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Public Policy
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December 05, 2024
Providers' $2.8B BCBS Antitrust Deal Gets Judge's Initial OK
An Alabama federal judge has given his initial approval for a $2.8 billion settlement inked between Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and a proposed class of medical providers in a more than 12-year-old antitrust case targeting association rules.
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December 05, 2024
Gov't Efficiency Push Is A 'New Day,' House Speaker Says
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke excitedly Thursday about the new government efficiency operation helmed by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and touted the budding bipartisan lineup of a congressional caucus that will work with it.
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December 05, 2024
Amazon Says Section 230 Shields Against Casino App Suit
Amazon said Wednesday a federal judge should toss a proposed class action accusing the e-commerce giant of promoting and selling "social casino" apps that enable illegal gambling, arguing the company is immune under a federal law regulating internet content because it did not create the games.
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December 05, 2024
Man Says NC Failed To Prove He Had Cannabis, Not Hemp
A North Carolina man is appealing his conviction for possession and intent to distribute cannabis, saying the state failed to show evidence that the material they seized from him was cannabis as opposed to legal hemp.
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December 05, 2024
Colo. Sheriff Says County Worker Rights Law Can't Touch Him
A Colorado sheriff is suing the state to challenge application of a collective bargaining law to him, arguing in a complaint filed Wednesday in Denver District Court that applying the law to sheriffs interferes with their legal authority and independence.
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December 05, 2024
Okla. Court Says Tulsa Can Prosecute Indian Country Crime
An Oklahoma Criminal Appeals Court will not dismiss a challenge by the city of Tulsa that questions its jurisdictional rights on reservation lands, saying the municipality's ability to prosecute crimes is centered in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said states can prosecute non-Indians for crimes against Indians on tribal land.
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December 05, 2024
3rd Circ. Unsure Pa. Regulator Had Right To Deny Project
Third Circuit judges appeared wary on Thursday of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission's argument that its take on the necessity of a transmission project trumps a federal agency's determination, at one point questioning how any such project could be completed if the court accepted its argument.
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December 05, 2024
Wash. Gov.'s Executive Order Backs Tribal Salmon Initiative
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has, in an executive order, directed state agencies to cooperate with four sovereign tribal nations and Oregon to fulfill commitments to the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, which aims to protect salmon and steelhead populations.
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December 05, 2024
Utah Defends Effort To Wrest Land From Feds At High Court
Utah told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday that its proposed lawsuit accusing the government of unconstitutionally hoarding and profiting from public lands in the state belongs before the justices and that the government's recent response strengthens its case.
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December 05, 2024
NC Town Sues Duke Energy Over Climate Change 'Deception'
A small town in North Carolina is suing Duke Energy for what officials characterized as a decades-long "deception campaign" about climate change, including allegedly misleading residents about the dangerous effects of fossil fuels and delaying the transition to cleaner energy.
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December 05, 2024
Detroit Needs More Evidence In Census Row, Judge Says
A Michigan federal judge gave the city of Detroit another chance Thursday to prove the U.S. Census Bureau undercounted the city's population and negatively impacted its federal funding, telling the city it wouldn't have standing to sue the federal government without such evidence.
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December 05, 2024
Migrants Told 'Asylum No Longer Exists,' Report Says
U.S. border agents are mistreating asylum-seeking families under President Joe Biden's June border restrictions, denying them access to asylum and returning them to Mexico in violation of domestic and international law, Human Rights Watch said Thursday in a new report.
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December 05, 2024
US Trade Gap Fell By $10B In Oct. As Imports And Exports Dipped
The United States' trade deficit for goods and services trade dropped $10 billion from September to October, with imports decreasing more than exports, according to a Bureau of Economic Analysis report released Thursday.
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December 05, 2024
Sens. Urge DOD To Beef Up Telecom Security After Cyberattack
The U.S. Department of Defense may not be doing enough to protect unclassified information from being intercepted by foreign spies, a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators have said.
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December 05, 2024
NCAA's NIL Settlement 'Illegal' In Many States, Lawmakers Say
The National Collegiate Athletic Association's $2.78 billion settlement with athletes over name, image and likeness compensation, now awaiting final court approval, would be "illegal" in several states because of their current NIL laws, a group of current and former lawmakers said Thursday.
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December 05, 2024
Charter Settles For $1.1M After FCC Emergency Alert Probe
Charter has agreed to pay $1.1 million to end an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission into whether the cable giant failed to properly keep emergency alert devices online during an FCC test of the system last fall.
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December 05, 2024
Covington Helps Take Calif. Court Reporter Shortage To Court
Covington & Burling LLP is among the counsel for groups petitioning the California Supreme Court to address the state's court reporter shortage by mandating the use of electronic recording when court reporters are unavailable.
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December 05, 2024
Boies Tells 1st Circ. Cannabis Precedent Is Outdated
The premises undergirding a 19-year-old U.S. Supreme Court precedent on cannabis policy have changed so dramatically in the intervening years that its holdings no longer apply to the current marijuana landscape, litigator David Boies told a First Circuit panel during oral arguments Thursday.
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December 05, 2024
Carriers Must Shield Networks From Attacks, FCC Chair Says
The head of the Federal Communications Commission called Thursday for "urgent action" from U.S. telecom carriers to protect their networks in the wake of the recent Salt Typhoon cyberattack, and said the agency could soon rule that telecoms are affirmatively required under law to try to prevent such intrusions.
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December 05, 2024
Ga. Judge Tosses GOP Election Suit Against Fulton County
A Georgia state court judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to make Fulton County hire Republican poll workers for last month's general election because the plaintiffs failed to show at a court appearance earlier this week.
