A landmark judgment was handed down yesterday (1 February 2023) by the Supreme Court in Fearn and others (Appellants) v Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery (Respondent) [2023] UKSC 4. In its judgment, the Supreme Court has allowed the appeal by the residents of Neo Bankside, meaning that the Tate is liable to them in nuisance. Background The case centred around glass-walled flats high above the South Bank in London ...
As previously discussed in our January 5, 2023 legal alert, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (“Pennsylvania DHS”) issued a Medical Assistance Bulletin (the “Bulletin”) in late December, 2022 that had the potential to put 340B savings at risk in Pennsylvania ...
On April 27, 2022,Republic Act No. 11712, or thePublic Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances for Health Care Workers Act(“RA 11712”), was signed into law in recognition of the critical role of health care workers in providing quality health care and ensuring disease prevention in the general population, especially during the pandemic. It seeks to promote the welfare of health care workers through the grant of mandatory benefits and allowances with utmost efficiency ...
In Case C-633/20 of the European Court of Justice (the ‘Court’) delivered on the 29th September 2022, the First Chamber of the Court produced a judgment (the ‘Judgment’) in response to a reference for a preliminary ruling concerning the definition of ‘insurance intermediary’ in the context of Directive 2016/97 (the ‘Insurance Distribution Directive’ or the ‘IDD’) and Directive 2002/92 (the ‘Insurance Mediatio
With the decreasing number of positive COVID-19 cases, more employees are now returning to on-site work and new COVID-19 testing protocols are in place. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (“IATF”) provided guidelines for COVID-19 testing requirements for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated employees through its Resolutions No. 148-B and 149. Also, the National COVID-19 Immunization Program opened to the general public nationwide ...
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a Proposed Rule that would prohibit employers from enforcing non-compete agreements against former employees, contractors, and other workers. Dinsmore & Shohl’s Labor and Employment Group’s legal alert on January 5, provides general information about the changes envisaged in the Proposed Rule ...
The end of the first month in 2023 also marks the end of the next quarter in our case law update series. Here we highlight the most significant employment law cases since November 2022 and the lessons that employers should take from them. Redundancy pool Deciding on which employees to include in a redundancy pool is usually straightforward. However, problems can arise, particularly where the pool includes just one person, as the case of Teixeira v Zaika Restaurant Ltd and another demonstrated ...
July 2022 saw the formal commencement of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. Opened by Inquiry Chair Baroness Heather Hallett, we later witnessed preliminary hearings for Modules 1 and 2, held in October and November. As a reminder, Modules 1 and 2 cover the overarching topics of the UK’s pandemic preparedness and resilience, and core political and administrative decision-making throughout the UK (incorporating sub-modules for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), respectively ...
In a landmark decision delivered on the 11th January 2023, in the names ‘Av. Jonathan Abela Fiorentino noe vs Eolia Limited’ (case no. 68/2022 ISB), the Civil Court (Commercial Section) rejected the application filed by defendant company demanding the Court to order a retrial of the liquidation proceedings that led to the company being placed into liquidation ...
Personalized Media Communications, LLC v. Apple, Inc., Appeal No. 2021-2275 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 20, 2023) Our Case of the Week focuses on the doctrine of prosecution laches. Following a bench trial on the issue held shortly after the Federal Circuit’s decision in Hyatt v. Hirshfeld, 998 F.3d 1347 (Fed. Cir. 2021), the district court found Personalized Media Communications’ patent unenforceable under the doctrine ...
To help further the objectives of the Women’s Health Strategy for England (published by the Department of Health and Social Care in July 2022) £1.97m has been awarded to help women in the workplace who are experiencing reproductive health issues. The grant will be shared between 16 charities which include, amongst others, Fertility Network UK, Sands, Tommy’s and Mind ...
The Supreme Court has upheld a summary judgment against a tenant in respect of payment of service charge where the demand was referred to in the lease as being “conclusive" once certified by the landlord - but also held that this does not prevent the tenant from then bringing a counterclaim in relation to its underlying liability. The tenant is therefore required to pay immediately, and then challenge disputed elements of the costs ...
On January 10, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a long-awaited opinion which will allow the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine the means by which it will repay inappropriate cuts it levied against 340B participating hospitals’ Medicare reimbursement.[i] The District Court’s decision comes on the heels of the United States Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in American Hospital Association v. Becerra, 142 S. Ct ...
It has been some time since there has been talk about bonfires in Parliament but the continued debate (albeit largely outside of the Chamber thus far) as to when we should finally say 'farewell' to 'retained' EU legislation is one that many of us are watching with interest. When originally introduced, the suggestion that some 4,000 pieces of legislation would essentially evaporate by the end of this year caused something veering between confusion, concern and, let's be honest, disbelief ...
Grace Instrument Industries, LLC v. Chandler Instruments Company, LLC, Appeal No. 2021-2370 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 12, 2023) In an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the Federal Circuit vacated the district court’s determination that one of a patent’s claim terms, “enlarged chamber,” is indefinite, and remanded for further proceedings ...
It is with great pleasure that we announce the promotion of Thitawan Thanasombatpaisarn and Kongwat Akaramanee to partners of Kudun and Partners. Thitawan, our new capital markets partner, and Kongwat, our new dispute resolution partner, have been valued members of our team for many years, and has consistently demonstrated exceptional legal acumen and a deep commitment to our clients ...
Overview On 4 November 2022, the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia issued two new regulations, namely, Prakas 226 on the Formalities and Procedures of Inspection and Investigation under the Law on Competition (“Prakas 226”) and Prakas 227 on the Conditions and Procedures of Negotiated Settlement under the Law on Competition (“Prakas 227”) ...
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel recently released an advisory opinion[i] regarding Section 1461 of title 18 of the U.S. Code. In it, they write the “Comstock Act”[ii] does not prohibit the mailing of certain medications used to perform abortions where the sender does not believe the medications will be used unlawfully. This opinion comes in the wake of the U.S ...
We have recently seen reports about the unbelievable amount of pressure on the NHS, including inaccessibility to GPs; a high degree of emergency admissions; and bed-blocking within hospitals where vulnerable patients cannot be discharged safely. These factors have exacerbated the pressure on our healthcare system to almost unprecedented levels. Medical technologies or MedTech could be the way forward to ease some of the pressure ...
On 21 December 2022 the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Stanford International Bank Ltd (in liquidation) v HSBC Bank PLC [2022] UKSC 34. Stanford International Bank’s (‘SIB’) appeal was ultimately struck out as it was determined that it did not suffer a recoverable loss. Background The original claim was brought by Antigua-based SIB in relation to several accounts it held with HSBC Bank PLC (‘HSBC’) in London between 2003 to 2009 ...
As the Covid-19 Inquiry reaches Module 2 of its timeline and it turns its attention to the political and administrative decisions made at the height of the pandemic, Shoosmiths looks at the history of public inquiries to reflect on their purpose and effectiveness in preventing future mistakes of the same kind. Reviewing previous public inquiries may inform us about the likely trajectory of the Covid-19 Inquiry ...
Ukraine is an EU candidate: Can we soon file patent applications for Ukraine at the European Patent Office? The European Council granted Ukraine EU candidate status on 23 June 2022. Will patents granted by the European Patent Office soon also apply in Ukraine? Not immediately, because on the one hand the candidate status legally creates neither rights nor obligations ...
