The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (covering Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland) held that gender dysphoria, a condition experienced by some transgender individuals, is a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. See Williams v. Kincaid, No. 21-2030 (4th Cir. Aug. 16, 2022) ...
Next week, the full Fourth Circuit will hear oral argument in US ex rel. Sheldon v. Allergan Sales, LLC to determine whether a defendant’s “objectively reasonable interpretation” of an ambiguous statute or regulation is sufficient to preclude a finding of intent under the FCA. Defendants and the entire FCA bar will be watching the case closely ...
Kudun and Partners is thrilled to work on another significant pro bono project with TrustLaw, Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono legal program ...
Quebec recently enacted Bill 96, entitled An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, which aims to overhaul the Charter of the French language. Here are 10 key changes in this law that will impose significant obligations on businesses: As of June 1, 2025, businesses employing more than 25 people (currently the threshold is 50 people) for at least six months will be required to comply with various ?francization?1 obligations ...
The strategy for the application of Portugal 2030 was designed around five main objectives of the European Union1: a smarter, greener, more connected, more social Europe that is closer to its citizens. At the national level, these strategic objectives of the European Union are embodied in four thematic agendas of the Portugal 2030 strategy2 ...
INVT SPE LLC v. Int’l Trade Comm’n, Appeal No. 2020-1903 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 31, 2022) In its only precedential patent case last week, the Federal Circuit issued a lengthy opinion that revolved around claims that are drawn to “capability,” particularly for computer-implemented claims ...
The material issue of the case, in which the procedural question arose, was whether two decisions by the Alver Municipality regarding property tax for «Mongstad kraftvarmeverk» and «Mongstad raffineri» owned by Equinor were lawful. In order to value the properties, the municipality had engaged an appraiser. Now, before the case is to be decided by the High Court, the parties disagreed about whether the appraiser should be considered an expert witness or not ...
The California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, issued a decision on June 29, 2022, holding that internal investigation records of an elected peace officer do not constitute "personnel records" exempt from California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests. Background The CPRA provides a mechanism through which members of the public can access records in the possession of state and local agencies. It does not, however, provide an absolute right of access to all public records ...
Dear valued clients, colleagues and friends, On 23 August 2022, the Malaysia Competition Commission (“MyCC”) launched a public consultation on the proposed renewal of a Block Exemption Order (“BEO”) in respect of liner shipping services covered under a VSA. The renewal application was made pursuant to Section 8 of the Competition Act as the earlier BEO granted expired on 6 July 2022. The press release by MyCC (“Press Release”) is accessible here ...
On 21 July 2022, the Chair of the COVID-19 Inquiry ('the Inquiry'), Baroness Heather Hallett, issued an opening statement. As part of her commitment to streamlining the process, the Chair has invited applicants to group themselves together with others with a similar interest, wherever possible, to help manage the potentially large number of people and organisations seeking Core Participant status ...
The Supreme Court recently considered, in the Law Society of Saskatchewan v. Abrametz1 decision, the applicable test to determine whether a delay is inordinate and constitutes an abuse of process that could lead to a stay of administrative proceedings. In this case, a Saskatchewan lawyer requested that the disciplinary proceedings against him be terminated due to a delay that he claimed was inordinate and constituted an abuse of process ...
On August 11, 2022, the California Supreme Court issued its opinion in Zolly v. City of Oakland, holding that a group of property owners had pleaded sufficient facts to maintain a challenge to the City’s solid-waste franchise fee, under Article XIII C of the California Constitution, commonly called “Proposition 26 ...
If you’re an underwriter, originator, closer, attorney or other professional who specializes in HUD-insured loans, fair housing principles probably aren’t top of mind as you navigate your workday. Still, it pays to have a working knowledge of HUD’s protected classes. Dinsmore was recently involved in a 223(f) closing that provides an instructive case in point ...
On July 21, 2022, the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) adopted the Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) rules. DLCD then filed the permanent CFEC rules with the Oregon Secretary of State on August 17, which are now in effect. To note, the rules are still up for appeal; on a petition for judicial review, the Court of Appeals could declare a rule invalid ...
Following the enactment of the Law on Social Security on 2 November 2019 and issuance of Sub-Decree 32 on the Social Security Scheme for Pension Fund for Persons under the Scope of the Labour Law dated 4 March 2021 (“Sub-Decree 32”) (further detail can be found in this link), the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training promulgated and issued of the following regulations to further detail the formalities and procedures for the pension scheme:
Best Medical International, Inc. v. Elekta Inc., Appeal Nos. 2021-2099, -2100 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 26, 2022) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit addressed issues of jurisdiction where a challenged claim was canceled through ex parte reexamination during pending inter partes review proceedings, and otherwise affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s determination that challenged claims were obvious over the prior art ...
On September 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors, which directs federal agencies to include in certain federal contracts a clause requiring the contractor to comply with all guidance published by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force. Included in those guidelines is a mandate that all federal contractor employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless the employee is legally entitled to an accommodation ...
pOver the last several years, traditional insurance has become increasingly expensive as insurers use risks and claims associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical risk, supply-chain disruption, inflation and intensifying severe weather events to justify premium raises and coverage reductions ...
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 ...
