In the midst of the COVID-19 waves, the EU Commission rejected the delay proposals on the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS)’s mandatory annual deadlines ...
GERMAN GOVERNMENT INTENDS TO INCREASE HURDLES FOR ACQUIRING GERMAN COMPANIES IN STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT BUSINESS SECTORS On April 8, 2020, the German government adopted the draft bill of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs to amend the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz, AWG) ...
In an earlier post, we started discussing the IRS’ “John Doe” summons to Coinbase, a virtual currency exchange, to obtain information about every Coinbase user, who, at any time during the period of January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015, conducted transactions in a convertible virtual currency as defined in IRS Notice 2014-21. One such user filed a motion to intervene in the proceeding and to quash the IRS’ summons ...
Florida legislature passes bill to add virtual currencies to money laundering statute in response to last year’s court ruling that bitcoin can’t be the basis for money laundering charges Last year, a Miami judge dismissed criminal charges against a Florida-based bitcoin seller who had been caught in a sting in which undercover law enforcement officers engaged him to convert cash into bitcoin. They told him they intended to use the bitcoin to buy stolen credit card numbers ...
A West Virginia federal district court recently addressed a plaintiff’s claims that her reverse mortgage violated at least two statutes and West Virginia common law. The plaintiff was one of two borrowers on that mortgage and sued the mortgage lender and its servicing affiliate. The servicer moved to dismiss. The court granted the motion in part and denied it in part ...
If you spend any time reading about the virtual currency space, you’ve picked up that blockchain technology is creeping into hundreds of industries and countries worldwide as more and more people create ways to use the public electronic ledger to better our lives in the not-too-distant future. Money transfers, trade settlements, property and health records, and just about any other part of the human endeavor are being tweaked, changed, and disrupted by this new technology ...
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals makes clear that third parties may not sue under the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act for collection attempts On May 17, 2017, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals issued a unanimous decision that affirmed a trial court’s order granting summary judgment to a collector in a lawsuit brought by a third party over collection calls made to her home that were intended to reach another person living there. In Young v ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a burst of COVID-19-related guidance documents to facilitate expanded availability of medical products during the current public health emergency created by COVID-19. FDA-regulated products under these temporary policies include: PPE, diagnostic tests, hand sanitizers, disinfectant devices, remote monitoring devices, ventilators, and electronic thermometers for clinical use ...
Key Points: Since Governor Newsom announced a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak, private Proposition 65 enforcement has increased by about 50%. Effective April 1st, new regulations clarify how manufacturers can satisfy their Proposition 65 warning obligations. These new regulations also clarify when retail sellers assume the burden under Proposition 65 to warn Californians ...
The Superintendence of Finance of Colombia issued External Circular 015 of 2020, whereby instructions related to the treatment of subsidy resources drawn by the State through Credit Institutions or Specialised Electronic Deposit Societies (SEDPES) within the framework of the Solidarity Income Programme are detailed ...
The Superintendence of Finance of Colombia (SFC) introduced, by means of External Circular 035 of December 27th, 2019, the automatic authorization of collaboration agreements for the promotion of foreign financial services or products entered into by a local stock brokerage firm or a local financial corporation and a foreign financial entity provided they comply with the following requirements ...
Key Points: In most circumstances, the bankruptcy court should be a court of last, not first, resort. In certain circumstances, outlined in this article, the commencement of a bankruptcy case makes good sense. In most circumstances, because of the costs and uncertainties associated with the commencement and prosecution of a bankruptcy case, the bankruptcy court should be a court of last, not first, resort ...
We hope this Alert finds you and your family healthy and safe during these unsettling times. COVID-19 has interrupted all of our normal routines but has provided many of our clients with a unique opportunity to take a pause and review existing estate planning documents to make sure they are still accurate. We have received numerous calls and emails from clients asking us to update their documents and the choices they made in previous years ...
Section 3513, one of the many provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), addresses the handling of most federal student loans. The CARES Act suspends all loan payments through September 30, 2020, for certain types of student loans made or held by the United States Department of Education: Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans, Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loans, and Federal Direct Consolidation Loans ...
Amidst the rising number of mortgage loan forbearances due to COVID-19, Ginnie Mae has stepped in to limit the damage to issuers with its PTAP/C19 program. The CARES Act provides borrowers with temporary protections in light of the economic distress caused by COVID-19. The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, includes a series of protections for borrowers whose financial security has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic ...
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization declared the existence of a public health emergency of international importance (PHEIC) and classified the virus SARS-CoV2 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. Around the world, governments and organisations are seeking to introduce contingency rules to deal with the epidemic and the disease (COVID-19) caused by it.This situation has had an enormous effect on football, with the suspension of virtually all football competitions across the globe ...
It is difficult to capture in a sentence the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our health, our families, our fears, the operations of businesses of all sizes, the world’s governments, and our future. Not one segment of people or group of businesses has reported the pandemic is not affecting them. It therefore should not come as a surprise that the reverse mortgage industry is feeling the effects of the pandemic ...
Federal appeals court gives effect to mortgage servicer’s disclaimers in monthly statements and letters and holds that homeowner is charged with carefully reading them and a basic level of understanding in what they say ...
While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the adoption of certain piecemeal consumer protection policies and/or guidances by individual states and the federal government, there have yet to be any sweeping changes to existing federal consumer debt collection laws or regulations in the wake of the pandemic. There has been a push, though, for the enactment of comprehensive consumer protection provisions ...
On April 17, a bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives seeking to create the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act of 2020. The primary feature of the bill is it would suspend all rent and mortgage payments due during the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning on April 1, 2020 and ending 30 days after the termination of the pandemic by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The tenants and mortgagees would have no responsibility to ever make those payments ...
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has announced the Tech Startup Stabilization Fund—a $3 million fund that will provide capital and support for Michigan tech startups impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. ID Ventures is administering the fund and accepting applications from tech startups across the state at TSSFund.com ...
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is sponsoring the Save Small Business Fund—a grantmaking initiative offering short-term relief for small employers who are struggling during the COVID-19 outbreak. The fund will provide $5,000 grants to small employers in the United States and its territories that must be applied toward business expenses ...
In recognition of the ability to detect the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in sewage and the critical role of basic hygiene in combatting COVID-19, the Minister of the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation has published directions in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002. The Directions implement the emergency procurement of water supply and sanitation services to identified areas to combat the spread of COVID-19 ...
In order to provide guidance to litigators in navigating the national state of disaster, the Chief Justice has issued two sets of directives that apply to all courts across the country. The first was issued on 17March2020, and contained provisions restricting the number of people allowed in courts and implemented decontamination and social distancing protocols. The second was issued on 17 April 2020, and is to be read in conjunction with the initial directive ...
