Our colleagues have discussed the application and interpretation of force majeure clauses in contracts related to COVID-19 disruptions. These clauses are included in a contract by the parties and spell out the circumstances under which performance will be excused during one of the specified circumstances, such as natural disaster, disease, epidemic, or pandemic ...
The coronavirus is making a significant impact to our daily lives in every respect. This includes a growing impact on the global economy and the day-to-day business activities of pharmaceutical and medical device companies. This legal alert summarizes the evolving situation and its implications on the operations of life sciences companies. HHS Declaration of Liability Immunity Issued The U.S ...
The Ohio State Dental Board (“Dental Board”) issued a COVID-19 advisory Monday, March 16, 2020, at the direction and request of Governor Mike DeWine ...
On Friday, March 13, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced several waivers of existing Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) regulations pursuant to Section 1135(b) of the Social Security Act, including the waiver of certain Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) obligations and Medicare conditions of participation during the COVID-19 pandemic ...
Royal Decree No. 463/2020 declaring a state of alert in Spain to manage the COVID-19 public health crisis was published on March 14, 2020. Among other measures designed to respond to the outbreak and alleviate its consequences, all court and administrative time limits have been suspended for fifteen natural days (i.e. until March 29, 2020). This period, however, may be extended if necessary ...
The spread of the COVID-19 virus (“Coronavirus”) worldwide has had, in addition to the enormous impact on the health of the population, a notorious effect on the economic life of individuals and companies, and also on the execution of contracts. It affects the internal processes of a company, the production or services on which it depends to subsist, and even makes it difficult to fulfill the obligations assumed with third parties ...
As individuals, businesses, and governments continue to take actions to mitigate or contain the worldwide impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), it is likely that performance of contracts agreed to long before the emergence of the pandemic will become difficult, if not entirely impossible ...
The Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian governments have indicated their support for the companies in the form of tax relief and liquidity support. As of 17.03.2020, the initial measures in Estonia and Latvia are expected within this week. Companies with business in Lithuania can already benefit from tax relief, with a draft law on liquidity support expected within 48 hours. Due to the exceptional circumstances created by COVID-19, many companies have had to restructure their operations ...
During the first months of this year, the infectious respiratory disease known as COVID-19, caused by one of the viruses that conform the coronavirus family, has been disseminated in different parts of the world. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 as a pandemic and issued a series of provisional recommendations ...
As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to spread rapidly throughout the United States—and the world—commercial relationships are being thrown into disarray, resulting in the disruption of supply chains, cancellations of events, and closures of restaurants and other businesses. Several states have declared a state of emergency (including banning large group gatherings and mandating that certain business shutter for the time being) ...
Insurance companies ensure uncertain risks of individuals that may arise in the future and cover such risks with the premiums of the insured community. Once the risk has already occurred or is about to occur immediately and one does not have taken out insurance already, it is not possible to get insurance cover anymore ...
Limited liability companies and stock companies must file for the opening of insolvency proceedings if they are unable to pay their open debts (illiquidity) or over-indebted without a positive prognosis. If such ground to file for insolvency has occurred, managers are obliged to file for insolvency as soon as possible, but at the latest within 60 days. Otherwise they are personally liable - without limitation - for damages caused by a delayed filing for insolvency (i.e ...
Can a company collect data about a (potential) infection with COVID-19? Both, in case of information on a suspected case and in a confirmed case, special categories of personal data are processed. Whether a company may process such health data of employees, customers, suppliers or other third parties is exclusively governed by Art 9 GDPR ...
When should we hold our annual shareholders' meeting this year? The shareholders' meeting of a stock corporation must be held each year within eight months as of the end of the financial year. Therefore, if the financial year corresponds to the calendar year, there is time until the end of August. If possible, we would therefore recommend holding the annual shareholders' meeting a bit later this year in order to be better prepared ...
I. RISK TO COMPANIES FROM THE IMPACTS OF THE CORONA PANDEMIC The corona pandemic leads to a decline in sales revenues worldwide. Demand is plummeting. At the same time, supply chains in the globally networked economy are no longer reliable. Obligations to pay compensation for the inability to supply are impending, particularly in cases of no-fault supply guarantees. The liquidity and therefore the continued existence of many companies are at risk ...
In a press release today, 17 March 2020, the Department of Employment and Labour (the “Department”) appealed to employers to use the prescriptions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 in governing workplaces in relation to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Department has implored employers to prepare themselves and their employees as far in advance as possible for potentially worsening outbreak conditions ...
The economic climate in which many South African firms operate has meant that dismissals for operational requirements have become an inescapable concern. However are employees always entitled to severance pay? Section 41(1) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 provides that a retrenched employee is entitled to severance pay at least equal to one week’s remuneration for every year of completed service with the employer ...
We are all facing an unprecedented event in our lives with the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus. Although we are COVID-19 free, we are implementing precautionary and contingency measures to protect the safety and welfare of everyone at the Firm, and those who are connected to the Firm. Effective 16 March 2020, we have been implementing a work-from-home system ...
BOTSWANA: New tax management system introduced With effect from 1 April 2020, the Botswana Unified Revenue Service is introducing a new tax management system called Lekgetho Live. Under the new system, companies’ Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (“CIPA”) numbers will be used as their tax identification number (“TIN”), whereas citizens’ TINs will consist of the letter I and their Omang number ...
Following the South African President’s speech on 15 March 2020 that a national state of disaster has been declared in terms of the coronavirus (COVID-19), a number of measures were implemented to counteract the impact of the virus by the South African Government. We cover below the legal implications of some of these measures, particularly the repayment of bookings and data protection ...
This article is an updated version of the article published on 16 March 2020. On 15 March 2020, South African President Ramaphosa announced the declaration of a national state of disaster, as a result of the recent events surrounding the rise in coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in South Africa. The declaration of a national disaster was made in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (the "DMA") ...
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Bank of Mauritius has been closely monitoring its economic impact on the banking sector and the Mauritian economy.On 10 March 2020, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Mauritius reduced the key repo rate by 50 basis points to 2.85% per annum and on 13 March 2020, the Bank of Mauritius introduced a Support Programme to further assist Mauritian Businesses across all economic sectors ...
In light of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech on the country’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) last night, there are a number of new questions that we anticipate will be plaguing employers. Given all the restrictions on travel and gatherings, should employers close their doors and send employees home? No. An employer has the obligation to provide, as far as is reasonably practicable, a safe and healthy working environment ...
Chambers & Partners published its Practice Guide on Insurance and Reinsurance 2020. This guide provides expert legal commentary on key issues for businesses, and covers the important developments in the most significant jurisdictions ...
As each day that passes while COVID-19 spreads throughout the country, more businesses are closing their doors to protect their employees, customers, vendors, and other people with whom they come into contact. And many of them are wondering whether there is coverage for their business losses during this time. Business interruption or business income coverage is sometimes included in commercial property coverage ...
