Key Points: California Court of Appeal issues two landmark local government finance decisions. Propositions 13 and 218 do not require two-thirds voter approval for special taxes proposed by initiative. A toll is not a tax. The California Court of Appeal in San Francisco has issued two blockbuster decisions in the last week impacting local government finance ...
The owners of multistate businesses must consider a multitude of factors when deciding how to structure their business ventures, and state taxation cannot be overlooked. The accompanying charts can assist in that evaluation for limited liability companies (LLCs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs). In recent years, LLCs and, to a lesser extent, limited partnerships and LLPs, have become the popular choice for structuring or re-structuring multistate business entities ...
In an 8-1 decision delivered by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the much-anticipated BOOKING.COM case, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that in some circumstances, a generic word combined with “.com” can be a protectable trademark. Generic marks are not eligible for trademark protection and are not actually marks at all. Instead, they are essentially the name for the product/service or type of product/service at issue ...
Business in Bulgaria is experiencing a challenging legal environment in the context of rapidly changing emergency measures dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. We have prepared a summary of the key legal measures affecting business in the BULGARIA COVID-19 TRACKER. It will be updated daily, as necessary. Please check regularly for updates. If you have questions, please contact a member of our C19 Task Force ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has lasted for over four months, and there is no sign that the number of new cases will decrease soon, though many states, companies and service providers are proceeding with the re-opening of business. The unexpected downturn in the economy caused by the pandemic has adversely affected VC financing opportunities for startups ...
Overview - The article lays forth the framework of laws concerning acquisition of real estate in India. The Constitution of India has empowered both Union Government (as known as the Central Government) as well as the State Governments to legislate laws dealing with various facets of immoveable property in India ...
As a rule, an extraordinary notice of termination can be given to a severely disabled employee within one week of receiving the approval of the Integration Office. BAG, ruling dated February 27, 2020, 2 AZR 390/19 Employers may give an extraordinary and immediate notice of termination to a severely disabled employee even after the expiry of the two-week period applicable to extraordinary termination if the notice of termination is given immediately, i.e ...
In the course of the Corona crisis, a large number of companies have introduced short-time work. Funded by statutory unemployment insurance, short-time work is an instrument of labour market policy and pursues the aim of preserving jobs. This does not mean, however, that dismissals during a period of short-time work are legally excluded. In particular, dismissals based on personal grounds and conduct that are not related to short-time work remain possible ...
Many jurisdictions have put in place legislation to regulate merger activities. There have been discussions that it is high time for Malaysia to implement a general merger control regime under the Malaysian Competition Act 2010. As it presently stands, general merger activities which do not fall within two specific sectors (will be discussed below) are not regulated and no prior sanction is required from the Competition Commission before a merger transaction takes place ...
In the corporate world, there is a novel type of enterprise labeled “startup,” which is known for its rapid growth, partly, because of the fact that it is highly related to the general use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the latest business trends ...
The doctrine of qualified immunity, often invoked by police officers and other government employees in lawsuits alleging civil rights violations, was recently asserted by defendants in a federal False Claims Act (FCA) fraud case. In an interlocutory appeal, a unanimous Fourth Circuit panel has held qualified immunity cannot shield defendants from FCA liability. Citynet, No. 18-1575, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 19367 (4th Cir. June 22, 2020) ...
Arbitration is one of the preferred mechanisms of dispute resolution in the construction industry. Understanding how an arbitration will unfold is useful in managing a dispute. Most domestic construction disputes are referred to arbitration through, and according to the rules, of the American Arbitration Association (AAA), but other organizations that follow different rules and processes do exist. For AAA arbitrations, the following steps provide a rough outline of a typical proceeding ...
This 13th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation brings new developments in everything from constitutional law to tort liability. Shutdown cases show no signs of slowing down, and it seems probable that more will follow as some states reverse reopening plans in response to coronavirus outbreaks ...
The sale of a business is often the most significant business transaction in an entrepreneur's life. In addition, the net proceeds from such a sale often represent an entrepreneur's only retirement fund. Therefore, it is crucial to maximize such proceeds by reducing or deferring the taxes resulting from the transaction as much as possible ...
How can undertakings access state aid and under what conditions can the state grant this aid? Concept of state aid State aid is any economic or financial support granted by the state, or from state resources, that gives an undertaking a selective advantage which may affect trade between Member States. State aid is, in principle, prohibited. Therefore, it must be notified to the European Commission in order for it to decide whether it is compatible with the internal market ...
Foreign brand owners have often questioned whether they need a trademark registration in the PRC when engaging PRC factories for Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) activities. Previously, a pure OEM arrangement with proper authorisation from the owner of a trademark registration in the exporting country, would generally not be considered infringement of identical or similar PRC trademarks ...
We are seeing an increase in the use of warranty and indemnity insurance (W&I) on transactions, which is a theme we expect to continue as buyers target companies that are in financial distress in the wake of Covid-19. W&I has become commonplace in the UK M&A market as a way to ‘bridge the gap’ between buyer and seller when allocating risk ...
In a split decision with far-reaching implications for both government contractors and the private bar, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in Inserso Corporation v. U.S., recently addressed timeliness and waiver issues in the bid protest context. The facts of this significant case, the majority and dissenting opinions, as well as key takeaways for federal contractors and their attorneys, are discussed below. The Facts The U.S ...
On June 18, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not follow appropriate administrative procedures to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and, therefore, was unauthorized to do so. The decision was a 5-4 ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor ...
The Commission for the Financial Market (“CMF”), issued the General Rule No. 443, dated June 15, 2020 (the “NCG 443”), in order to establish the requirements to temporarily exempt from the presentation of certain documentation in the applications for registration of public offers of securities, and to permanently amend the General Rule No ...
The U.S. Copyright Office has issued a final regulation (37 CFR §202.4) permitting a single, “group” registration for “Short Online Literary Works.” To be eligible, each of the works included in the registration “must be published as part of a website or online platform, including online newspapers, social media websites, and social networking platforms ...
In the recent decision of Abdul Malek Bin Mohamed v MISC Bhd dated 17 June 2020 [Award 840 of 2020], the Industrial Court recognised that the tenure of service of an employee in an organisation does not shield the employee from having to render satisfactory performance at the level required by the Company. The Industrial Court upheld the dismissal of an employee for poor performance after 32 years of service ...
Free way to different sports disciplines, among them, the practice of Golf. The Ministry of Sports issued Resolution 632 of 2020, approving the specific biosafety protocol for playing Golf that was presented by the Colombian Golf Federation. The protocol describes the measures that the clubs must implement on the golf courses for their reopening, for recreational practice, and exclusively covers the complex of facilities inherent in a standard golf course ...
A case of forced resignation does not automatically amount to an unfair dismissal. In the recent decision of Mohd Rizam bin Ibrahim v Prince Court Medical Centre Sdn Bhd dated 5 June 2020 [Award 716 of 2020], the Industrial Court ruled that although the employee was forced to resign, the same was with just cause and excuse ...
