On October 20, 2020, San Francisco County was upgraded to the “minimal” tier within the California COVID-19 tracking system, meaning it has the fewest restrictions on reopening all businesses as promulgated by the State of California. In order to qualify for the “minimal” tier, a county must have an infection rate of less than one daily new positive COVID case per 100,000 residents and have a positive test rate of less than 2% for two consecutive weeks ...
On Thursday, August 13, the California Judicial Council elected to rescind Emergency Rules 1 and 2 related to eviction and foreclosure actions in California applicable to both residential and commercial properties, effective September 1, 2020. Emergency Rules 1 and 2, previously put in place on April 6, prevented all unlawful detainer and foreclosure actions statewide, except in cases of public health or safety ...
On May 22, Treasury issued a new Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) regarding Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Payroll Protection Program (”PPP”) loan forgiveness. Much of the IFR repeats information previously published by Treasury and SBA in the loan forgiveness form application and accompanying instructions. See March 19, 2020 Buchalter Client Alert COVID-19: Treasury Issues Application for SBA PPP Loan Forgiveness ...
To implement the changes to the PPP program contained in the recently enacted PPP Flexibility Act, Treasury has issued a new Interim Final Rule (IFR). It has also issued a revised forgiveness application form, worksheet and instructions, and a new expedited (EZ) forgiveness application form and instructions that can be used by certain borrowers. Links to those documents can be found below ...
The TCPA and other related regulations over telemarketing and “robocalling” continue to evolve at a quick pace, creating uncertainty and posing challenges for any business that contacts consumers through calling or texting. This past month has seen more important developments in the wake of the Supreme Court opinion in Facebook v. Duguid, which gave us a narrow interpretation of the statutory ATDS definition ...
October 12, 2021 By: Artin Betpera Calls to reassigned numbers have presented an endless source of legal risk for any company that calls or texts consumers for informational or marketing purposes. Reassigned number class actions brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act have resulted in eight-figure settlements, and present unique challenges when defending ...
The Government of Malta reaffirmed its commitment to establishing Malta as a go-to jurisdiction for start-ups in its Budget for 2023. During the budget speech that was delivered on 24th October 2022, the Minister for Finance and Employment, Hon. Clyde Caruana announced that a one-stop shop for start-ups is set to be launched within the “Start in Malta” programme currently run by the Malta Enterprise ...
The Charity Commission focuses on charities meeting “public expectation”, but they also need to remain true to their stated purpose, even when doing so may prove controversial. A report on our colonial past The National Trust has acted in accordance with its charitable objects. This shouldn’t be headline news, but it has been for the last six months ...
The Bureau of Cannabis Control recently published two new fact sheets on its website as a resource for industry stakeholders, licensees, and the general public. The facts sheet help everyone better understand the different responsibilities of the cannabis distributor (Type 11) and the cannabis distributor transport only (Type 13) licensee by providing a list of required procedures and guidelines for various distribution activities ...
On 10 March 2022, the Cabinet Office published the long-awaited draft Terms of Reference for the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.1 In this article we consider the implications for businesses impacted by the pandemic and how they may wish to get involved in the Terms’ finalisation. Terms of Reference are critical to a public inquiry as they define its scope and purpose ...
Many governmental authorities across the country have ordered “nonessential” businesses to shut down because of the COVID-19 crisis. Many business owners are asking what that means for the business income losses that they are forced to endure and whether insurance will cover those losses. Most property insurance policies that offer business interruption coverage provide some form of “civil authority” coverage ...
Introduction 1. Background of the Foreign Investment Law and Regulations. Consistent with NAFTA, Mexico enacted a Foreign Investment Law (FIL), effective March 20, 1998, which abolishes restrictions of foreign investment in most areas. The Regulations of the FIL, effective on September, 1998, were also enacted to provide legal certainty to foreign investors. 2. General Rule: 100% of Foreign Investment Participation ...
The Scottish Parliament has set out a concrete timetable for business rates to be cut in Scotland to the level of those in England by April 2007 in a bid to boost competitiveness. Finance Minister, Tom McCabe, confirmed the timetable for this equalisation in a statement to the Scottish Parliament on 6 October 2005, outlining plans to stagger its implementation. It is proposed the reduction occurs over a two-year period ...
The landmark CARES Act provides many Alabama employers with several options to increase liquidity and cash flow during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. And only nine days before that legislation was enacted, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) also created two other payroll tax-related incentives for certain employers, and self-employed individuals ...
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law March 27, 2020, provides $2 trillion in relief funds for individuals and businesses, including $500 billion in direct aid for large companies and more than $300 billion for small companies. Businesses applying for and receiving funds under the CARES Act should be mindful of risks associated with stringent government oversight and inevitable investigations targeting waste, fraud, and abuse ...
A breakdown of the ICO’s recent guidance on how to comply with the UK’s data protection regime when making live marketing calls. The ambiguous lyrics from this popular song have left me confused ...
On October 3, 2018, the IRS issued guidance for employers on how to claim tax deductions for business meals this year. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, ("TCJA") business expenses for "entertainment" are no longer deductible, effective for 2018. However, the TCJA did not modify the separate 50% deduction for expenses for business meals, which left employers wondering how to distinguish a business meal from entertainment ...
As the financial services sector has developed and adopted technology, there has been a significant growth in Deferred Payment Credit, more commonly referred to as ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (“BNPL”) by consumers. Demonstrating the scale of growth, news outlets have recently reported that over £10 billion has been lent to consumers by BNPL companies in the last three years ...
The decision will be relevant for parties seeking to bring claims in the BVI courts where there are competing jurisdictions and systems of law at play. Funders and ATE insurers will also find the decision of interest where they are considering the merits of funding cross-border claims involving BVI defendants. A copy of the judgment is available here. Background WWRT had commenced proceedings in the BVI against Carosan, a BVI company, and BK, a Ukrainian businessman ...
On 31 July 2023, significant changes to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rules ("ECSC CPR") will come into effect. Arguably the most significant changes for parties to litigation in the BVI Commercial Court are the amendments to ECSC Part 7, governing service of proceedings out of the jurisdiction ...
Following a Phase II investigation, the Serbian Competition Commission granted conditional clearance to SBB''s takeover of IKOM. This consolidation of leading cable operators in Belgrade represents a landmark case for the Serbian authority and is related to global trends in consolidation of cable network operators, which fosters the investments necessary for improvements to network infrastructure and competition with IPTV, OTT and satellite content providers ...
On July 7, 2022, the Cyberspace Administration of China (the “CAC”) formally promulgated the Measures for Security Assessment of Cross-border Data Transfers (the “Assessment Measures”), which specify and implement the provisions on data export in accordance with Article 37 of the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China (the “CSL”), Article 31 of the Data Security Law of the People’s Republic of China (the “DSL”), and Article
