West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals makes clear that third parties may not sue under the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act for collection attempts On May 17, 2017, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals issued a unanimous decision that affirmed a trial court’s order granting summary judgment to a collector in a lawsuit brought by a third party over collection calls made to her home that were intended to reach another person living there. In Young v ...
Key Points: Since Governor Newsom announced a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak, private Proposition 65 enforcement has increased by about 50%. Effective April 1st, new regulations clarify how manufacturers can satisfy their Proposition 65 warning obligations. These new regulations also clarify when retail sellers assume the burden under Proposition 65 to warn Californians ...
In recognition of the ability to detect the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in sewage and the critical role of basic hygiene in combatting COVID-19, the Minister of the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation has published directions in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002. The Directions implement the emergency procurement of water supply and sanitation services to identified areas to combat the spread of COVID-19 ...
Another week brings another round of COVID-19-related lawsuits. Even after a month, we already can identify some early trends: refund lawsuits and second amendment claims continue to boom. A rise in takings claims may signal another trend, or a recent adverse decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court may throw cold water on business owners and citizens’ efforts to be compensated for government-directed impacts ...
Another week brings another round of COVID-19-related lawsuits. Even after a month, we already can identify some early trends: refund lawsuits and second amendment claims continue to boom. A rise in takings claims may signal another trend, or a recent adverse decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court may throw cold water on business owners and citizens’ efforts to be compensated for government-directed impacts ...
As detailed in our previous alert, Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently committed to begin the gradual process of reopening businesses in Texas. On April 17, 2020, Governor Abbott issued two Executive Orders that relate to the strategic reopening of select services as the first step to open Texas in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Impact on Retail Employers Executive Order GA 16 (“E.O ...
The continuing COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented disruption of business worldwide, and many businesses and organisations will be scouring their current contracts to identify avenues of relief. In many cases, the pages containing the force majeure clause will be the first to be turned ...
A new ordinance n°2020-427 of 15 April 2020 on various provisions regarding deadlines for dealing with the covid-19 epidemic (the “Deadlines Ordinance of 15 April 2020”), presented to the Council of Ministers on 15 April, was published in the Official Journal on 16 April 2020, as it was eagerly awaited by real estate and construction professionals, as well as by the renewable energy sector ...
The Supreme Court this past week denied certiorari in United States ex rel. Schneider v. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., an appeal from a D.C. Circuit case affirming the district court’s dismissal of a qui tam FCA action. See No. 19-678, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 2079 (Apr. 6, 2020). In so doing, the Court declined to address the emerging circuit split over the extent of the government’s dismissal power in qui tam cases ...
Governor Ivey in her State of the State address on February 4 argued forcefully that Alabama must do more to attract physicians (and nurse-practitioners) to practice in the rural, under-served areas of the state. Unfortunately, one of the only current tax incentives to do so—a $5,000 income tax credit that can be claimed over a 5 consecutive year period--has been the source of many audits and administrative and Alabama Tax Tribunal appeals ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused mayhem in the world of sport. An earthquake hit when top leagues suspended competitions or cut them short. Then the tensions only kept rising as one major tournament after another was cancelled. The climax was reached when the Tokyo Olympic Games had to be postponed. As aresult, the industry has incurred multi-billion-dollar losses. And it is uncertain when the situation can be expected to improve ...
On 15 April 2020, the National Government issued Decree 560 of 2020, which adopts special transitional measures in insolvency processes, within the framework of the State of Emergency. The Decree modifies aspects of the current regime, adds mechanisms to protect the company and employment and, where appropriate, facilitate the reallocation of the debtor's resources to other uses through the liquidation process. 1 ...
On April 13, 2020, Federal OSHA implemented its nterim Enforcement Response Plan for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)(“Enforcement Plan”), which provides instructions and guidance to Area Offices and OSHA investigators for handling COVID-19-related complaints, referrals, and severe illness reports ...
The set of several emergency measures of the Ministry of Health dated 23 March 2020 banned the retail sale of goods and services. It also banned the public presence at selected premises or selected times, prohibited the operation of certain premises, prohibited the free movement of persons or restricted the activities of public authorities and administrative bodies. On 26 March 2020 the Ministry of Health amended these measures ...
Many governmentalregulations may prevent contractual obligations from being duly fulfilled. How can you best handlethe performance, or more precisely, thenon-performance of your contracts? Force majeure Section 2913 of Act No. 89/2012 Coll ...
This is not a coronavirus update, but as you can expect, the number of Prop. 65 filings has not decreased significantly during the pandemic. Between March 2nd and April 14th, there were four hundred sixty-nine (469) 60-Day Notices of Violation filed, compared to five hundred ten (510) 60-Day Notices filed between January 1st and March 1st. As you may know, California’s courts are not likely to re-open until around June 1st ...
Introduction The Italian Government has adopted Law Decree no. 23 of 8 April 20201 (the "Liquidity Decree"), which provides for additional measures to support companies in the current COVID-19 emergency ...
On April 10, 2020, the U.S. EPA published an interim memorandum titled “Interim Guidance on Site Field Work Decisions Due to Impacts of COVID-19,” available here, intended as guidance to EPA's regional field offices amid growing concerns regarding the impact of COVID-19 on-site cleanup activities. Specifically, the memorandum provides guidance regarding decisions to continue, reduce, or halt on site cleanup activities amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak ...
Amidst growing concerns regarding the spread of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, disinfectants and cleaners falsely claiming to prevent infection from the virus have started to infiltrate U.S. markets. In light of the widespread shortage of hand sanitizers, latex gloves, and face masks brought about by panic-buying in response to the outbreak, many Americans have fallen prey to these dupes. So much so that, according to a recent New York Times article, U.S ...
Background On 15 February 2019, a petition for a judicial review was submitted by two individuals (“Petitioners”), claiming that their constitutional rights had been violated by Article 15 (2) and Article 15 (3) of Law No. 42 of 1999 on Fiduciary Security (“Fiduciary Security Law”) ...
OSHA requires that covered employers record certain work-related injuries and illnesses on their OSHA 300 log. Under OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements, COVID-19 is a recordable illness, and employers are responsible for recording cases of COVID-19, if all of the following are met: The case is a confirmed case of COVID-19; The case is work-related, as defined by 29 CFR 1904.5; and The case involves one or more of the general recording criteria set forth in 29 CFR 1904 ...
Does the Covid-19 pandemic (or actions taken to counter the spread of Covid-19) constitute a Force Majeure in a refit/ repair contract? Is there any implied right of relief for the contractor or the owner? Under English law, unlike civil law systems, a force majeure is neither defined nor automatically applicable to commercial contracts ...