The Second Circuit issued an important decision recently in In re Sanofi Securities Litigation applying the Supreme Court’s landmark Omnicare decision. In Omnicare, the Supreme Court held that a statement of opinion, even if honestly believed, could be actionable if the issuer failed to disclose material facts that conflict with what a reasonable investor would, in context, expect about the issuer’s basis for the opinion ...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) recently announced a settlement with Dwolla, Inc., an online payment processor, for allegedly deceptive statements Dwolla made to consumers regarding the company’s data security practices. In the settlement, Dwolla agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty and take specific actions to improve its data security ...
On February 12, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued 18 no-action letters concerning requests to exclude proxy access shareholder proposals from proxy materials pursuant to Rule 14a-8(i)(10) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Rule 14a-8(i)(10) permits a company to exclude shareholder proposals from its proxy materials if the company has already “substantially implemented” such proposals ...
On 16 February 2016, the Bosnian Competition Council made a ruling in favour of the cable operator and Karanović & Nikolić's client – Telemach – in the case against HD Win, the owner of the sports channel "Arena Sport", and a subsidiary of Telekom Serbia. The authority imposed a fine against HD Win for its abuse of dominant position and ordered it to enter into agreement with Telemach in order to allow its subscribers access to Arena Sport ...
In February, the British-based Mineco Group has officially submitted the request for an urban permit before the Bosnian Ministry of Physical Planning for its project of building a lead mine in the town of Olovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina ...
On February 16, 2016, the recently constituted Philippine Competition Commission (“PCC”), which was created under the Philippine Competition Act (Republic Act 10667 or the “PCA”), issued Memorandum Circular No ...
Karanović & Nikolić is proud to announce the promotion of new Partners and Senior Associates. The following employees have been recognised for their hard work and dedication to our values and goals, and we hope this promotion will only increase their drive and commitment in the future ...
We have news coming from Slovenia, where it has recently been reported that the European Investment Bank (EIB) will be opening its office in the country's capital, Ljubljana, during the summer months. This piece of news does not come as too big of a surprise, since the Slovenian economy has enjoyed EIB's considerable presence over the last couple of years, with its investments during last year alone totaling EUR 798 million ...
A proposed Act on Wind Power Plant Projects presented in February 2016 is intended to specify the rules for siting of wind farms. But the current version of the proposal generates a huge risk for further growth of the wind power sector and for wind farms already in operation and even for persons interested in building housing near existing wind projects. The issue of siting of wind farms near other construction has created a lot of confusion ...
On 16 February 2016, the Bosnian Competition Council made a ruling in favour of the cable operator and Karanović & Nikolić's client – Telemach – in the case against HD Win, the owner of the sports channel "Arena Sport", and a subsidiary of Telekom Serbia. The authority imposed a fine against HD Win for its abuse of dominant position and ordered it to enter into agreement with Telemach in order to allow its subscribers access to Arena Sport ...
With the steep collapse of oil and gas prices in the last eighteen months, dozens of exploration and production companies have declared bankruptcy and many more companies are expected to file for bankruptcy protection unless prices rebound dramatically ...
Last week, the General Court of the European Union dismissed Coca Cola's request to register its bottle shape without fluting as a Community trade mark, further denying the soft drink giant's intention, five years since the application in question was initially submitted. Back in December, 2011, Coca-Cola filed an application to the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) for the registration of its glass bottle without fluting as a Community trademark ...
The legal landscape for doing business in Iran has changed significantly in the past seven months. On July 14, 2015, the P5+1 (the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China and Russia), the European Union and Iran agreed and signed a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) contemplating the easing of certain Iran related sanctions ...
Executive Summary On February 5th, 2016, Law N° 20,897 was published in the Official Gazette incorporating 3 new paragraphs into article 34 bis of the Electric Power Services General Law (“LGSE”). By virtue of this modification, article 34 bis of the LGSE, widens its protection to any developer of non conventional renewable energy projects (“NCRE”). This article was originally intended exclusively for electric concessionaires ...
On February 23, 2016 the Secretariat of Energy (SENER) published a notice in the Federal Gazette by means of which as of April 1, 2016 such authority can grant import permits of gasoline and diesel into Mexico to any interested party that complies with the applicable legal provisions, including those set forth in the Administrative Resolution published in the Federal Gazette on December 29, 2014 and amended by publication in the same Gazette on December 30, 2015 that establi
Following the creation of the regulatory framework and the successful passing of required tests, the first organised electricity market in Serbia, ("SEEPEX"), has officially launched its operations on 17 February, 2016. This power exchange operator was set up jointly by Elektromreže Srbije, the Serbian state-owned power system, and the European Power Exchange (EPEX SPOT SE) ...
In a third and final round of settlements with underwriters, the SEC announced on February 2, 2016 enforcement actions against 14 firms for alleged misstatements and omissions in municipal bond offerings ...
NewLegislation Enables the Public Offering of Foreign Fund Units in Israel for theFirst Time On February 10, 2016, the IsraeliParliamentary Finance Committee approved regulations ("Regulations")which will enable the public offering of foreign mutual fund units inIsrael. The Regulations will take effectwithin six months from the date of publication. Prior to the enactment of theRegulations, the Israeli Joint Investment Trust Law permitted the offering offoreign funds in Israel ...
The United States has announced that it has signed with Cuba a new agreement covering air services between the two countries. The new agreement, which replaces a suspended accord dating back to the 1950s, authorizes up to 110 daily round trip scheduled flights between the two countries by airlines of each respective country. The agreement permits twenty (20) scheduled non-stop flights between the U.S ...
On January 27, 2016, the Obama Administration took the latest in its continuing steps to ease restrictions on trade and travel between the United States and Cuba. Amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (“CACR”) administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) will authorize additional U.S ...
The jurisdictional thresholds for premerger notification filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“HSR Act”) will increase February 25, 2016, and will apply to any transaction closing on or after that date. The revised thresholds will remain in effect until the next annual adjustment, expected in the first quarter of 2017.To read the full alert, click here ...
Lavery closely monitors new developments in consumer law and is committed to keeping the business community informed of the latest developments in this area of the law by regularly publishing newsletters dealing with new case law or legislative changes which may impact, influence, or even transform practices in the retail sector ...
The European Court of Justice ruled last October that the data sharing framework between the EU and US, referred to as Safe Harbor, is no longer valid. On 2 February 2016, the EU and US authorities agreed in principle on a 'new' arrangement, known as the 'EU-US Privacy Shield', which is intended to replace 'Safe Harbor' ...
Special Economic Zones (“SEZs”) are geographically designated areas within a country that are set aside for specifically targeted economic activities, supported through special arrangements (that may include laws) and systems to promote industrial development. An SEZ is meant to be an economic development tool to promote rapid economic growth by using various support measures to attract targeted foreign and domestic investments and technology ...
Less than two days after an enforcement moratorium expired, U.S. and EU officials in transatlantic data transfer talks have reached a new “Privacy Shield” framework to replace the Safe Harbor regime struck down in the Schrems case last year. The new framework, also known as Safe Harbor 2.0, is expected to increase obligations on U.S. companies that handle the personal data of Europeans, while bringing stronger privacy enforcement by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) ...
