemingly favorable to employers, the decision also serves as a reminder to companies that they should act cautiously and consult with counsel before they take over a business with a unionized workforce ...
