This eighth edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, follows what we hope was a restful and meaningful Memorial Day weekend. For the third week in a row, shutdown challenges, workers' compensation claims, and wrongful death lawsuits have dominated the news cycle. But, we are also seeing a continuation in refund claims and an uptick in fraud claims involving everything from alleged misuse of sick days to corporate press releases ...
On May 22, Treasury issued a new Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) regarding Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Payroll Protection Program (”PPP”) loan forgiveness. Much of the IFR repeats information previously published by Treasury and SBA in the loan forgiveness form application and accompanying instructions. See March 19, 2020 Buchalter Client Alert COVID-19: Treasury Issues Application for SBA PPP Loan Forgiveness ...
As more workers begin to return to the workplace, it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of lawsuits related to employee contraction of the virus in the workplace. While the general rule in most states is that the workers’ compensation system provides the exclusive remedy for work-related injuries and illnesses, claimants and their attorneys are eyeing exceptions to the workers’ compensation system in order to maximize their potential recovery ...
Key Points City council and planning commission recusals can have a significant impact on the outcome of hearings involving land use and environmental issues. Recusals can lead to tie votes or the loss of a quorum, which may make it impossible for local governments to approve development projects. In some circumstances, an elected or appointed official’s failure to recuse can be grounds for reversing local government decisions ...
The SBA, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Treasury, issued the Paycheck Protection Program Loan ForgivenessApplicationand related instructions on May 15, 2020. While the application and instructions answer many of our questions about PPP loan forgiveness, it leaves many others open. Treasury has promised that the SBA also will soon issue regulations and guidance that we hope will address these questions ...
In Da Shing Group Ltd v Rich Promise Limited [2020] HKCFI 588[1], the Hong Kong Court of First Instance provided guiding principles in the interpretation of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and considered whether pre-contractual exchanges could be admitted as evidence. The MOU in Chinese related to the acquisition of about 50.46% of the shareholding (Shares) in a listed company, Crocodile Garments Limited (Crocodile) ...
Rule 2-2020, as amended by Rule 3-2020 of the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (hereinafter, “SBP,” for its initials in Spanish). On March 16, 2020, the SBP issued Rule 2-2020, which was subsequently amended by Rule 3-2020 (here in after referred to as “Rule 2-2020") and "establishes additional, exceptional and temporary measures for compliance with the provisions contained in Rule 4-2013 on credit risk".” ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to change the way that they do business. The fact that the National Capital Region is currently under a Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ),[1] and prior to that, was under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) for two months since 16 March 2020, makes it difficult for Philippine domestic corporations to navigate the Philippine business landscape and conduct business as usual ...
Section 29 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (BO) allows a trustee in bankruptcy to apply to the Courts for orders compelling disclosure of material documents and/or information of the bankrupt in order for the trustee to carry out his/her duties under the bankruptcy. For the authors’ previous article on Section 29, please see here ...
The pandemic and government health protection measures have created a series of challenges and smart government responses to try to deal with the imposed social distance ...
Guatemala dawns today with the validity of a law, contained in the Decree 15-2020, extremely harmful for the country, the economy, the industry and legal certainty, and in violation of the Constitution. This law allows for the possibility of not paying certain basic services (water, cable, telephony, power [sic] (electric power) and internet) by the users, and imposes the obligation to public and private supplier companies not to suspend, under any circumstances, their provision ...
The landmark CARES Act, signed into law by the President on March 27, provides many employers with several options to increase liquidity and cash flow during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. And only 9 days before that legislation was enacted, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) also created two other payroll tax-related incentives for certain employers, and to self-employed individuals ...
In early April, the United States approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) authorizing $349 billion in a small business lending program called the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). Depleted within days by the overwhelming response from businesses across the country, Congress authorized an additional $310 billion for this program on April 23. With government money, however, comes government oversight ...
The government has rolled out a series of measures to relieve the economic impact brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Introduced under the second round Anti-epidemic Fund, the Employment Support Scheme (ESS) has come under the spotlight as it aims to provide wage subsidies to employers against their undertaking to spend all subsidies on paying wages to their employees and not to implement redundancy during the subsidy period ...
On 18 May 2020, the UAE government announced the following timings with effect from today, 20 May 2020: the National Disinfection Programme will take place between 08:00pm (not 10:00pm) to 06:00am the following day. working hours of butchers, mills and cafes will be from 06:00am to 08:00pm. commercial centres and malls will be open from 09:00am to 07:00pm (with new opening hours to be announced after the upcoming Eid ...
State and local governments throughout the nation are struggling to address the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, enacted by Congress on March 28, 2020 appears to provide insufficient funding, and many state and local governments need more federal financial assistance ...
The Department of Labor and Employment (“DOLE”) issued Labor Advisory Nos. 17 and 18 dated 16 May 2020 containing guidelines on employment preservation upon the resumption of business operations as well as guidelines on the cost of COVID-19 prevention and control measures, respectively. Read the analysis of DFDL’s collaborating firm in the Philippines, Ocampo & Suralvo Law Offices, now: Contact View More
On May 14, 2020, San Francisco Mayor London Breed issued a second extension of the City’s commercial eviction moratorium and rent deferral program for small businesses with less than $25 Million in 2019 gross receipts. The extension grants rent relief for rent due and payable through June 16, 2020. On April 15, 2020, Mayor Breed previously extended the original order through May 17, 2020 ...
State Attorneys General across the nation are warning consumers about price gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic and offering easy online tools to report violations. Consumers have gotten the message. Texans, for example, have sent over 10,000 complaints of price gouging to the state AG’s office during the pandemic.1 Price gouging laws have been enacted by nearly 75 percent of states ...
On 4 May 2020, the Commission published the latest package of exceptional measures (announced on 22 April) to support the agricultural and food sectors that have been hit hardest by the crisis. The package of measures adopted by the Commission includes temporary derogations from EU competition rules for milk, flowers and potatoes, support for private storage of dairy and meat products and flexibility in the application of market support programs ...
The Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority has released several documents related to the merger notification regime that was effectively implemented on 15 May 2020, the effective date of Decree 35. As the National Competition Committee has not yet been appointed, the documents clarify that, in accordance with its responsibility under Article 7 ...
