Key Points New proposal would allow investment advisors to provide advice to ERISA retirement plan participants for a fee, despite potential conflicts of interest. Reinstates five-part test from 1975 for determining when an investment advisor provides investment advice as a fiduciary to a plan participant. The U.S ...
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 ...
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 ...
On July 23, 2020, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman and Arizona Department of Health Services Director, Dr. Cara Christ held a news conference to discuss certain executive orders of the Governor regarding re-opening of Arizona businesses and public district and charter schools in Arizona ...
California’s cannabis-related businesses will face a dual battle in complying with Proposition 65 requiring businesses to warn the public about cancer-causing chemicals present in products they purchase, writes Buchalter’s Anne Marie Ellis. Businesses are going to have to change their labeling and packaging to list marijuana smoke as a reproductive toxicant and cancer causing agent ...
The San Francisco Emergency Ordinance on cleaning commercial office buildings larger than 50,000 square feet and tourist hotels was signed by the Mayor on July 17th, becoming effective immediately upon her signature. As noted in a prior Buchalter Client Alert, there are many problems with this Ordinance and, unfortunately, none of those problems were corrected before it was signed into law ...
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 ...
Key Points New CEQ rule updating NEPA to go into effect September 14, 2020. Development and other projects funded, assisted, or regulated by federal agencies will receive less scrutiny in the future. Highlights The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a final rule to update its regulations for federal agencies implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) ...
The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued its Development and Licensure of Vaccines to Prevent COVID-19: Guidance for Industry on June 30, 2020. This nonbinding guidance is intended to remain in effect for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The guidance advises vaccine development and licensure following the standard trial progression but on an accelerated timeline ...
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, as of March 2020, Israel prohibited foreign nationals from any country from entering its borders, including citizens who held any kind of visa. Only foreign residents who could prove that their 'life centre' was in Israel could enter the country. In June 2020 the Population and Immigration Authority published a list of exceptional cases in which it will allow foreigners into the country ...
In April 2019, with the introduction of House Bill 904, a bi-partisan effort was made to strengthen cyber security in North Carolina. H.B ...
The Baden-Württemberg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (LfDI) has imposed a fine of €1,240,000 on the AOK Baden-Württemberg health insurance provider. The reason? Data processing errors related to prize draws it ran: the health insurance provider had not obtained the valid consent for data processing of prize draw entrants in 500 cases. An internal whistleblower notified the LfDI about the breach ...
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 ...
On July 15, 2020, the Kentucky Community Property Trust Act (the “Act”; codified at KRS 386.620 et seq.) became effective, instituting an elective community property regime under Kentucky law. The intent of the Act is to permit spouses to receive a stepped-up basis for federal income tax purposes at the death of the first spouse in 100 percent of the property they have elected to treat as community property ...
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 ...
On 24 June 2020, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published its latest Annual Report, covering the 12-month period to 31 March 2020. As in previous years, the report provides a useful summary of what the SFC has done over the past year particularly in terms of achieving its publicly stated goals and providing insight into its priorities moving forward ...
On 26 June 2020, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular publishing in draft new versions of the financial return forms for SFC licensed corporations (LCs). The SFC is planning to revise the existing forms in order to collect additional data from LCs to “enable the SFC to identify risks in a timely manner, take prompt supervisory action and protect investors”. It is expected that the forms will be gazetted without significant amendment ...
In May 2020 the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a consultation report (the IOSCO Report) concerning its work on understanding recent developments in outsourcing and setting out proposals to update the existing IOSCO principles on outsourcing (Principles). Much has happened in the area of outsourcing since 2005 when the Principles were first developed, notably in the development of cloud services ...
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has recently issued a consultation report to propose guidance for members in regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) by market intermediaries and asset managers (collectively, Firms). The consultation period will end on 26 October 2020. IOSCO will issue final guidance to its members based on the consultation conclusions ...
On July 17, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced that due to a rapid rise in new COVID-19 cases in the last month, and because San Francisco was listed on the State’s County Monitoring List (the “Monitoring List”) for three consecutive days, San Francisco was halting all reopening procedures indefinitely beginning on Monday, July 20 ...
