The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) is a new federally-funded program providing emergency assistance for eligible venues adversely affected by COVID-19. The program, administered by the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Disaster Assistance, will offer over $16 billion in grants to shuttered venues, providing economic relief to eligible entities. This legal update summarizes the requirements and additional information related to the grant application process ...
The recent Court of First Instance decision in Li Yiqing v Lamtex Holdings Limited [2021] HKCFI 622 (11 March 2021) is a landmark decision in cross-border insolvency law in Hong Kong, in which the Court held that when it is considering the recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings, regard should not simply be had to the place of incorporation of the relevant company, but that in a departure from previous practice, the location of the company’s centre of main interest (COMI) is
In the recent case of AB V CD, HCCT 27/2020, 18 February 2021the Court granted the application of AB Engineering, to set aside a HKIAC arbitral award made against it in Hong Kong, finding that it was not a party to the relevant agreement containing the arbitration clause (Agreement) ...
On April 13, 2021, Law No. 21,314 was published in the Official Gazette, which, among other matters, set new transparency requirements and reinforce the responsibilities of market agents (the "Law"). Relevant modifications to the current insurance regulation: Amendments to Decree with Force of Law No. 251 of 1931 ("Insurance Act"). Article 5 of the Law amends the Insurance Act, among others, in the following matters: Insurance consultation system (new Article 12) ...
On Tuesday, April 13th of 2021, a law was published in the Official Gazette that establishes new demands for transparency and strengthens the responsibilities of market agents, regulates the social security advice and other matters indicated therein, reforming, among other regulations, Law No. 18,045, on the Stock Market and Law No. 18,046 on Corporations (going forward, referred as the “Law”) ...
The INPI (Brazilian PTO) published Ordinance/INPI/PR No. 21, of March 26, 2021, which extends the Backlog Combat Project aiming at reducing the number of invention patent applications pending decision. The ordinance came into force on April 1st, 2021, and targets patent applications filed between Jan. 1st, 2017 and Dec. 31st, 2017 ...
On March 26, 2021, the Superior Court rendered a decision dismissing a class action against the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (“IIROC”) on the loss of personal information of thousands of Canadian investors.1 The lack of evidence of compensable injury and IIROC’s diligent behaviour are the main reasons for the dismissal of the class action. The Facts On February 22, 2013, an inspector working for IIROC forgot his laptop computer in a public place ...
The South African Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) recently delivered judgment in the matter of FirstRand Bank Limited v The Spar Group Limited. The SCA held that: A customer with no entitlement to money deposited into its account and who knows that it enjoys no such entitlement, may not pay out money against the credit to the account. Doing so amounts to theft ...
On Tuesday, April 13 th of 2021, a law was published in the Official Gazette that establishes new demands for transparency and strengthens the responsibilities of market agents, regulates the social security advice and other matters indicated therein , reforming, among other regulations, Law No 18,045, on the Stock Market and Law No. 18,046 on Corporations (going forward, referred as the “ Law ”) ...
Earn-outs are a commonly used payment mechanism in overseas and cross-border M&A transactions. Through earn-outs, transacting parties can set flexible metrics to adjust the buyer’s payment obligation and thereby allocate the risks and benefits between the buyer and seller ...
In the recent judgment of Divine Inspiration Trading 205 (Pty) Limited and another v Katherine Gordon and 2 others, the Western Cape High Court found, in essence, that the rules of court override the interests protected under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”) and ordered that personal information be disclosed. In this matter, the applicants sought an order for the disclosure of Ms Gordon’s medical records from her medical practitioners ...
The protracted legal battle between software giant Oracle America Inc. (“Oracle”) and technology behemoth Google LLC (“Google”) has truly been one for the ages. The Supreme Court of the United States of America (“SCOTUS”) on 05 April 2021 delivered its judgment in the writ of Certiorari filed by Google against Oracle ...
The designation of eight new Freeports within England made headlines in the Budget and now the winning bidders have to put into effect their successful proposals. What will this mean in practice for those areas affected and what are the likely issues that Freeport authorities will face? We have pulled together some questions we are asked frequently on Freeports, together with the responses we have been providing to our clients ...
The Court of Appeal (CoA) has allowed a SIPP investor’s appeal in Adams v Options UK Personal Pensions LLP (2021) EWCA Civ 474 and provided important guidance on the interpretation of Article 25 and 53 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 Regulated Activities Order 2001 ...
The E-Sign Act was signed into law over two decades ago. To put that into context, smart phones as we know them did not exist—the most popular mobile phone in 2000 was a flip phone, the Nokia 3310, and the first iPhone would not debut for another seven years. The most popular website was AOL because many people were still using AOL as their internet service provider. Google was a fledgling company with its search engine just starting out among the mainstays like Excite and Lycos ...
The HKIAC’s statistics for 2020 reveal that in 2020 the HKIAC received a record number of arbitration filings (the highest number received in over a decade) and the total amount in dispute in the arbitrations was another record high. Most hearings were fully or partially virtual, which is unsurprising given the pandemic outbreak last year. The following are some of the more notable statistics: 483 new cases were submitted to the HKIAC in 2020 ...
In our previous article, we reported on the Supplemental Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between Mainland China and the HKSAR (Supplemental Arrangement) made on 27 November 2020, which made certain revisions to the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between Mainland China and the HKSAR, as follows: Recognition of arbitral awards -The Supplemental Arrangement clarified that the procedures set out in the Arrangement shall be in
In DR Jones Yeovil Ltd v The Stepping Stone Group Ltd [2020] EWHC 2308 (TCC), England’s Technology and Construction Court ruled in favour of a contractor in its claim for unpaid retention under a JCT contract and dismissed the employer’s counterclaim for alleged defects. Certificates of Making Good were never issued and one of the questions before the court was whether that meant there could be no recovery of the balance of retention ...
The appeal in ABC Electrification Ltd v Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 1645, concerned the proper construction of a Target Cost Contract based upon the standard Institute of Civil Engineers Conditions of Contract, Target Cost Version, First Edition (ICE Conditions) and subject to standard amendments commonly used in the rail industry, known as Network Rail 12 (N12 Amendments) ...
In the recent case of Cheng Pan & Anor v Yau Lai Wah, HCA 376/2015, the Court held the Defendant liable for loss and damage caused by water leakage from his property into a neighbouring property, which resulted from the Defendant’s contractors carrying out works to pipes located in the Defendant’s property ...