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December 05, 2024
Disgruntled Dems Move On From Appellate Noms Deal
While some Democrats have gripes about the deal Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made with Republicans before Thanksgiving on judicial confirmations, they grudgingly concede the deal helps them fill as many seats as possible even if it means leaving choice circuit seats for President-elect Donald Trump to fill.
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December 05, 2024
Sentencing Judge Wants Jail Healthcare Info In Threats Case
Saying he needed additional briefs on mental health treatments in federal prisons, a Connecticut federal judge on Thursday postponed sentencing a man who pled guilty to mailing more than 150 threatening letters to U.S. Supreme Court justices, state and federal judges, other officials and journalists.
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December 05, 2024
Police Commissioners Want Officers' Withheld OT Suit Tossed
Current and former Philadelphia Police Department commissioners and human resources directors urged a Pennsylvania federal court to throw out a proposed class action by ranking officers alleging that the department failed to alert them of their overtime eligibility, saying the case was brought too late.
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December 05, 2024
Feds Invest $849M For Water Infrastructure Improvements
An $849 million investment from the Biden administration will support 77 water infrastructure development projects throughout the country's western states and tribal communities that are located along major river basins in an effort to restore canal capacity, sustain treatment, replace aging hydropower production equipment and provide maintenance to older project buildings.
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December 05, 2024
Airbnb Customers Drop 'Assistance Fee' Suit Against Insurers
A proposed class of Airbnb customers permanently dropped a suit accusing two of the company's insurance providers of violating Washington state law by charging an "assistance fee" when selling travel coverage.
Expert Analysis
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How To Prepare For Expanded HSR Notification Process
Following the recent publication of the Federal Trade Commission's final rule enhancing premerger reporting requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, filing parties can take key steps to comply by the new Feb. 10 effective date, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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Cos. Should Inventory Issues To Prep For New Congress
As the legislative and oversight agendas of the 119th Congress come into sharper focus, corporate counsel should assess and plan for areas of potential oversight risk — from tax policy changes to supply chain integrity — even as much uncertainty remains, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Incoming Admin May Shake Up Life Sciences Regulation
Though President-elect Donald Trump has not yet articulated policy priorities regarding the life sciences industry, the sector is positioned to see significant changes that could affect everything from drug exclusivity and generic drug approvals, to the availability of over-the-counter drugs, to laboratory-developed tests and digital health, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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OCC Recovery Guidance Can Help Banks Bounce Back Better
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recently finalized recovery guidelines add to the constellation of exercises that larger banks must undertake, while also aiding information-gathering and preparedness efforts that can help prevent — or better manage — bank failures, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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Conservation Easement Cases Weave Web Of Uncertainty
Much of the IRS and Justice Department’s recent success in prosecuting syndicated conservation easement cases can be attributed to the government’s focus on the so-called PropCo ratio, which could indicate treacherous waters ahead for participants and their advisers, even under the incoming Trump administration, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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Trump Fossil Fuel Focus Won't End Interest In Clean Energy
A second Donald Trump administration is expected to prioritize expanding oil and gas drilling and reducing regulations — but some clean energy investments, including energy storage, hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel, will likely continue to garner bipartisan and market support, says Scott Segal at Bracewell.
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EPA's New Lead Pipe Rule Leaves Key Questions Unanswered
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently released update to its Lead and Copper Rule is a major step forward in the elimination of lead from drinking water systems, but it lacks meaningful guidance on alternative materials, jurisdictional concerns, cost allocation and other topics, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.
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Navigating DOJ's Patchwork Whistleblower Regime
In the past few months, the U.S. Department of Justice and several individual U.S. attorney’s offices have issued different pilot programs aimed at incentivizing individuals to blow the whistle on misconduct, but this piecemeal approach may create confusion and suboptimal outcomes, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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What To Expect From State AGs As Federal Control Changes
Under the next Trump administration, Democratic attorneys general are poised to strengthen enforcement in certain areas as Republican attorneys general continue their efforts with stronger federal support — resulting in a confusing patchwork of policies that create unintended liabilities for businesses operating in multiple jurisdictions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?
Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.
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A Look At Similarities Between SOX And SEC's Cyber Rule
Just as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act paved the way for greater transparency and accountability in financial reporting, the SEC's cybersecurity rule is doing much the same for cybersecurity, ensuring that companies are resilient in the face of growing cyber threats, says Padraic O'Reilly at CyberSaint.
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Opinion
Efficiency Dept. Should Consolidate Antitrust Enforcement
President-elect Donald Trump's planned Department of Government Efficiency should transfer the authority of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition into the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, because there is no justification for two federal entities to enforce antitrust and competition laws, says retired judge Susan Braden.
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What To Expect Next From Federal Health Tech Regulation
Healthcare organizations should pay close attention to federal health information technology regulators' recent guidance concerning barriers to accessing electronic health information, which signals that more enforcement in this area is likely forthcoming, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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In SF Water Case, Justices Signal How Loper May Be Applied
Skeptical questions from U.S. Supreme Court justices during oral argument in San Francisco v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offer hints of how the court intends to apply limits on agency regulatory autonomy established last term in Loper Bright, says Karen Cullinane at Goldberg Segalla.
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Trump Rollback Of Biden Enviro Policies: What To Expect
Donald Trump's upcoming second presidential term will usher significant shifts in U.S. environmental and natural resource law and policy — and while the Biden administration is racing to secure its legacy, the incoming Trump administration is making plans to dramatically roll back most, if not all, of Biden's environmental initiatives, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.