Government agencies are increasingly requiring vendors and other private-sector partners to enter into arrangements requiring them to relinquish their intellectual property rights.[1] These demands threaten to discourage the country's most innovative enterprises from working with the federal government, thus impairing our national security and global competitiveness ...
On January 10, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a long-awaited opinion which will allow the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine the means by which it will repay inappropriate cuts it levied against 340B participating hospitals’ Medicare reimbursement.[i] The District Court’s decision comes on the heels of the United States Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in American Hospital Association v. Becerra, 142 S. Ct ...
On January 5, 2023 the SEC announced a settled Administrative Proceeding with Randy Robertson. Mr. Robertson previously served as the co-portfolio manager for the BlackRock Multi-Sector Income Trust (“BIT”). While serving as the co-portfolio manager for BIT, Mr. Robertson explored the possibility of a BlackRock investment opportunity regarding a potential secured lending investment relating to print and advertising expenses associated with film distribution. Mr ...
HUD-insured debt may be a narrow field within the broader realm of commercial real estate finance, but it never ceases to amaze me the variety of issues that I encounter within the relatively small HUD sandbox. Dinsmore’s work as lender’s counsel on a recent multifamily 223(f) loan had me grappling with issues related to sovereign immunity, a legal concept that had barely entered my consciousness since graduating from law school ...
A recent California decision provides clarity on a lender’s ability to charge late fees for missed loan payments, which should be of interest to all lenders operating in California. In Honchariw v. FJM Private Mortgage Fund, LLC, et al.,[1] the California First District Court of Appeals held that late payment fees assessed against the entire unpaid principal balance of a loan constitutes unlawful penalties under California Civil Code Section 1671 ...
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel recently released an advisory opinion[i] regarding Section 1461 of title 18 of the U.S. Code. In it, they write the “Comstock Act”[ii] does not prohibit the mailing of certain medications used to perform abortions where the sender does not believe the medications will be used unlawfully. This opinion comes in the wake of the U.S ...
On January 11, 2023 the SEC Division of Investment Management issued an additional Marketing Rule FAQ. The newly issued FAQ addresses gross and net performance requirements applicable to private fund case studies, single investments and/or groups of investments, i.e. extracted performance. Specifically, the Question provides as follows: Q. When an adviser displays the gross performance of one investment (e.g ...
Whether a court must defer to an administrative agency’s interpretation of a statute has recently become a hot-button topic in a wide variety of legal circles ranging from political campaigns to cases heard before the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of Ohio has now joined with its recent decision in TWISM Ents., L.L.C. v. State Bd ...
On December 22, 2022 the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (“Pennsylvania DHS”) issued a Medical Assistance Bulletin that will put 340B savings at risk in Pennsylvania. This bulletin intends to prohibit 340B Program covered entities and contract pharmacies from dispensing 340B medication to Pennsylvania Medicaid patients regardless of whether the patient is enrolled in fee-for-service or managed Medicaid ...
On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a proposed rule[1] to prohibit employers from enforcing non-compete agreements against former employees, contractors, and other workers. The proposed rule defines “non-compete clause” broadly as “a contractual term between an employer and a worker that prevents the worker from seeking or accepting employment with a person, or operating a business, after the conclusion of the worker’s employment ...
Significant False Claims Act (FCA) developments in the courts during the latter part of 2022 have included the Supreme Court’s declining to take up one issue involving FCA qui tam actions (what level of pleading particularity Rule 9(b) requires) while holding argument on another (the scope of the government’s dismissal power following declination), and the D.C. Circuit’s adoption of the pro tanto rule in computing settlement offsets in multiple-defendant cases ...
A lesser-known state incentive in the nonprofit sector has created a boon for taxpayers, private education institutions and their students. Across the country, states are providing tax credits that reduce individuals’ state income taxes for any donation to a state-certified nonprofit organization providing scholarships to K-12 students to attend private schools ...
Dinsmore partner Faith Whittaker and associate Jared Phalen were published in Bank Director with their article "New Law Ends Pre-Dispute NDAs for Workplace Sexual Harassment, Assault Disputes." An excerpt is below. On Nov. 16, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives sent the Speak Out Act to President Joe Biden’s desk with a 315-109 vote. The legislation, which cleared the Senate unanimously on Sept ...
On December 14, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board reinstated a previous test used to determine which employees must be included in an appropriate bargaining unit. In American Steel Construction, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 23 (2022), the Board overruled the test established in PCC Structurals, 365 NLRB No. 160 (2017), and The Boeing Co., 368 NLRB No. 67 (2019), opting to return to the test set forth in Specialty Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center of Mobile, 357 NLRB 934 (2011) ...
The SEC, in a unanimous vote, adopted final rules on December 14, 2022 amending Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Additionally, it includes related amendments concerning disclosures about insider trading policies, disclosures about equity awards made close in time to the disclosure of material nonpublic information and the reporting of gifts by insiders ...
On December 13, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published a decision in the case of Thryv, Inc. and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1269 that promises to substantially expand the available financial penalties that the Board can require employers to pay if they are found to have infringed upon employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act ...
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many business owners seeking business interruption and extra expense coverage for lost income sustained as a result of mandatory closures of their businesses. At the core of such claims is the issue of whether businesses can obtain coverage for business interruption in the absence of direct physical loss to their business premises from COVID-19. Consistent with national trends, the Supreme Court of Ohio, in Neuro-Communication Servs., Inc. v ...
The SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert on December 5, 2022 detailing observations from examinations of investment advisers and broker-dealers related to compliance with Regulation S-ID ...
Just weeks after the “implosion” of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, credit services provider BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 protection with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, indicating that it is burdened with billions of dollars of estimated liabilities and more than 100,000 creditors ...
The SEC has published its final rule for the recovery of erroneously awarded compensation (“final rule”) ...
Given the ubiquitous nature of end-user license agreements, terms of service, and similar agreements for websites and other software,[1] it is unsurprising that a company has filed a Petition for Certiorari with the Supreme Court this term (in Genius v. Google) asking the Court to consider the extent to which the Copyright Act preempts private contracts involving a promise not to copy digital content ...
On November 15, 2022, Governor Andy Beshear announced two executive orders related to cannabis in Kentucky. The first executive order allows certain individual Kentuckians and their caregivers to bring and use medical marijuana into the state without facing legal consequences beginning January 1, 2023, so long as they meet a set of three criteria ...
On December 3, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) will make a major change to how it processes trademark applications, which is anticipated to affect filing strategies, work flow, and even budgets. Brand owners in the U.S. might be wondering what they need to know about the Trademark Modernization Act’s (“TMA”) shortened office action response deadline ...
The SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert on September 19, 2022 announcing examination initiatives relating to Advisers Act Rule 206(4)-1 – the “Marketing Rule.” The compliance date for the Marketing Rule is November 4, 2022. Any advertisements distributed by investment advisers on or after that date are subject to the requirements of the Marketing Rule. This alert outlines areas that will be reviewed during examinations ...
Classification as a security is an omnipresent concern for issuers of digital assets. When offering or selling securities in the United States, securities must either be registered or exempt from registration ...
