In the COVID-19 era, many employers and businesses are wrestling with unprecedented issues ...
The Algarve has been seriously affected by the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, on 29 July 2020, the Portuguese Parliament published Resolution no. 51/2020 in which it recommend the adoption of a social and economic emergency plan for the Algarve (“Plano de emergência social e económico para o Algarve”) by the Portuguese Government. The recommended measures set out in Resolution no ...
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently published frequently asked questions addressing leave-sharing plans related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following IRS Notice 2006-59, the IRS has confirmed that employers may set up leave-sharing plans to permit their employees to deposit leave in an employer-sponsored leave bank for use by other employees who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic ...
Electronic cigarettes and vaping have been heralded by many as a safer alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes. An outbreak of illnesses last fall allegedly related to vaping, however, ignited public hysteria and will almost certainly lead to substantial mass tort litigation aimed at manufacturers of e-cigarette devices and vaping liquids ...
On 13th August, Federal Law dated 13.07.2020, No. 210-FZ specifying the procedure and establishing new rules of severance payments, in case of dismissal due to liquidation of the organization, or redundancy, comes into force.In case of the dismissal due to the organization’s liquidation, all payments shall be made to employees prior to its completion ...
In FanDuel, Inc., v. Interactive Games LLC, No. 2019-1393 (Fed. Cir. July 29, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (Board) did not violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by rejecting the prior-art combination on which it instituted inter parties review (IPR). The relevant patent claims related to a method of gambling on a mobile device ...
From 1 September 2020, new rules on temporary unemployment will enter into force. Companies and sectors that are substantially impacted by the Covid-19 crisis can continue to apply the current and simplified ‘Covid-19 force majeure’ temporary unemployment regime until 31 December 2020. The list of in-scope sectors is yet to be determined by the Minister of Work ...
Key Points Public agencies must retain emails that would be required for inclusion in an administrative record pursuant to CEQA. Agencies must retain “[a]ll written evidence or correspondence submitted to, or transferred from” them “with respect to” CEQA compliance or “with respect to the project.” This includes emails that fit this description ...
Since 1995, the Federal Court of Canada has refused to hear questions relating solely to patent ownership. In Lawther v. 424470 BC . Ltd ...
Since the launch of the Main Street Lending Program, the Federal Reserve (through the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, which is implementing the program) issued updates on July 15, 2020 and July 31, 2020 to the Frequently Asked Questions document (“FAQ”), originally published on April 30, 2020, for the three loan facilities available to for profit businesses ...
Summertime is holiday time. Although the worldwide travel warning issued by the Federal Foreign Office for some European countries was lifted on 15 June 2020, currently (as of 17 July 2020, 5:30 p.m.) 130 countries are still classified as risk areas. These include Turkey and the USA, which are popular destinations for German holidaymakers ...
A recent New York federal court decision has called into question whether businesses may safely rely on Department of Labor guidance regarding the recently passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The FFCRA provides employees of businesses with fewer than 500 employees with two temporary forms of paid leave—Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Family and Medical Leave ...
In order to tackle the effects of the Corona crisis, it is planned at EU level to temporarily facilitate the raising of equity capital for companies. This will enable certain issuers to publish a shortened prospectus with only 30 pages instead of a full prospectus to issue shares. Through this, issuers will have the option to issue shares at short notice, without bureaucracy and inexpensively, thereby improving the debt-to-equity ratio in their balance sheets ...
On Monday, August 3, 2020, a New York federal judge issued a decision invalidating portions of the DOL’s regulations implementing the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (“FFCRA”). The decision’s impact changes the legal landscape employers confront as they strive to comply with the FFCRA—a landscape that is unstable as the DOL and the courts sort out the legality of the disputed regulations ...
Effective February 19, 2020, Congress enacted new bankruptcy legislation granting debtors the option to elect a new subchapter V of chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code (Subchapter V). This was made possible by the bipartisan legislation known as the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (SBRA). 1 Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) of 2019, Pub. L. No. 11654, 133 Stat. 1079. Unless otherwise stated, all statutory references are to the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C ...
In the recent English case of Lamesa Investments v Cynergy Bank [2020] EWCA Civ 821, the Court of Appeal (“CA”) affirmed the High Court (“HC”)’s ruling that non-US financial institution borrower Cynergy’s (a) refusal to pay Lamesa did not constitute a default where the ultimate beneficial owner of Lamesa remained a blocked person under US sanctions law based on a clause in the facility agreement that Cynergy would not be at fault if a sum was not paid
In early April, the United States approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) authorizing $349 billion in a small business lending program called the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). For franchising, this relief package seemed like a no-lose program ...
Recent statistics from London’s Commercial Court and major arbitration institutions confirm London’s reputation as an international hub for dispute resolution, with English law remaining the most popular choice for the resolution of international disputes ...
In John Innes Foundation and Others v. Vertiv Infrastructure Limited [2020] EWHC 19 (TCC), England’s Technology and Construction Court had to decide whether a sub-contractor to a managing agent maintaining standby power equipment was liable to the owners of premises for failure to make site visits and therefore identify that batteries (said to have caused a fire on the premises) needed replacing ...
The recent case of Bond Tak (Holdings) Ltd v King Fame Trading Ltd, HCA 2129/2018, concerned an application by the Defendant to dismiss or permanently stay the High Court action on the grounds that the dispute was subject to an arbitration agreement and should be submitted to arbitration or, alternatively, the action should be stayed on the grounds of forum non conveniens and in favour of the Intermediate People’s Court of Guangzhou City in Mainland China (Guangzhou Court) ...
In the recent case of 1955 Capital Fund I GP LLC & ANOR v Global Industrial Investment Ltd, HCCT 61/2019, Hong Kong’s Court of First Instance set aside an Enforcement Order, whereby the Applicants had been given leave to enforce in Hong Kong an arbitration award (Award) made in California. The Court found that there had been material non-disclosure by the Applicants in their affidavit in support of the application for the Enforcement Order ...
On July 22, 2020, the National Assembly approved, after a third debate, Draft Law No. 83 (the “Draft Law”), which regulates limited liability entrepreneurship companies (the “LLECs”) in Panama, and is now awaiting the signature (or veto) of the President of the Republic ...
Panama, 24 July 2020. By means of Rule JD-01-2020, published in the Official Gazette No. 29076 of 24 July 2020, the Superintendence of Non-Financial Regulated Persons (SNFR) has established a set of rules and obligations imposed to attorneys and accountants whenever they incur in any of the regulated activities under Law 23 of 2015, which relates to prevention of money laundering, financing of arms of mass destruction and financing of terrorism ...
