A little known provision contained in the EU’s internal energy market directives requiring Commission approval for ‘level playing field measures’ could prove to be a headache for policy makers looking to correct perceived imbalances between incumbent energy players and new entrants ...
On February 26, 2014, the Supreme Court held that state-law fraud class actions brought against attorneys, insurance brokers and others arising from Ponzi-scheme claims involving R. Allen Stanford could proceed. In a 7-2 decision in Chadbourne & Parke LLP v. Troice, 571 U.S ...
In a decision that will please rights holders, the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’) ruled last week that goods sold by a website based outside the EU are protected by EU intellectual property law if they are sold to a person in the EU. Mr Blomqvist lived in Denmark. He ordered a watch described as a Rolex from a Chinese website which was then sent to him from Hong Kong. The Danish customs authorities held the parcel on suspicion that it was a counterfeit ...
Strategic Investment Act: The new Act on Strategic Investment in Croatia has achieved its goal of reducing administrative procedures and ensuring the speedy realisation of strategic projects in Croatia. In order to declare a project “strategic,” it must meet several criteria. Foremost, the project must be in accordance with spatial planning regulations. Also, the total amount of capital expense must be HRK 150 million (approx. EUR 19.6 million) or more ...
Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded Paraguay’s government bond rating by one notch to Ba2 from Ba3, and changed the outlook to positive from stable. According to Moody’s, the “decision to upgrade Paraguay’s rating was driven by the following factors: 1. The improving standing of Paraguay’s key fiscal metrics relative to ‘Ba’ peer medians.2. A strengthened institutional framework as a result of the legislation package that was approved last year.3 ...
As was recently announced, the European Commission has yesterday (22 January 2014) published its proposal for the regulation of unconventional fossil fuels and notably shale gas. Whereas both legislative and non-legislative options were on the table, the European Commission has chosen to adopt a non-legally binding “Recommendation” rather than a Directive ...
Getting ready for your next compliance examination? Well, it may be time to take a fresh look at your institution’s Regulation B compliance. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA"), as implemented by Regulation B, is not a new concept. First adopted in 1974, Regulation B is understood by most institutions to include a focus on what information and what signatures can be obtained with respect to the family member of an applicant ...
On December 17, 2013, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (the “FFIEC”) issued the Social Media: Consumer Compliance Risk Management Guidance for financial institutions. The Guidance does not impose any new obligations but “is intended to help financial institutions understand and successfully manage risks in this area ...
Law No. 20,715: On protection to debtors of money loans On December 13, Law No. 20,715 was published in the Official Gazette, after an intense debate in the financial industry and over 2 years of discussion in Parliament. The new law modifies Law No. 18,010 on regulations on money loan transactions, Law No. 19,496 on protection of consumer rights and the Chilean Tax Code. In what refers to money loan transactions, Law No ...
Poland has yet to adopt regulations implementing AIFMD, but that does not mean that nothing will change on the Polish market for private equity and closed investment funds in the next few months, before the new regulations are enacted here ...
In my last article, “ECOA Gets More Teeth in North Carolina,” I wrote about the recent North Carolina Court of Appeals decision, RL Regi North Carolina, LLC v. Lighthouse Cove, LLC,…,and Connie S. Yow (COA12-1279). As expected, it did not take long for this important decision to limit the enforcement of some spousal guaranties. Approximately one month after the Lighthouse decision, Wells Fargo v. Triplett v ...
Several provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act have brought compensation of financial institution executives into the public eye. Although disclosure of executive and director compensation dates back to the 1930s, Dodd-Frank’s most highly publicized requirement, “say-on-pay,” shifts the disclosure to a dialogue with shareholders, essentially allowing shareholders to vote on compensation for certain executives ...
A debtor files for bankruptcy protection, and his or her creditors are sent notice of the filing. Despite having received the notice, due to a breakdown in internal procedures one of the creditors, a bank, accidentally takes action to collect on the debt after the filing of the bankruptcy case – thus violating the automatic stay. Since the violation was unintentional, surely the bank cannot be sanctioned, right? Wrong ...
This past December 12, the Mexican congress finally approved a constitutional energy reform (the “Energy Reform”). As of today, the required majority of state congresses have also ratified it. What now remains is a declaration from the Permanent Commission of the Mexican congress, which is expected shortly ...
In November 2012, Lavery published a newsletter concerning the announcement made by the Harper government on October 24, 2012 of the adoption of new regulations to protect consumers who use prepaid credit cards so that they are better able to choose the forms of payment best suited to their needs. At that time, on October 27, 2012, the draft Prepaid Payment Products Regulations (the "Federal Regulations") were published for comment in Part I of the Canada Gazette ...
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) has issued interpretive guidance regarding which Dodd-Frank1 requirements apply to certain non-U.S. swap transactions (the “Cross-Border Rule”).2 In order to facilitate parties’ compliance with the Cross Border Rule, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”) has published the ISDA 2013 DF Agreement for Non-U.S. Transactions (the “Non-U.S ...
On November 21, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its judgment in the case of La Souveraine, Compagnie d’assurance générale v. Autorité des marchés financiers, 2013 SCC 63, a decision which is now critically important in the context of the distribution of insurance products in Quebec ...
Negotiation of the proposed EU Data Protection Regulation has faltered. While there is still a possibility that the Regulation could be passed before the May 2014 European elections, that looks increasingly remote. The main stumbling block appears to be the difficult issue of the ‘one stop shop’, which has produced deadlock within the Council of Ministers. The ‘one stop shop’ proposal is inherently difficult, but until now has been referenced in somewhat superficial terms ...
Confirmation of the W.Va. Attorney General's Authority to Hire Private Counsel on Behalf of the State For more than a decade, the circuit courts in West Virginia have wrestled with the issue of whether the State Attorney General has the ability to retain private attorneys to pursue litigation on behalf of the State. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia recently issued a decision confirming the Attorney General does, in fact, have that authority. In State of W. Va. ex rel ...
Over the last few years, the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators1 (“CCIR”) has taken an active interest in the issue of the electronic commerce of insurance products and the necessity of ensuring the adequate protection of the interests of consumers in this context ...
The Romanian Government has approved the necessary legislative amendments to create a holding regime in Romania, the ordinance being published in the Official Gazette on Friday, November 15, effective as of January 1st, 2014. The ordinance includes profits tax exemptions for Romanian holding companies as regards revenues from dividends received, revenues from the sale of shares and revenues from the liquidation process ...
What is a PPA? The purpose of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is to set out the terms and conditions for the sale of electricity between a producer (seller) and the take-off entity (buyer), particularly regulating important matters on timing and the initiation of production, the terms of delivery of electricity, payment mechanisms, force majeure clauses and the termination of sales and purchases. The PPA represents a crucial project document in a renewables project ...
The Board of the Central Bank of Ecuador issued a new rule governing interest rates for late payment, which seeks to encourage timely payment of claims by customers of the institutions of the national financial system.The new rule establishes a scale of percentages to calculate the default rate of up to 10% in credit operations. The settlements will be made only for the amount due of principal and only from the date of non-payment until the day of fulfillment of obligations ...
