After 44 years as a member, the United Kingdom (UK) is now officially on the path to leave the European Union (EU). Article 50 On 29 March 2017, the UK triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union by notifying the European Council of its intention to withdraw from the EU. This followed the referendum held in June 2016, where a majority of UK voters opted to leave the EU ...
In addition to registering their trade marks with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (“CIPC”), brand owners should ensure that their trade marks are protected online. One way of doing this is by registering a domain name. What is a Domain Name?A domain name allows a party to establish its identity on the internet. It assists internet users to easily identify brand owners on the internet and to access their sites on the web ...
Can computers learn and reason? If so, what are the limitations of the tasks that they can be given? These questions have been the subject of countless debate as far back as 1937, when Alan Turing published his work on computable numbers1. Many researchers have devoted themselves to developing methods that would allow computers to interact more easily with human beings and integrate processes used to learn from the situations encountered ...
A federal court in the District of Columbia has ordered the U.S. EPA to complete its review of air toxics emission standards for 13 source categories by June 30, 2020. Under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, EPA must set maximum achievable control technology ("MACT") standards for stationary sources of hazardous air pollutants. The agency must review and, if necessary, revise those standards every eight years. 42 U.S.C. §§ 7412(d)(6), 7412(f)(2) ...
In a judgment handed down by the UK High Court on 28 February 2017, Mr Justice Marcus Smith stayed claims against one defendant and set aside permission to serve the proceedings outside the jurisdiction against the remaining defendants in a competition damages claim relating to the lithium ion (Li-ion) battery cartel. Competition damages claims are used when a party claims damages for losses allegedly caused by anti-competitive conduct ...
As of March 14, 2017, the recently enacted Consumer Review Fairness Act (the “Act”)1 will prohibit “gag clauses” – contract provisions that prohibit or restrict a consumer's ability to write negative reviews of products and services. While enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and state attorneys general is set to begin on December 14, 2017, businesses should act now to ensure compliance ...
On January 1, 2017, AB 1661 went into effect, requiring local agency officials, including board members, to receive sexual harassment prevention training and education. This training requirement is similar to the sexual harassment and prevention training already required for supervisory employees every two (2) years under AB 1825. Local agencies should expand their sexual harassment prevention training programs to include agency officials who are covered under the new law ...
In the latest development relating to West Virginia’s new aboveground storage tank (“AST”) legislation, yesterday afternoon the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) filed with the West Virginia Secretary of State its finalized Interpretive Rule outlining mechanisms for compliance with the imminent deadlines under the Aboveground Storage Tank Act (the “AST Act”), W. Va. Code §§ 22-30-1 et seq ...
In the latest development relating to West Virginia’s new aboveground storage tank (“AST”) legislation, on December 22, 2014, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) filed with the West Virginia Secretary of State its proposed legislative rule implementing the Aboveground Storage Tank Act (the “AST Act”), 47 C.S.R. 63 ...
The U.S. General Services Administration recently added Green Globes as an additional third-party green building certification system for federal government construction projects. With this addition, many are now asking about the difference between Green Globes and LEED. Green Globes has emerged, in some parts of the U.S., as a rival building option to the more well-known Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (“LEED”) system ...
In January of this year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (“Fourth Circuit”) decided the case of Clark v. Absolute Collection Service, Inc. (741 F.3d 487, 4th Cir. 2014). The question of first impression before the Court was whether Section 1692g(a)(3) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) requires a consumer to dispute a debt in writing to gain the protections afforded by the FDCPA ...
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ACA") has significantly changed the healthcare industry in the United States. Among the many changes is the new requirement that healthcare providers must provide all "Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education counseling for all women with reproductive capacity."77 Fed. Reg. 8725 (Feb. 15, 2012); see 42 U.S.C. 300gg-13(a)(4), 45 C.F.R. § 147.130(a)(1)(iv) ...
