The current crisis has challenged the strength of all companies. It has forced businesses to quickly address new issues that often were outside their agenda earlier. During this period, most of businesses have managed to temporarily adapt, or radically change their processes and strategies; establish a flawless remote operation; transform the pattern of cooperation with counterparties and partners; reallocate resources and learn to communicate with their employees under crisis ...
July 10, 2020 By: John Epperson The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) released a draft of its General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water (“Draft WDR”) on July 3, 2020 for public comment. Comments will be accepted by the SWRCB until August 5, 2020. California wineries should review the Draft Order carefully to determine whether they will be subject to its requirements and, if so, how it will impact their operations ...
The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) released a draft of its General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water (“Draft WDR”) on July 3, 2020 for public comment. Comments will be accepted by the SWRCB until August 5, 2020. California wineries should review the Draft Order carefully to determine whether they will be subject to its requirements and, if so, how it will impact their operations ...
Key Points The Supreme Court's upcoming decision regarding the Affordable Care Act could render its tax provisions retroactively unconstitutional. Depending on the outcome, there is a potential opportunity for refunds on open tax years for taxpayers who paid the net investment income tax and additional Medicare tax. For most taxpayers, the deadline for a protective claim of refund on a 2016 tax return, filed without extensions, is July 15, 2020 ...
The Ninth Circuit Holds that Callers are Subject to TCPA Liability if the Callers Intend to Make Automated Calls to a Consenting Customer, but Instead Call Someone Else Introduction On June 3, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dealt a blow to callers governed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) ...
This 14th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, showcases new and evolving trends. Employers are facing claims for both doing too much and too little in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shutdown litigation is increasingly focusing on alleged disparate treatment between businesses and protesters, as well as broadening to encompass challenges to mask requirements ...
A recent opinion, 731 Market Street Owner, LLC v. City and County of San Francisco (Cal. Ct. App., June 18, 2020, No. A154369) 2020 WL 3285962 (“731 Market Street Owner”), issued by a California Court of Appeal in San Francisco provides some relief to San Francisco building owners ...
In this article, Aisyah Muhammad discusses whether a party to a contract can rely on the doctrine of frustration in the event of the non-performance of its contractual obligations during the Covid-19 pandemic. Introduction The emergence of the highly contagious Covid-19 virus has without a doubt caused major disruptions across various industries including transportation, retail, tourism and oil and gas ...
Background factsThe respondent, Bina Puri Sdn Bhd (“Bina Puri), obtained an adjudication award dated 31 December 2016 (“Adjudication Award”) against the appellant, Likas Bay Precinct Sdn Bhd (“Likas”), pursuant to the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act 2012 (“CIPAA 2012”) whereby Likas had to pay Bina Puri certified sums amounting to RM16,439,628.24 (“Adjudicated Sum”) ...
On July 4, Board of Directors Resolution No. 00010-2020-OEFA/CD adopted the Regulation of the Electronic Box System of the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA), regulating, among other aspects, the following: Mandatory use of the electronic box system to take notice of administrative acts and proceedings issued by the OEFA ...
Key Points: California Court of Appeal issues two landmark local government finance decisions. Propositions 13 and 218 do not require two-thirds voter approval for special taxes proposed by initiative. A toll is not a tax. The California Court of Appeal in San Francisco has issued two blockbuster decisions in the last week impacting local government finance ...
Key Points The Third Appellate District in Stanford Vina Ranch Irrigation Co. v. State found that the State Board could promulgate emergency drought regulations and issue curtailment orders necessary to protect threatened fish ...
In an 8-1 decision delivered by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the much-anticipated BOOKING.COM case, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that in some circumstances, a generic word combined with “.com” can be a protectable trademark. Generic marks are not eligible for trademark protection and are not actually marks at all. Instead, they are essentially the name for the product/service or type of product/service at issue ...
The doctrine of qualified immunity, often invoked by police officers and other government employees in lawsuits alleging civil rights violations, was recently asserted by defendants in a federal False Claims Act (FCA) fraud case. In an interlocutory appeal, a unanimous Fourth Circuit panel has held qualified immunity cannot shield defendants from FCA liability. Citynet, No. 18-1575, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 19367 (4th Cir. June 22, 2020) ...
Arbitration is one of the preferred mechanisms of dispute resolution in the construction industry. Understanding how an arbitration will unfold is useful in managing a dispute. Most domestic construction disputes are referred to arbitration through, and according to the rules, of the American Arbitration Association (AAA), but other organizations that follow different rules and processes do exist. For AAA arbitrations, the following steps provide a rough outline of a typical proceeding ...
Many jurisdictions have put in place legislation to regulate merger activities. There have been discussions that it is high time for Malaysia to implement a general merger control regime under the Malaysian Competition Act 2010. As it presently stands, general merger activities which do not fall within two specific sectors (will be discussed below) are not regulated and no prior sanction is required from the Competition Commission before a merger transaction takes place ...
This 13th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation brings new developments in everything from constitutional law to tort liability. Shutdown cases show no signs of slowing down, and it seems probable that more will follow as some states reverse reopening plans in response to coronavirus outbreaks ...
In a split decision with far-reaching implications for both government contractors and the private bar, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in Inserso Corporation v. U.S., recently addressed timeliness and waiver issues in the bid protest context. The facts of this significant case, the majority and dissenting opinions, as well as key takeaways for federal contractors and their attorneys, are discussed below. The Facts The U.S ...
On June 18, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not follow appropriate administrative procedures to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and, therefore, was unauthorized to do so. The decision was a 5-4 ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor ...
Foreign brand owners have often questioned whether they need a trademark registration in the PRC when engaging PRC factories for Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) activities. Previously, a pure OEM arrangement with proper authorisation from the owner of a trademark registration in the exporting country, would generally not be considered infringement of identical or similar PRC trademarks ...
In the recent decision of Abdul Malek Bin Mohamed v MISC Bhd dated 17 June 2020 [Award 840 of 2020], the Industrial Court recognised that the tenure of service of an employee in an organisation does not shield the employee from having to render satisfactory performance at the level required by the Company. The Industrial Court upheld the dismissal of an employee for poor performance after 32 years of service ...
A case of forced resignation does not automatically amount to an unfair dismissal. In the recent decision of Mohd Rizam bin Ibrahim v Prince Court Medical Centre Sdn Bhd dated 5 June 2020 [Award 716 of 2020], the Industrial Court ruled that although the employee was forced to resign, the same was with just cause and excuse ...
This 12th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation brings new developments in labor and employment cases, consumer protection cases, and civil rights litigation. Price gouging and fraud for personal protective equipment (particularly N95 masks) remain major focuses, with manufacturers, retailers, and governments all taking action ...
