On March 2, 2017, the California Supreme Court determined that when a public employee uses a personal account to communicate about the conduct of public business, the communications are subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA), if those communications are not otherwise exempt from disclosure. In a unanimous opinion, the Court in City of San Jose v ...
2016 Follow-Up Payments on Promissory Notes and Guarantees. If you sold property (for example, real estate, stock, or an interest in a family limited partnership or other closely-held entity) to a family member or a trust for a promissory note in the past, the purchaser should make the proper interest payments. Also, if the transaction involved a guarantee of any part of debt, the guarantor should receive the proper guarantee fees. Gift Tax Returns ...
The Trump Administration has signaled its intent to roll back the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act in an Executive Order issued on February 28. The Executive Order directs U.S. EPA and the Corps of Engineers to consider rescinding or revising the "Clean Water Rule," which defines when the Clean Water Act applies to wetlands, ponds, intermittent streams, and other water bodies that have a "significant nexus" to "navigable waters ...
The Latest News from the Canadian Infrastructures Market Defense Construction Canada Issues a Request for Expressions of Interest for Energy Performance Contract Defense Construction Canada (DCC) has issued a Request for Expressions of Interest, dated December 20, 2016, for improvements in energy efficiency contracts covering nine military facilities across Canada (Québec, Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) ...
View the February 2017 Health Law Vitals Newsletter PDF. Final Guidance Sheds Light on Medical Device Reporting Requirements In November 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a final guidance on medical device reporting for manufacturers ("Final MDR Guidance") ...
Just weeks into the new Administration, perhaps the only certain thing is that there will be uncertainty as the Administration makes its mark and works to fulfill campaign promises. Meanwhile, restaurant chains and food companies are trying to allocate resources to best address business priorities and hot legal issues ...
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations recently announced its 2017 examination priorities for broker-dealers, investment advisers, and investment funds. OCIE, which serves as the “eyes and ears” of the Commission, identified the current staff’s priorities as a focus on (i) matters of importance to retail investors, (ii) risks specific to elderly and retiring investors, and (iii) assessing market-wide risks ...
On 5 December 2016, a new set of draft amendments to the JSE Debt Listings Requirements (the “DLRs”) was posted on the JSE Limited’s (the “JSE”) website and circulated on 13 December 2016. The comprehensive set of proposed amendments will be open for public comment until 30 January 2017 ...
On January 20, 2017, in a case of first impression among the appellate courts, a panel of the Ninth Circuit concluded in Syed v. M-I, LLC (Case No. 14-17186) that an employer violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when its background check disclosure/authorization document includes a sentence that releases the employer, the consumer reporting agency (the vendor), and their agents from liability for any violations of the FCRA ...
The False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729, et seq. (FCA) continued to be a significant focus of government and whistleblower activity in 2016. ThisYear in Review highlights several key developments, including: The U.S. Department of Justice is continuing its strong enforcement of the FCA, including recovering more than $4.7 billion in settlements and judgments in FCA cases in 2016, as well as continuing its focus on individual culpability ...
The sixth edition of The International Capital Markets Review is already available. The Philippine chapter outlines governing laws, legislative bodies, and recent jurisprudence, and also contains information on recent developments in relevant laws and regulations, especially those affecting debt and equity offerings and those affecting derivatives, securitizations and other structured products. The chapter was contributed by SyCipLaw partner Maria Teresa D ...
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved legislation on December 13, 2016 to provide developers of market rate projects with 24 or fewer dwellings with the option of contributing the required fees for off-site affordable housing (under the Inclusionary Housing Program) to a Small Sites Fund administered by the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development ("MOHCD") ...
Overview The new Pledge Law of the UAE was enacted on 12 December 2016 as Federal Law No. 20 of 2016. The Pledge Law was published in the Federal Official Gazette on 15 December 2016 and will become effective on 15 March 2017. The Pledge Law introduces a new regime for registering a pledge over movable assets which are pledged as security for the repayment of a debt ...
The current EU regulations for medical devices and in vitro diagnostics are from the 1990s. The rapid technical developments in the health care system in recent years as well as the increased cross-border trade urgently require a modernization of the current legal framework. Now the adoption of new EU legislation is imminent. This article provides a brief overview of the planned content and the likely entry into force of the Regulations ...
As the American press focuses on the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act, the wheels have been set in motion to implement new health care legislation that enjoys strong bipartisan support. The 21st Century Cures Act (the “Act”), signed by President Obama on December 13, addresses a broad range of health care priorities, including drug innovation, biomedical research, and mental health reform ...
The Law on Financial Operations On the 30th of December 2016, the application of the Law on Financial Operations (Law) will commence in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Law is intended to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market by introducing adequate and systematic risk management measures and solvency measures, as well as to promote the competitiveness of local commercial enterprises by legislating a culture of prompt payment ...
Under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), large employers (generally those with 50 or more full-time employees or full-time equivalents) must report annually to the IRS information about the health coverage offered to their full-time employees during the prior year. Employers also must provide copies of the reports to their full-time employees ...
The December/January issue of the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) included an international briefing article entitled “Philippines: Competition Law Updates”. The article was contributed by SyCipLaw partners Franco Aristotle G. Larcina and Arlene M. Maneja. The article discussed the new merger form issued by the Philippine Competition Commission on August 31, 2016. Read the article online at the IFLR website ...
On January 1, 2017, most public works projects in California will be subject to new procedural requirements applicable to claims from contractors ...
Financial Industry, ICC Commission Report on Financial Institutions and International Arbitration, International Financing The ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR’s Task Force on Financial Institutions and International Arbitration recently published its ‘Report on Financial Institutions and International Arbitration’ (the “Report”) ...
The Serbian Parliament has recently adopted amendments to the Criminal Code. The amendments include a significant overhaul of the legal framework for white collar crimes, touching upon the rules relevant for antitrust enforcement as well. While the Serbian Criminal Code previously penalized antitrust infringements spearheaded by the responsible managers, the relevant provision was relatively vague and targeted chiefly dominance abuse ...
Karanovic & Nikolic provided complete legal support to Affidea, a largest European medical service provider with respect to opening the first foreign hospital located in Belgrade. Our services consisted of extensive regulatory and corporate advice related to formation and start of operations of Affidea&s first hospital in Serbia. Affidea is one of the largest healthcare investors and operates over 180 Diagnostic and Cancer Treatment Centers in 15 countries across Europe ...
After a remarkable year in both merger control and antitrust, the Serbian Competition Commission (the "Commission") is already starting to look ahead. The announcements made on the Commission's website during November and December of this year suggest that the Commission's focus in the year ahead will be directed at several industries in particular. Firstly, the Commission published on its website the Report on the Sectorial Analysis of Aftermarkets ...
Maxim Alekseyev, ALRUD Senior Partner, heading Private Clients Practice, Kira Egorova and Elena Novikova, ALRUD Of Counsels, and Ekaterina Vasina, ALRUD Associate, prepared a chapter for the 5th edition of the book “The Private Wealth & Private Client Review” published by Law Business Research. The book includes articles on private wealth management, written by leading specialists from law firms from all over the world ...
The Public-Private Partnership delivery model (?PPP? or ?P3?) is now well established in Canada, where more than 177 of such projects were closed between 1993 and 2015 (source: InfraAmericas). The great majority thereof (166) have been closed since 2004, and the current trend indicates the number of projects is on the rise ...
