This 17th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, discusses everything from insurance coverage disputes to statewide shutdown orders. Despite an uphill climb towards liability, businesses continue to challenge their insurers' denials of COVID-19-related claims. At the same time, they are looking to Congress for help against potentially ruinous liability claims while also trying to shift current COVID-19-related litigation to the federal courts ...
In the recent case of Hwang Joon Sang & Anor v. Golden Electronics Inc. & Ors (HCA 1529/2019; [2020] HKCFI 1084), Hong Kong’s Court of First Instance allowed a novel mode of ordinary service of court documents, using an online data room, to which the persons so served were given access by being sent a previously Court-approved letter providing a link to the data room with clear pictorial instructions, and by separate communication an access code to the data room ...
Section 9 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Cap. 201) (POBO) criminalizes corrupt transactions with agents in both public and private sectors. The first question which would come to one’s mind is, who is an “agent”? Under section 2 of the POBO, an “agent” includes “a public servant and any person employed by or acting for another” ...
In Hwang Joon Sang & Anor v. Golden Electronics Inc. & Ors (HCA 1529/2019; [2020] HKCFI 1233), the Court made an order requiring various banks to supply documents by way of disclosure to the Plaintiffs and permitting (indeed, encouraging) the banks to do so by use of electronic or digital versions of those documents being uploaded to a data room ...
Cyber frauds, in particular email scams, have become a common trend of crime in Hong Kong in recent years. Fraudsters use various means to deceive the victims into transferring money to unauthorised bank accounts. Upon discovery of the fraud and based on information obtained from the bank, the victim may apply for an injunction from the court to freeze the recipients’ bank accounts and if the victim is lucky enough, there will be some credit balance left to recover ...
As workplaces continue to reopen, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued additional guidance addressing various return to work issues and leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The new DOL guidance, summarized below, appears on the DOL’s FFCRA Questions and Answers page ...
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, local municipalities and state governments throughout the country have implemented stay-at-home orders and mandated closures of businesses and restaurants to lower the spread of the disease. California, after having permitted much of the state to reopen businesses, has seen a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and on July 13th implemented a new statewide order to curb the increase, reimposing certain business closures ...
Companies subject to product liability lawsuits – and their counsel – know the importance of promptly examining whether the company is subject to general personal jurisdiction or specific personal jurisdiction of the forum court. A court with general personal jurisdiction over a defendant can hear any and all claims against that defendant. After the United States Supreme Court’s decisions in Daimler AG v. Bauman, 134 S. Ct 746 (2014) and BSNF Railway Co. v ...
Key Points Participants in defined contribution retirement plans, such as 401(k), 401(a), 403(b), or governmental 457(b) plans, can skip their required minimum distribution (RMD) payments for 2020. If RMDs for 2020 have already been received, participants have until August 31, 2020 to rollover the RMD into an eligible retirement plan ...
As we have outlined in Part 1 and Part 2 of our blog series, ‘Returning the Workplace to Safe Operation’, employers have a duty to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace as much as reasonably practical. Consequently, employers may determine it is appropriate to conduct certain active screening, such as questionnaires, temperature screening, and testing ...
In an effort to attract more foreign talent to work in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation jointly issued a Notice on 14 March 2019, granting Individual Income Tax (IIT) subsidy to overseas (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) high-end talent and talent in short supply working in the GBA (Circular 31) ...
As organisations start planning their post COVID-19 workforce arrangements, leaders need to consider how these new and amended work practices will help or hinder their efforts to strengthen their risk culture. While having a distributed workforce increases some challenges to improving risk culture, it also provides opportunities which need to be embraced. It is becoming increasingly clear that the post COVID-19 workplace will be very different to what it was before the pandemic ...
In the rush to seek relief under force majeure clauses following the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is likely that some claims were made incorrectly, albeit in good faith. Particularly in circumstances where force majeure relief is linked to a purported termination, the party seeking to terminate needs to comply with any contractual requirements and ensure that the event relied upon is capable of being caught by the force majeure clause ...
This is a briefing on the issuances as of July 22, 2020 on the following matters in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic: A. Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL) Suspends Services at its Main Office from July 20 to 27, and Extends Deadlines B. BIR Amends Reportorial Requirements of Banks and Other Lenders that Granted a Grace Period on Loans that were due during the Enhanced Community Quarantine C. New Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Form for Related Party Transactions A ...
In two recent Awards of the Industrial Court involving the retrenchment of 7 Claimants, Mizman Bin Ngadinan & Others v City Facilities Management Sdn Bhd (Award 989 of 2020) and Roslan Bin Mohd Tahir & Others v City Facilities Management Sdn Bhd (Award 990 of 2020), the Industrial Court found that the LIFO principle was inapplicable where the selection criteria and process adopted by the Company involving specialised skills sets and the competency of the employees was upheld ...
While most employers and HR departments still are addressing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") issued new standard forms for handling Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") claims. Specifically, there are new forms for FMLA notice of eligibility, designation notice, and medical certification for employees to use. At first glance, the new forms look quite different than their predecessors, but there are no major changes ...
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (the "CEWS") Is a key component of the Government of Canada's COVID-19 economic response plan. The purpose of the CEWS, adopted on April 11, 2020, is to help Canadians keep their jobs during the crisis and help companies maintain an employment relationship with their employees in order to recover more quickly when the economy returns to normal ...
In this unprecedented COVID-19 world, employers may need to consider layoffs, furloughs, or even closures to get through to the other side (whenever that comes). If you have done all you can to weather the government-mandated shutdowns and now have to consider letting people go, you are not alone ...
This 16th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, discusses claims ranging from insurance coverage disputes to prisoners’ rights. The top story this week, however, is undoubtedly a Michigan ruling that dismissed business interruption claims on the merits—a major early victory for insurers. Even so, it seems doubtful that this one ruling will slow down the flood of coverage disputes ...
Yesterday, Virginia approved temporary emergency workplace safety standards related to COVID-19, making it the first state in the nation to do so. While final language has yet to be approved, the standards are expected to go into effect in late July and will remain in effect for six months unless extended pursuant to state law. A current draft of the regulations is available here ...
In a landmark victory for Federally-qualified health centers, a California Court of Appeal confirmed last October that federal and state law requires the State of California to pay FQHCs “100 percent” of their costs of furnishing core and other ambulatory services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries. (Tulare Pediatric Health Care Center v. State Department of Health Care Services (2nd Dist. 2019) 41 Cal.App.5th 163 ...
Introduction In the recent Industrial Court Award between Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd and Suhaimi bin Mohammad Haniff [Industrial Court Award 895 of 2020], the Industrial Court had underlined the significance of a well-executed Domestic Inquiry where the evidence of a witness during a domestic inquiry was given sufficient weight in adjudicating the matter. Brief material facts In the present matter, the Claimant was dismissed for assisting his colleague, Ms ...
“Shield 4.0” extends the deadlines for all obligated entities to file transfer pricing information (TPR), declarations on preparation of local transfer pricing documentation, and enclosures of group transfer pricing documentation. The earlier regulations extended the deadlines only for selected taxpayers ...
