“I don’t want a British passport for myself but should I get one for my child?” This is a common immigration-related enquiry, and onemy team and Ihave been asked about by EU nationals repeatedly since the June 2016 referendum vote ...
CONTENTS General LItigation funding Initiating a lawsuit Pre-trial proceedings Discovery Injunctive relief Trials and hearings Settlement Damages and judgment Appeal Costs Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Arbitration Outlook and COVID-19 GENERAL General characteristics of the Legal System Sources of law As a largely self-governing British Overseas Territory, the legal system of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) is rooted in English common law and eq
Key Points Governor Newsom vetoed AB 339. AB 361 will continue to operate as currently construed. On October 7, 2021, Governor Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill (AB) 339 (Lee), a bill aimed at addressing Brown Act teleconferencing requirements for large public entities. AB 339 sought to add special rules for meetings of city councils or county board of supervisors that govern jurisdictions containing at least 250,000 people ...
The Belgian Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) has fined Brussels Airport and Brussels South Charleroi Airport 200,000 and 100,000 EUR respectively for their use of thermal cameras during the Covid-19 pandemic. In two extensive decisions (Brussels decisionandCharleroi decision), the DPA has fined the two airports for their use ofthermal cameras ...
When COVID-19 first hit, many employers were initially faced with the need to identify if they qualified as an essential business under the operative orders issued by the federal and state governments, and then come into compliance with safety measures, all while ensuring compliance with other requirements such as those laid out by the Americans with Disabilities Act ...
The Treasury Department has recently published the Paycheck Protection Program Loans Frequently Asked Questions (PPP FAQs). The Treasury Department’s publication provides businesses and lenders desperate guidance related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the applicable rules, regulations and guidelines that have been plaguing PPP loan participants. This alert summarizes a number of the key questions in the PPP FAQs as of April 7, 2020 ...
On March 31, seven Bay Area counties issued stricter shelter-in-place orders and extended their effectiveness to at least May 3 (collectively, the “Orders”). As of the morning of April 2, Napa County noted that it will be joining the other Bay Area counties. Solano County extended the effectiveness of its order, but declined to tighten restrictions ...
“With our nation’s health care providers on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19, dollars and cents shouldn’t be adding to their worries.” - CMS Administrator Seema Verma. During this Public Health Emergency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has expanded its accelerated and advanced payment program (“Program”) to all Medicare-enrolled providers and suppliers (“Providers”) ...
As the White House and state and local governments begin to assess business re-opening measures in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are evaluating how to transition employees back to the physical workplace. As a threshold matter, employers must assess applicable state and local governmental orders for restrictions, timing, and guidelines regarding business re-opening, as the lifting of shelter-in-place orders and re-opening measures will vary by region and industry ...
Governmental and GSE responses to the COVID-19 crisis continue at a rapid pace. Just within the last few days, new guidelines have been issued regarding several multifamily and single family residential topics. These new guidelines add to existing COVID-19 related guidelines and restrictions issued by federal and state regulators, other state and local government authorities, GSEs and FHA ...
In addition to proceeds from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) Payment Protection Program and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (“CMS”) Accelerated and Advance Payment Program, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (“HHS”) recently deposited $80 billion into health care providers’ bank accounts as part of its Provider Relief Fund ...
Compliance with environmental regulations is challenging under the best of circumstances, but the COVID-19 crisis and measures taken in response add a new layer of complexity. The lack of a consistent message from elected officials and health officers, on the one hand, and from federal and state environmental regulators, on the other, creates a quandary for the business community ...
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of states have temporarily waived or modified licensure requirements, allowing licensed practitioners from other states to provide in-person or telehealth services without seeking state-specific licenses. During this unprecedented time, states have quickly recognized the need for medical professionals to work across state lines and the importance of expanding telehealth services ...
On Monday, April 6, 2020, in an Emergency Meeting to address issues arising from the COVID-19 Crisis, the Judicial Council enacted emergency rules that protect tenants and borrowers by temporarily preventing California courts from processing unlawful detainer and judicial foreclosure actions, with limited exceptions. The emergency rules apply to both residential and commercial tenants and borrowers, and govern all California State Courts ...
If there is anything to be learned from the FAA’s distribution of the $10 billion in funds allocated to airports in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, it is that allocating billions of dollars in just a few weeks is more difficult than it sounds. On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law as Public Law No. 116-136 ...
Earlier this week, the US Department of Labor (DOL) added to their long list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act or FFCRA. These latest additions raises the total of FAQs from an already robust 79 to a staggering 88. Combined with the DOL’s first FFCRA enforcement action in Arizona, this is the latest warning for employers to get fully prepared ...
On July 23, 2020, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman and Arizona Department of Health Services Director, Dr. Cara Christ held a news conference to discuss certain executive orders of the Governor regarding re-opening of Arizona businesses and public district and charter schools in Arizona ...
On July 17, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced that due to a rapid rise in new COVID-19 cases in the last month, and because San Francisco was listed on the State’s County Monitoring List (the “Monitoring List”) for three consecutive days, San Francisco was halting all reopening procedures indefinitely beginning on Monday, July 20 ...
As California continues to move through Stage 2 of its Resilience Roadmap, “Lower-risk workplaces,” where retail (curbside and delivery only), related logistics and manufacturing, office workplaces, limited personal services, outdoor museums, childcare, and essential businesses can now open with modifications, California employers should continue to be vigilant in assessing and complying with up to date health and safety guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Admini
In the recently-passed Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”), Congress provided much-needed cover for landlords that enter into forbearance agreements with their tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic by protecting landlords from exposure to preference litigation arising out of the deferred rent payments if the tenant were to later file bankruptcy ...
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, local municipalities and state governments throughout the country have implemented stay-at-home orders and mandated closures of businesses and restaurants to lower the spread of the disease. California, after having permitted much of the state to reopen businesses, has seen a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and on July 13th implemented a new statewide order to curb the increase, reimposing certain business closures ...
On May 14, 2020, San Francisco Mayor London Breed issued a second extension of the City’s commercial eviction moratorium and rent deferral program for small businesses with less than $25 Million in 2019 gross receipts. The extension grants rent relief for rent due and payable through June 16, 2020. On April 15, 2020, Mayor Breed previously extended the original order through May 17, 2020 ...
On June 8, the Federal Reserve announced a number of changes to the Main Street Lending Program (“MSLP”), involving all three facilities, the Main Street New Loan Facility (“MSNLF”), the Main Street Priority Loan Facility (“MSPLF”), and the Main Street Expanded Loan Facility (“MSELF”) ...
