Advertisers who want to tout the comparative advantages of their products have a number of options for framing those comparisons. For example, they can compare their products to specific products, they can compare their products to defined categories of products, or they can more vaguely compare their products to “regular,” “ordinary,” or “other” products. Although...… Continue Reading

Lawyers who file “slack-fill” cases against food manufacturers found a friendly venue in Missouri.  Missouri has a broad consumer fraud law and multiple courts have denied motions to dismiss slack-fill claims pleaded under that statute.  But the real fight in class actions—where the money is, in a bank robber’s parlance—is over class certification, and on...… 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 Supreme Court’s recent decision in Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc. has appropriately drawn significant attention.  The Court, by narrowing the “safe harbor” provision of Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code, has opened the door for representatives of bankruptcy estates to use the avoidance powers of the Bankruptcy Code to seek to...… Continue Reading

The FCC recently reached a $5.25 million settlement with AT&T to resolve investigations into two 911 service outages that resulted in thousands of failed emergency calls. This edition of Full Spectrum’s series on FCC enforcement discusses the unexpected settlement and its implications on carrier network practices and the FCC’s enforcement priorities. Partner Steve Augustino and...… Continue Reading

In June, the FCC approved a package of regulatory measures – Report and Order, Declaratory Ruling, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”), and Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) – directed at reforming the IP Captioned Telephone Service (“IP CTS”) program to address concerns about its sustainability. IP CTS is a form of telecommunications relay service (“TRS”) that...… Continue Reading

Austin Harrouff faces two counts of first degree murder in Florida for the fatal stabbings of John Stevens and Michelle Mishcon on August 15, 2016.  The case was widely publicized after police investigators said that when they apprehended Harrouff, he was on top of Stevens, biting his face. Ever since, Harrouff’s attorneys have been involved...… Continue Reading

This week, on July 11, 2018, the Ninth Circuit issued an order which both denied a petition to rehear its “Blurred Lines” decision en banc, which upheld the 2015 jury verdict that the hit song “Blurred Lines” by Pharrell Williams, Clifford Harris, Jr. (aka “T.I.”), and Robin Thicke infringed the copyright to Marvin Gaye’s “Got...… 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

In a remarkable and perhaps precedent-setting decision, a California appellate court sided with cereal manufacturers in ruling last week that Proposition 65 cancer warnings for acrylamide were preempted by federal policy encouraging the consumption of more whole grains.  In overturning a lower court ruling finding no preemption, the three-judge panel of the state appeals court...… Continue Reading

Wednesday, Aug 15, 2018 4:00 PM – Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks Hearings to examine national parks legislation. Thursday, Aug 16, 2018 10:00 AM – Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing to consider the following nominations: Mr. William Cooper to be General Counsel at the Department of Energy; and Mr. Lane Genatowski to...… Continue Reading

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

The Senate will be in session this week, ahead of a one-week recess (August 6-10). August 1 Senate EPW Committee markup (vote) of the following nominations: PN 1766, William Charles McIntosh, of Michigan, to be Assistant Administrator, Office of International and Tribal Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency; PN 1681, Peter C. Wright, of Michigan, to be...… Continue Reading

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

The European Union (EU) is about to dramatically expand the reach of mandatory chemical disclosure requirements for consumer products.  The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced recently that it is preparing to launch, by the end of 2019, a new database on the presence of hazardous chemicals in articles.  Continue Reading >

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Historically, the bulk of Prop 65 actions have come from plaintiff attorneys sending waves of people into retail stores in California to purchase and then test products for possible exposures to listed chemicals.  This paradigm is shifting increasingly to a new pattern of plaintiff behavior:  scouring websites for possibly non-compliant products that are sold and shipped to California addresses.  Continue Reading >

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While a slew of laws relating to sexual harassment are set to take effect in New York City and New York State this fall, the most imminent provision-applicable to all New York City employers-is set to take effect on September 6, 2018. The provision requires all employers with employees working in New York City (regardless...… Continue Reading

On Friday, July 27, after a 3 week trial in Manhattan, a jury awarded $1.25 million in damages to Enrichetta Ravina, a former professor at Columbia University Business School, who claimed that she was denied tenure and forced to resign in retaliation for complaining that a senior professor, Geert Bekaert, had sexually harassed her.  Professor...… 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 post was written by Barbara E. Hoey and Steven R. Nevolis and originally posted on Kelley Drye’s Labor Days Blog. As the summer reaches its peak, New York employers may be more concerned with juggling employee vacation schedules than drafting new policies. But with New York’s recent anti-sexual harassment legislation coming into effect this...… Continue Reading

This post was written by Barbara E. Hoey and originally posted on Kelley Drye’s Labor Days Blog. On Friday, July 27, after a 3 week trial in Manhattan , a jury awarded $1.25 million in damages to Enrichetta Ravina, a former professor at Columbia University Business School, who claimed that she was denied tenure and...… Continue Reading

Earlier this week, the Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) published a request for public comment regarding a proposed expansion of export controls under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) for certain spraying or fogging systems, which are controlled under Export Control Classification Number (“ECCN”) 2B352.i.  Currently, the ECCN controls only spraying or fogging equipment that...… Continue Reading

US Customs and Border Protection has finally released the much anticipated proposed changes to the drawback regulations. (See FRN August 2) Drawback provides an opportunity for importers to apply for refunds of duty payments upon exportation of the same or similar product. It is also a terrific opportunity for importers of components to receive duty...… Continue Reading