Last Friday, our friend August Horvath of Foley Hoag presented at an Advertising Self-Regulatory Council (ASRC) conference on consumer perception surveys.  Among the many interesting observations made by August were the following: Over a 5+ year period, June 2013 to present, only 36 cases or 8 percent of total NAD cases, included reference to a...… Continue Reading

Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission released new business guidance for direct sellers and multilevel marketers describing the legal principles that it will apply when evaluating practices under the FTC Act. Law360 published the article “What The FTC Said About Direct Selling In 2018,” co-authored by partner John Villafranco and senior associate Donnelly McDowell....… Continue Reading

The judicial power of the United States is vested in courts created under Article III of the Constitution. However, Congress created the current bankruptcy court system over 40 years ago pursuant to Article I of the Constitution rather than under Article III.  The Supreme Court has long held that Article I courts are limited to...… Continue Reading

Southeastern Grocers (operator of the Winn-Dixie, Bi Lo and Harvey’s supermarket chains) recently completed a successful restructuring of its balance sheet through a “prepackaged” chapter 11 case in the District of Delaware. As part of the deal with the holders of its unsecured bonds, the company agreed that under the plan of reorganization it would...… Continue Reading

The FCC plans to take aim again at unwanted texts and robocalls at its next meeting scheduled for December 12, 2018. Unwanted robocalls and texting consistently top the list of complaints received by the FCC and that has driven much regulatory attention by the agency in recent years. Specifically, at its December meeting, the FCC...… Continue Reading

The FCC’s Spectrum Frontiers proceeding, which is focused on making millimeter wave (“mmW”) spectrum available for flexible commercial mobile and fixed use, seems poised to move into a new phase even as the current phase is playing out. At its next meeting on December 12, 2018, the agency will vote on rule changes to facilitate...… Continue Reading

On Wednesday, rapper 2 Milly sued Epic Games, the creators of the wildly popular online game Fortnite Battle Royale, asserting two counts of copyright infringement, two counts of right of publicity, and unfair competition.  2 Milly claims that Epic stole his dance, the “Milly Rock,” by introducing it as part of downloadable content in Fortnite. ...… Continue Reading

News outlets recently rushed to share the story that lawyers for Jay-Z had successfully halted an arbitration in his “Roc Nation” trademark dispute with Iconix based on findings of racial bias and discrimination.  Headlines included: “Judge Halts Arbitration In Jay-Z Suit Because Of Racial Bias” “Jay-Z wins arbitration delay after arguing panel was ‘too white’”...… Continue Reading

The DEA announced last week that it is placing certain drug products that have been approved by the FDA and which contain cannabidiol (CBD) in schedule V of the Controlled Substances Act. The action places FDA-approved drugs that contain CBD derived from cannabis and no more than 0.1 percent tetrahydrocannabinols in Schedule V. Schedule V...… Continue Reading

FDA recently released a new draft guidance, “Innovative Approaches for Nonprescription Drug Products,” that described two “innovative approaches” that sponsors of new drug applications may wish to consider to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of nonprescription drugs.  In announcing the draft guidance, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb explained that the agency sees an opportunity to “foster...… Continue Reading

Tuesday, Dec 11, 2018 10:00 AM Subcommittee on Environment (Committee on Energy and Commerce) Discussion Draft: The 21st Century Transportation Fuels Act Wednesday, Dec 12, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-366 Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks Hearings to examine S.2395, to amend title 54, United States Code, to authorize the provision of technical...… Continue Reading

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Thursday, Nov 15, 2018 10:00 AM Senate Energy and Natural Resources Hearings to examine the nominations of Rita Baranwal, of Pennsylvania, to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Nuclear Energy), Bernard L. McNamee, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and Raymond David Vela, of Texas, to be Director of...… Continue Reading

The post Energy Hearings this Week appeared first on Fracking Insider.

Only a few months after new provisions went into effect (on August 30th), California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is proposing to clarify the rules governing retailer and supply chain responsibility for providing warnings under Proposition 65.  These provisions (found in Section 25600.2 of Article 6 of the Prop 65 regs) are intended to provide... Continue Reading

With the biggest sales day of the year shortly upon us, a new wave of on-line shopping Americans likely will see Proposition 65 warning notices for the first time.  Though California’s notorious program technically only applies within the state’s borders, Prop 65’s impact stretches well beyond.  Non-California businesses long have had to deal with Prop... Continue Reading

This Advisory supplements our previous advisories dated January 2018, December 2016, December 2015 (as supplemented in January 2016), October 2014, October 2013, November 2012, November 2011, and October 2010, addressing requirements of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). Below is a summary of recent developments impacting health care reform, as well as other recent developments affecting...… Continue Reading

As mentioned in our January 2018 and March 2018 Client Advisories, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”), provides a temporary corporate federal tax credit, ranging from 12.5 percent to 25 percent, that may be claimed by eligible employers for certain wages paid in 2018 and 2019 to qualifying employees during family and medical...… Continue Reading

The Luxembourg Competition Authority recently handed down a decision that found an app-based taxi booking system, Webtaxi, was not a hardcore violation of the relevant competition law banning price fixing.  The algorithm determined the precise fare the passenger would pay for a trip.  The taxis remained competitors otherwise and the cabs on the app represented...… Continue Reading

On June 14, 2018, in Animal Science Products, Inc. v. Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co., the Supreme Court held that Courts are not obliged to accept statements from a foreign government agency on the meaning and effects of its laws but should consider other evidence in addition to such statements to judge their value.  The Court...… Continue Reading

This article was written by Janine Fletcher-Thomas and Matthew Luzadder, and originally posted on Kelley Drye’s Labor Days Blog. In August 2018, Illinois governor Bruce Rauner signed House Bill 1595 (“HB 1595”) amending the Illinois Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act (the “Act”) to provide paid break time to nursing mothers “as needed” to express... Continue Reading

11/29/2018 – Region 4 OSHA News Release – U.S. Department of Labor Cites Florida Property Maintenance Company After Employee Suffers Burn Injuries 11/28/2018 – Region 4 OSHA News Release – U.S. Department of Labor Announces Initiative to Increase Awareness Of Trenching and Excavation Hazards and Solutions 11/27/2018 – Region 4 OSHA News Release – U.S.... Continue Reading

On Friday, December 7, 2018, the South Korean parliament approved a modified version of the U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement, otherwise known as KORUS.  With passage of the renegotiated agreement, Korea is now ready to implement the new terms on January 1, 2019. KORUS first went into effect in 2012, but many in the U.S. business community...… Continue Reading

This morning, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina, the United States, Canada, and Mexico signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).  The new trade deal is slated to replace the 24-year old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  Today’s signature date was a critical deadline for the parties because it is Mexican President Enrique...… Continue Reading