The Ministry of Home Affairs (“MHA”) issued an order on April 15, 2020 containing the revised consolidated guidelines on the measures to be taken by the Central and State Governments for containment of COVID 19 (“Revised Guidelines”). The order/ Revised Guidelines specify the economic activities which will be permitted after April 20, 2020 (except in containment zones) ...
Employers are now confronted with the next COVID-19 challenge: safely bringing employees back to work. The recent federal guidelines for “Opening Up America Again” specifically refer to recommended practices for employers ...
The Superintendence of Finance of Colombia issued External Circular 015 of 2020, whereby instructions related to the treatment of subsidy resources drawn by the State through Credit Institutions or Specialised Electronic Deposit Societies (SEDPES) within the framework of the Solidarity Income Programme are detailed ...
The Superintendence of Finance of Colombia (SFC) introduced, by means of External Circular 035 of December 27th, 2019, the automatic authorization of collaboration agreements for the promotion of foreign financial services or products entered into by a local stock brokerage firm or a local financial corporation and a foreign financial entity provided they comply with the following requirements ...
The Chilean Central Bank increased the upper thresholds for the investment in alternative assets by Pension Funds type A, B, C, and D, with the purpose of “promoting the diversification of Pension Funds' portfolios, granting them access to a better combination of risk and return ”. In the case of Pension Funds type E, the former limit was kept ...
According to section 3(1) of the Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation (Regulation) (Cap.599G), no group gathering of more than four persons may take place in any public place during a specified period, unless it falls within one of the exceptions set out in Schedule 1 to the Regulation. The specified period will last until 7 May 2020, but may be further extended depending on the rapid changes in the public health situation ...
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) licensed corporations (LCs) which store regulatory records in the cloud, data centres or other electronic storage facilities provided by external persons (EDSPs) without keeping copies of such records in their Hong Kong business premises are reminded of the need to comply with the following requirements, according to the circular issued by the SFC on 31 October 2019 (Circular): (i) notify the SFC of the external electronic data stor
In response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has passed several new laws to provide trillions of dollars of funding to affected businesses and individuals. But this also means there are new compliance considerations for entities receiving federal funds, especially as it relates to the False Claims Act’s “false certification” theory of liability ...
The so called “break-even point” is a relevant concept in business economy. Simply speaking, a company is in break-even point when the number of product units sold equals its Total Fixed Cost, divided by the respective Contribution Margin per Unit (i.e ...
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently updated its Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (CDI) to confirm that its recent orders extending the due date for SEC filings by up to 45 additional days in light of COVID-19 pandemic are applicable to the incorporation by reference of disclosure into Part III of Form 10-K. (Additional information on the prior orders is available here and here ...
On Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit departed from opinions issued by the Fourth and Ninth Circuits in ruling that violations of the FDCPA begin to run when the violation occurs. In Rotkiske v. Klemm, et al., plaintiff Rotkiske sued a law firm that, in 2009, had obtained a default judgment against him. The law firm moved to dismiss the FDCPA claim, alleging it was untimely ...
On July 4, 2017, amendments to the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (“WVCCPA”) took effect. One of those amendments requires a potential plaintiff to give a creditor or collector notice of alleged violations under the statute before the potential plaintiff can file a lawsuit against them. They then have 20 days to make an offer to cure the alleged violations, and the potential plaintiff has 20 days thereafter to decide whether to accept it ...
The 2015 amendments to the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (‘WVCCPA”) are not retroactive, according to a federal court in West Virginia. In O’Dell v. USAA Federal Savvngs Bank aka USAA, the court rejected a bank’s argument that the WVCCPA statute in effect at the time of trial applies. The court determined the WVCCPA amendments could not be applied to a scenario that predated their effectiveness ...
Earlier this month, a West Virginia federal court ruled a disclosure in a debt collection letter regarding potential tax implications for settling a debt did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) or the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (“WVCCPA”). In Garrettson v. Sentry Credit, Inc. et al., a debt collector sent a collection letter to the plaintiff debtor, offering to settle the debt for less than the amount due ...
The West Virginia legislature is considering bills to amend the Consumer Credit and Protection Act (“WVCCPA”) and they can affect how lenders, creditors, collectors, and others interact with consumers in financial transactions. The WVCCPA is the primary statute in West Virginia that regulates how lenders, creditors, collectors, and others deal with consumers in financial transactions ...
The initial $350 billion in forgivable loans under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were claimed within 13 days. Given the initial interest, Congress on Thursday, April 23 approved an additional $484 billion of coronavirus-relief funding, including an additional $310 billion for the government-backed PPP and $75 billion in new funding for healthcare providers. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law on Friday, April 24 ...
The COVID-19 pandemic with contact restrictions and travel bans also poses challenges for civil proceedings. In the future, the functionality in pandemic times could be the material factor for the choice between state courts and arbitral courts because flexibility and options for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic are varying. State court proceedings Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, court deadlines must still be met ...
As all lenders know by now, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’s (“CARES Act”) guaranteed Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans are the key piece of economic relief for small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis ...
The stock market has had record declines and many businesses are shuttered, at least temporarily. Long-term prospects may still be positive but in the near-term the value of many entities has reduced. Are there transactions that privately-held businesses and their owners could implement that would allow them to achieve long-term goals that could benefit the business, the owner, and owner’s family? We believe that there are ...
