State efforts to address the 340B Drug Program[1] continue to ramp up in 2024. Early this January, Kentucky Senator Stephen Meredith introduced Senate Bill 27 ("SB-27"), which intends to address a number of purchasing restrictions drug manufacturers unilaterally imposed on health care providers participating in the 340B Program ...
Following an antitrust investigation, in 2017 the European Commission had fined Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. a record €2.4 billion for abuse of Google’s dominant position. In brief, it found that Google was self-preferencing, by presenting results from its own Google Shopping first upon a so called “Google search”. On appeal to the General Court, the fine was confirmed in 2021 ...
Since its enactment on July 1, 2021, the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) has become a significant pain point for businesses, leading to extensive class action exposure, particularly for those involved in telephonic communications. The FTSA, which initially granted consumers the right to take legal action against unwanted calls and texts, led to an influx of over 500 complaints in its first year ...
Earlier this year the government passed the controversial Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023. Following on from this, detailed guidance has now been published for employers, trade unions and workers on the issuing of work notices. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act (Act) came into force on 20 July 2023 and attempts to alleviate the disruption caused to the public by prolonged strikes in certain sectors in the wake of recent, sustained industrial action ...
The current exposure in the EU investment fund sector to the risks in real estate markets has been the subject of a recent publication, dated 10th January 2024, which was issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) as part of its ongoing Trends, Risks and Vulnerabilities (“TRV”) risk analysis ...
Please note the following press release. This press release is available at our homepage. Heuking advises Primus Valor group on the acquisition of several properties A Heuking team led by Dr. Sönke Görgens, Partner at the Hamburg office, legally advised Primus Valor group on the acquisition of several properties in Wolfsburg ...
Please be informed that the Government has prolonged the moratorium on unplanned inspections of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs till the end of 20241 ...
Following the Act of 19 December 2023 (published on 27 December 2023), the legislator has introduced a reconciliation procedure in the commercial and labour courts as well as in the courts of appeal. Previous situation The tool that Father Christmas has just added to the Belgian ADR toolbox is not new. Reconciling the parties has expressly been part of each court’s remit since 2018 ...
Can a patent be infringed even if the patented product is not manufactured, assembled, or even used? Indeed, such infringement is possible. In fact, this is known as the theory of inducement of infringement. Naturally, acts of ?inducement? must meet certain conditions before inducement of infringement can be found. The Federal Court of Appeal recently clarified these conditions ...
Shoosmiths' Living sector co-heads, Judy Fawcett, Kathryn Jump and Lisa Tye examine what 2024 might bring for the UK’s residential landscape. The Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA) is set to reshape the planning system and wider residential landscape in 2024. The Act introduces significant changes to the planning system, hinting at a shift toward centralised decision-making in the planning process – impacting all areas of the UK’s living sector ...
Shoosmiths' Judy Fawcett reflects on a roundtable the firm hosted in November 2023 - examining the partnerships model and the role it plays as part of the UK's living sector. “That’s the way we look at doing business. It is creating that partnership, relationship, that trust. And, hopefully that works both ways,” said Gwynn Thomson, investment director at Sigma Capital Group, during a roundtable Shoosmiths hosted in November 2023 ...
On January 3rd, 2024, the Senate approved, with 32 votes in favor, the Report of the Constitutional, Legislative, Judicial and Regulatory Affairs (“the Report”), on the Bill to amend the Data Protection Law and creates the Data Protection Agency (Bulletin No. 11144-07/11092-07), (“the Bill”). However, despite the approval of the Report concerning amendments and proposals of the Chamber of Deputies, 24 of these were ultimately rejected ...
In June of 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held in American Hospital Association v. Becerra that the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) overstepped their statutory authority when cutting 340B-related reimbursements to hospitals from 2018 through 2022 ...
The UK government has recently proposed new regulations to strengthen security measures for data centres operating in the UK. The new regulations aim to protect data centre facilities against potential disruption, including cyber-attacks, physical threats, and extreme weather events ...
January 2, 2024 By: Braeden Mansouri and Alicia Guerra The California Legislature’s laser focus on addressing the state housing crisis did not subside during the 2023 legislative session. While legislators proposed over 150 housing bills, only a fraction of those bills were approved by both chambers. Still, Governor Gavin Newsom signed 56 housing bills into law ...
****Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,**** We would like to update you on recent precedent-setting judgements by Russian courts in matters involving foreign businesses that decided to leave Russia. On 17 October 2023, the Arbitrazh court of Moscow city sustained the claim by Russian bank PJSC Sovkombank against Citibank N.A. (a US company) and its Russian subsidiary JSC KB Citibank concerning the joint recovery of US$24m in losses1. On 21 December 2023, an appeals court upheld the judgement ...
Climate and environment In November 2023, SVW assisted Greenpeace and Nature and Youth Norway in a new climate case before the District Court of Oslo. The plaintiffs challenge the validity of three new oil field approvals on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and ask for a temporary injunction ...
The Norwegian real estate market in 2023 has been characterized by uncertainty regarding inflation and interest rates. The key interest rate is right now at 4.5%, which is the highest rate since the financial crisis in 2008. As a consequence of the aforementioned uncertainty, we have seen decreased investments in the real estate market in 2023 compared to recent years ...
On November 17, 2023, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill 4516, amending General Obligation Law Section 5-336 (GOL 5-336). As set forth in our earlier alert from when the law was first enacted, Section 5-336 limited employers’ use of nondisclosure provisions in agreements releasing claims involving sexual harassment ...
Please note the following press release. This press release is available at our homepage. Hertha BSC restructuring with Heuking A challenging year for Hertha BSC is coming to an end. The Berlin-based team was forced to reorganize and restructure in particular due to business constraints and in view of its relegation to Bundesliga 2, Germany’s second division of professional soccer. Led by Dr ...
The U.S. Department of State has released details on a proposed pilot program testing the agency’s ability to resume domestic visa renewals for certain nonimmigrant visa categories and to study the effect the program has on reducing visa wait times worldwide. The program will begin on January 29, 2024 and end on April 1, 2024 ...
On 18 January 2019, the Supreme People's Court and the Department of Justice of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region jointly signed theArrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters between the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(the "New Arrangement"). In Hong Kong, the New Arrangement was meant to be implemented via local legislation ...