After months spent collaborating on a loan application and waiting for HUD’s underwriters to judge its merits, the lender and borrower are thrilled to receive the HUD firm commitment, a major milestone on the path to closing. The parties lock the interest rate, draft loan documents, fine-tune title and survey, and assemble the pre-closing submission to HUD ...
Recent reports indicate that mental health and well-being have dropped back down the business agenda, despite levels of workplace stress remaining high in the wake of the pandemic. A recent report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that many employers are failing to keep mental health and well-being at the forefront of their business agenda despite the lingering impact of the pandemic ...
On May 24, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced an expansion of premium processing service to two additional categories of Form I-140 immigrant petitions. This is part of a broader push by USCIS to reduce backlogs, increase efficiency, and speed up decisions on certain previously filed Form I-140 immigrant petitions ...
Governor Mike DeWine signed Ohio House Bill 81 on June 16, 2021, codifying a significant change regarding eligibility for temporary total disability benefits (TTD) under Ohio Revised Code §4123.56(F). By enacting R.C. §4123.56(F), the legislature intended to leave behind decades of case law concerning the doctrine of voluntary abandonment ...
On May 16, 2022, the Colorado Supreme Court issued an opinion that serves as a cautionary tale for health care providers hoping to bill patients at chargemaster rates. The court’s decision in French v. Centura Health turned on the meaning of the phrase “all charges of the Hospital,” as set forth in the hospital service agreement (HSA) signed by Ms. French. Centura argued that the phrase “unambiguously refers to a hospital’s chargemaster rates.” Ms ...
Aaron Harlow and Ian Hardman examine the tough new measures that are being taken to force the real estate industry to pay to remove cladding - protecting leaseholders from costs. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has requested that residential property developers fund and undertake all necessary remediation of buildings over 11m that they have had a role in developing. This includes buildings both 11-18m and 18m+ ...
Charles Arrand considers the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, with a focus on both the potential business and human costs of failing to discharge obligations under the Order. Fire safety is regulated by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Order), which applies to almost all buildings, places and structures other than individual private homes ...
Mitek Systems, Inc. v. United Services Automobile Association, Appeal No. 2021-1989 (Fed. Cir. May 20, 2022) Our Case of the Week this week is a declaratory judgment action brought against USAA. In a 27-page opinion, the Federal Circuit addressed three issues: subject matter jurisdiction for declaratory judgment actions under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, the discretionary authority of courts to decline declaratory judgment jurisdiction, and venue for hearing such a case ...
Two recent Supreme Court decisions concerning the First Amendment affect when the government can regulate speech. Dinsmore's Justin Burns and Brady Wilson wrote about the cases for Law360 Expert Analysis. An excerpt is below and the full PDF is above. Recent headlines from the U.S. Supreme Court focus on leaks, but City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertisements of Austin and Shurtleff v. City of Boston, two recent First Amendment decisions, are also worth noting ...
This trend is worth monitoring, and undoubtedly reflective of generational change as those who set up companies or transferred interests into these jurisdictions decades ago pass on and leave their families fighting for control of the assets they have left behind. A helpful new judgement from the Easter Caribbean Court of Appeal (the Appeal Court) handed down on 23 March 2022, provides helpful further insight into family disputes over wills ...
Yesterday was closing submissions day for “Wagatha Christie”, aka Rebekah Vardy v Coleen Rooney. While we await Mrs Justice Steyn’s verdict, Kath Livingston, a Shoosmiths partner in dispute resolution & litigation, gives her thoughts and reflections on the trial, with more to follow after judgment ...
On May 23, 2022, the Oregon Medical Board (OMB) is hosting a public hearing on rules that propose major changes to the way physician assistants (PAs) practice in Oregon. The rules were written in response to House Bill 3036, which supporters have dubbed the “Physician Assistant Modernization Bill.” More broadly, the rules were written in response to mounting concerns about health care access and equity, especially for rural and minority populations ...
May 17, 2022 By: Arielle Seidman and Anthony Martin The Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) is set to take effect on July 1, 2023. The law, which applies to, among others, many businesses or non-profits that process data of no fewer than 100,000 persons over the course of a year, allows the attorney general to “promulgate rules for the purpose of carrying out” the CPA ...
Article by Pisut Ratwong, Founder of Pisut and Partners, and Anne Coulon, Regional Legal Adviser of DFDL An injunction is a Court order that enjoins a party either to perform a specific act, or to refrain from doing the same. ‘Interlocutory’, ‘Temporary’ or ‘Interim’ injunctions are used interchangeably. An injunction can serve as a guarantee that a debtor will return money or any liabilities to the applicant ...
A trust is created when the legal ownership of property is transferred to or vested in a trustee who thereafter is required by law to manage and administer the property for the benefit of beneficiaries, or for the furtherance of certain purposes. The beneficiaries of the trust collectively hold beneficial title to the trust property. This permits the beneficiaries to enforce trust obligations through the courts if necessary ...
Atlanta Gas Light Company v. Bennett Regulator Guards Inc., Appeal Nos. 2021-1759 (Fed. Cir. May 13, 2022) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit Court addressed the third appeal from an underlying inter partes review proceeding in the wake of a recent Supreme Court decision holding time-bar determinations as unreviewable. The Court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction ...
On May 9, 2022, National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) issued for public comments a draft revision (the “Draft Revision”) to the Regulations for the Implementation of the Drug Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China (the “Regulations”). The public comment period ends on June 6, 2022. The Regulations were last revised and became effective in March 2019 ...
The Oregon Legislature adopted a bill in 2021 to ensure planned communities eliminate discriminatory language from their governing documents by the end of this year. House Bill 2534, which amends Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) chapters 94 and 100, imposes a responsibility on homeowners associations and condominium associations to review their governing documents and remove certain discriminatory language ...
The Oregon Legislature adopted a bill in 2021 to ensure planned communities eliminate discriminatory language from their governing documents by the end of this year. House Bill 2534, which amends Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) chapters 94 and 100, imposes a responsibility on homeowners associations and condominium associations to review their governing documents and remove certain discriminatory language ...
The recent COVID-19 Inquiry's public consultation on its draft terms of reference has captured a substantial amount of public engagement; balancing the representation of all affected groups and avoiding lengthy delays looks like a real challenge. Baroness Hallett’s draft terms of reference (draft terms), published on 11 March, requested the views of individuals and organisations by 7 April on the scope of the COVID-19 Inquiry ...
The COVID-19 Public Inquiry presents a key growth area for litigation in the medium to long term. Here, Matthew MacLachlan considers key litigation risks, potential parties and emerging themes ...