Despite the highly publicized announcement that enforcement of the “Pay-or-Play” mandate (which requires businesses to provide health insurance to all full-time employees or face yearly penalties of up to $3,000 per employee) has been delayed until 2015, important considerations remain for businesses and consumers about how they will ultimately be affected by the Affordable Care Act ...
Good news! The murkiness surrounding declarant rights in North Carolina became a little clearer this summer. On July 7, 2014, Governor McCrory signed an amendment to the Planned Community Act addressing the transfer of declarant rights. This article only addresses lender’s rights or liability surrounding declarant rights if that lender were in acquiring ownership of that collateral in the context of foreclosure or “deed in lieu ...
The American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) recently revised its Construction Industry Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures. The revised rules became effective on July 1, 2015 and include a host of changes, large and small. Here is what you need to know: Increased Thresholds for Regular and Fast Track Proceedings (Rules R-1 and F-1) AAA provides different procedures for “regular track” and “fast track” proceedings ...
It is undeniable that technology and globalization are changing the way lawyers practice law. Technology has not just made people, places, and things much more accessible to us – it has impacted the way we store information and documents, the way we communicate with and advise clients, how we conduct investigations, and how we participate in discovery ...
Late yesterday afternoon, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) published on its website what it characterizes as a “rough draft” of its forthcoming emergency[1] rule (the “Draft Rule”), which is 79 pages in length. This Draft Rule comes nine days after the agency’s release of an Interpretive Rule implementing, in part, the new Aboveground Storage Tank Act (the “AST Act”), a summary of which is available here ...
On February 3, 2015, House Bill 2574 (“HB 2574”) was introduced in the West Virginia Legislature. HB 2574 proposes to remedy the unintended consequences to businesses created by the passage of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act (the “AST Act”) during the 2014 regular session of the Legislature immediately following the contamination of the Elk River from Freedom Industries, Inc ...
By the time you are reading this, the October 1 deadline to register all aboveground storage tanks (“ASTs”) in West Virginia has passed, and the world is still turning. If you have not yet registered your ASTs, it is still a good idea to register any tanks that qualify as ASTs as soon as you can. However, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) is proceeding with implementation of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act, W. Va ...
A debtor files for bankruptcy protection, and his or her creditors are sent notice of the filing. Despite having received the notice, due to a breakdown in internal procedures one of the creditors, a bank, accidentally takes action to collect on the debt after the filing of the bankruptcy case – thus violating the automatic stay. Since the violation was unintentional, surely the bank cannot be sanctioned, right? Wrong ...
by Eric E. Kinder President Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act into law. The ADAAA significantly increases the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as it has been interpreted by federal courts by overturning several United States Supreme Court decisions regarding the Act. According to the Congressional Committees that oversaw the passage of the ADAAA, these amendments will restore the original Congressional intent behind the ADA ...
In a dramatic reversal, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) today ruled that employers may not restrict employees from using the employer’s email to communicate with fellow employees about union matters, or other matters protected by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). In doing so, the Board ruled that a 2007 decision that allowed such a restriction was “clearly incorrect ...
The Treasury Department has announced further extensions for medium-sized and large-sized employers for compliance with the “employer mandate” of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). The employer mandate requires employers with a threshold level of employees to provide affordable health insurance to 95% of their full-time employees. Under the ACA, a full-time employee is defined as any employee who works on average 30 or more hours per week ...
The H-1B visa filing frenzy is upon us once again! Because of the chronic shortage of nonimmigrant visas for foreign workers in the specialty occupation category (H-1B visas), employers seeking to hire new H-1B workers must file their petitions on April 1, 2014 for work beginning October 1, 2014 ...
On December 1, 2015, several amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure took effect. While some changes are rather minor, others are expected to have a significant impact on litigation in federal court. Lawyers have been talking about these amendments for years as they were developed, proposed, revised, and eventually approved, but comparatively little has been said about what the parties to litigation need to know. Three key takeaways are discussed below ...
