Over the last year, we have monitored a lawsuit in Georgia that alleged a hedge fund (“Fearless Fund”) violated 42 U.S.C. § 1981—the federal prohibition on racial discrimination in contracting—by operating a grant contest that awarded $20,000 grants to select small business owners, all of whom, by the contest’s express rules, had to be Black women. That case, American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund Management, LLC, settled yesterday ...
The renewable energy industry in the United States has entered a new era of (relative) policy predictability and unprecedented economic incentives. From a legal perspective, the only certainty in a renewable energy practice is change. An industry founded by entrepreneurs within narrow regulatory exceptions that enabled private developers to experiment with different technology, renewables have often been relegated to the margins of the broader traditional energy industry. That, too, is changing ...
Renewable energy project developers and contractors must be prepared to negotiate novel risks in a quickly changing global market. Technological innovations in renewable energy equipment and decreasing procurement and construction costs have spurred renewable project development at unprecedented scale ...
In Harrington v. Purdue Pharma LP in June, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the U.S. Bankruptcy Code does not authorize nonconsensual releases of nondebtors as part of a Chapter 11 plan ...
At a time when Canada and many other countries are taking steps to protect users from harm online,1a decision was handed down by the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the “Court”) on January 15, 2024, regarding the conduct of a competitor with respect to complaints about intellectual property infringement made on Amazon’s e-commerce website ...
On Aug. 1, following five years of litigation, Tevra Brands LLC's antitrust suit against Bayer Healthcare LLC came to an end in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ...
Law No. 21,398 (known as the "Pro-Consumer Law"), which amended Law No. 19,496, Consumer Protection Act ("CPA"), reinforced the right of withdrawal in distance purchases, establishing that: Consumers may exercise the right of withdrawal or repentance, within a period of 10 days from receipt of the product, without expression of cause, with respect to all purchases of goods, without conditioning the right to the will of the supplier ...
The need to find mitigation mechanisms against climate change increases as time passes ...
By: Stephen Best, Clayton Barnett, and Brian Adkins August 27, 2024 Introduction As many sports lawyers are aware, there have already been several examples of name, image, and likeliness (“NIL”) litigation throughout the country. In fact, we previously reviewed several groundbreaking cases which stood to fundamentally alter the landscape of college athletics ...
On 29 July 2024, the UAE enacted Federal Decree Law 9 of 2024 (theAmendment) introducing some significant changes to Federal Decree Law 33 of 2021 (theLabour Law), UAE’s principal legislation on employment. The Amendment replaces Article 54 of the Labour Law pertaining to individual labour disputes, and, Article 60 of the same law which sets out the penalties applicable for certain violations by employers. The Amendment comes into force on 31 August 2024 ...
The decision of the Supreme Court in R (Finch) -v- Surrey County Council and others [2024] UKSC 20 (Finch) has set a clear benchmark for the scope of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) undertaken in connection with carbon intensive developments in the UK. However, the Finch case is not just relevant to projects concerning fossil fuel extraction ...
On 30th July 2024, when considering Application number 88/21/2, the Court of Appeal was tasked with deciding two primary issues and grievances brought forward by the appellants against the decision of the First Court. These were the appropriate multiplier for calculating the victim’s loss of future earnings, and moral damages following Act XIII of 2018 ...
A private sale may start an inventor’s one-year filing clock, but it likely won’t save a patentee from an intervening prior art reference. On July 31, 2024, in a precedential decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) elaborated on the prior art public sale exception set forth in 35 U.S.C. §102(b)(2)(B). Specifically, the CAFC affirmed that a secret sale of a product would not be sufficient to pre-date a prior art reference under 35 U.S ...
The much-anticipated revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published for consultation on 30 July, with the consultation running until 24 September. The consultation document extends more widely than changes to the NPPF itself, centred around the three pillars of stability, investment and reform. This article looks at the proposed reform. It should be said at the outset that much in the NPPF remains as before and the reforms might be regarded as tweaks ...
Whilst the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) contains a number of potentially game changing new policy proposals, many of the changes aim to re-wind the clock to the pre-December 2023 version of the NPPF. This is to encourage short-term growth through restored stability in the planning system ...
Following the adoption of Greater Manchester's Places for Everyone strategy, Shoosmiths brought together real estate experts for a roundtable discussion on approaches to new development, redevelopment, renewable energy provision, and decarbonisation. Greater Manchester has raised the bar for new commercial and residential development in recent years, with cranes now a permanent fixture on a skyline famous for high-rises and construction projects ...
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will soon hear arguments in a case that may have far reaching implications for businesses facing consumer protection claims in the state. The Court has granted allocator in Halpern v. Ricoh U.S.A., Inc ...
In a judgment decided on the 26th of June 2024 in the names Marcus Scicluna Marshall et vs Michael Borg Cardona, the Court of Appeal in its Inferior Jurisdiction confirmed that no appeal can be filed from the rate established by the Rent Regulation Board to increase the rent for leases predating the year 1995 ...
The UAE recently amended its legal framework on abortion to expand the circumstances under which abortions are permitted and ease the rules regarding the circumstances under which abortions are permissible. Cabinet Decision No. 44/2024 (the Decision) came into effect on 21 June 2024 and progressively changed UAE’s law on abortion ...
A recent appeal case upheld a breach of contract claim over a lifetime rail travel benefit delivered by a third-party provider. We examine the case and how employers can avoid such disputes through clear terms and conditions for employee benefit schemes ...
The much-anticipated Court of Appeal judgment in C.G.Fry & Son Ltd v SSLUHC [2024] EWCA Civ 730 was handed down on Friday 28 June 2024. It dismissed the appeal on all three grounds. The case was centred on the widespread issue of developments being required to demonstrate that they are ‘nutrient neutral’, so as not to add nutrient load on designated habitats ...
Shoosmiths’ Commercial Energy and Mobility partner, Chris Pritchett moderated a panel discussion on the progress towards net zero adoption in passenger vehicles at the recent SMMT International Automotive Summit 2024. An overarching theme applying to all sessions across the day was the industry roadmap for the transition to net zero ...
Since our last edition, our team hosted a seminar regarding ad hoc and institutional arbitration. In this edition we present some of the key takeaways from this event. This edition also include an analysis of the use of limitation of liability clauses, based on guidelines set out in the most recent case law. Further we follow up on the latest climate litigation trends. We give you the details on the UK Supreme Court’s ruling concerning environmental impact assessments of combustion ...
Conflicting interpretations of the causation standard in two AKS-predicated False Claims Act cases in the District of Massachusetts, Teva and Regeneron, mirrored the circuit split on the issue and led to interlocutory appeals before the First Circuit. The court’s eventual decision could have a major impact on the national landscape around this high-stakes question ...
Shoosmiths’ FinTech partner, Luke Stubbs, was a speaker at the recent FinTech Week London Conference, participating in a panel discussion focused on international payments. FinTech Week London reflects the City's role as a FinTech hub and comprises a week of events culminating in a major conference, which Shoosmiths was proud to sponsor ...
