Publications
On July 1, 2015, the General Assembly passed “An Act Concerning Pay Equity and Fairness” designed to root out “pay secrecy.” A day later, on July 2, 2015, Governor Malloy signed the Act into law. The new statute, Public Act 15-196, bars employers with one or more employees from: Prohibiting employees from disclosing, inquiring about, […]
On August 24th, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its decision in Federal Trade Commission v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp., affirming a 2014 district court ruling that the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has the authority to regulate cybersecurity lapses. The Third Circuit also held that Wyndham – the global hospitality giant […]
In the recent decision United States v. Cosme, 14-1625-cr, a panel of the Second Circuit held that the government cannot seize and then hold a defendant's property pending the resolution of criminal charges without a judicial finding that probable cause supports the forfeitability of the seized assets. In December 2012, Cosme was arrested on charges […]
When a party files a lawsuit in violation of a contractual obligation to arbitrate, the defendant often moves to “dismiss or stay” pending arbitration pursuant to Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. § 3. Courts have come to different conclusions about whether they may dismiss a case under Section 3 of […]
On June 23, 2015, Governor Malloy signed into law Public Act. No. 15-115, An Act Establishing a Bill of Rights for Residents of Continuing-Care Retirement Communities (“the Act”). The Act establishes several protections for residents of continuing care retirement communities (“CCRCs”) and also makes various changes to the statutes governing CCRC providers. The Act takes […]
On August 6, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance offered interpretive guidance with respect to conducting a private placement under Rule 506(b) of Regulation D without running afoul of the “general solicitation” restrictions of Rule 502(c). Rule 502(c) provides in relevant part that neither the issuer nor any person acting on the issuer’s behalf may […]
On February 3, 2015, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspection and Examinations (“OCIE”) released a risk alert titled Cybersecurity Examination Sweep Summary providing an overview of how investment advisers and broker-dealers are addressing the legal, regulatory and compliance issues associated with the increasing risk from cyber-attacks. The risk alert is based on the findings of […]
The Supreme Court of Texas ruled on February 13, 2015, that BP is not entitled to coverage as an additional insured under insurance policies Transocean procured for the Deepwater Horizon. We previously wrote about the insurance coverage dispute concerning subsurface pollution that resulted from the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in the […]
From the Courts Bad Faith Round-Up: Case Summaries from 2014 In this issue, we review some of the more noteworthy holdings dealing with bad faith, from around the country during the past year. This summary is by no means exhaustive, and we focus primarily on P&C insurance; but we hope this will provide some insight […]
You may have seen references to President Obama’s 2016 budget proposals and how they might affect your gifting and estate planning opportunities. Given that Congressional Republicans, who now control both the House and the Senate, oppose these measures, it appears highly unlikely that any of the President’s proposals will be enacted this year. But as […]
We are pleased to share this first issue of the Wiggin and Dana Education Practice Group newsletter on matters of interest to the higher education community. Our group has represented institutions of higher education for more than half a century on issues ranging from intellectual property to Title IX compliance, from labor and employment to […]
In December 2014, the National Labor Relations Board issued new rules that it claims will modernize and streamline union certification elections. In fact, the rules, scheduled to go into effect on April 14, 2015, are mostly about shortening the time between a union’s filing of a petition for an election and the election itself, and […]
On March 25, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the final rules to adopt amendments to Regulation A, which will go into effect 60 days after the rules are published in the Federal Register. The amendments to create “Reg A+” were a mandate of Title IV of the JOBS Act and provide private U.S. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) announced today that AT&T Services, Inc. (“AT&T”) agreed to a $25 million settlement to resolve the Commission’s investigation into whether AT&T failed to protect the confidentiality of its customers’ proprietary network information. The penalty is the FCC’s largest data security enforcement action to date. According to the consent decree, breached […]
Medical malpractice claims are often accompanied by emotional distress claims asserted by the patient’s family members. In Maloney v. Conroy, 208 Conn. 392 (1988), the Connecticut Supreme Court held that “bystanders” to medical malpractice may not recover for their own emotional distress. When Maloney was decided, the Supreme Court had not yet recognized bystander emotional […]
Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission” or “SEC”) issued an order awarding as much as $1.6 million to a “compliance officer” for information that helped the Commission resolve an enforcement action against his company. See SEC Rel. No. 74781 (April 22, 2015). This award was the first-ever award provided to a compliance […]
On April 20, 2015, the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Inspector General (OIG) published an educational resource titled, “Practical Guidance for Health Care Governing Boards on Compliance Oversight,” (“Practical Guidance”) in association with the Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors, the American Health Lawyers Association, and the Health Care Compliance Association.[1] […]
On February 15, 2015, during a hastily organized press conference, the FAA announced its proposed rules for domestic unmanned aerial systems (UAS). But that wasn’t the only UAS news coming out of the administration that weekend. The President also issued a memorandum to federal agencies regarding privacy and civil rights policy relating to UAS operations, […]
It’s been a busy six months, and we thought we’d drop a quick note to let you know some of what we’ve been up to: Conflicts and investigations Represented auction house in connection with federal grand jury investigation in New York; Recovered paintings for Philadelphia artist unlawfully held by dealer; Represented European nation in case […]
We would like to share with you two recent developments relevant to medical malpractice defense: Statute of Limitations The Connecticut General Assembly is considering a bill that would toll the statute of limitations for a negligence action brought by a minor. Raised Bill No. 1028 would extend the statute of limitations for a minor until […]
Unilateral Price Policies in the Contact Lens Industry: Can Manufacturers Be Forced to Sell to Every Retailer? It is a cardinal rule of antitrust that – absent very limited exceptions – parties can do business, or refuse to do business, with whomever they choose. The Supreme Court solidified that premise in United States v. Colgate […]
Businesses have long turned to arbitration as a potentially more efficient and cheaper option for resolving disputes. Yet, commercial arbitrations don’t always turn out that way. As arbitration has “matured,” it has evolved to look a lot like litigation, with time-consuming pre-arbitration discovery, including depositions and exhaustive documentary discovery, lengthy hearings and fulsome post-hearing briefing. […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently released a study examining the prevalence, perception and effects of arbitration clauses in contracts for consumer financial products. Although the study purports to be only “empirical, not evaluative,” leading consumer advocacy groups have seized on the study’s findings to urge the CFPB to prohibit the inclusion of what […]
In one of our previous advisories (see, In Ericsson v. D-Link The Federal Circuit Provides Guidance on Damages for Standard Essential Patents) we discussed the Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Ericsson, Inc. v. D-Link, Inc. and its impact on reining in damages for infringement of standards-essential patents, when there is an obligation to license such […]
Patent exhaustion, or “the first sale doctrine,” requires that the initial authorized sale of a patented item by a patent owner or licensee, terminates their ability to subsequently use their patent rights against that item. Quanta v. LG Electronics, Inc., 533 US 617, 625 (2008). In the Quanta case, LG and Intel arrived at a […]
Design patents allow patentees to protect the aesthetic appearance of articles, in contrast to utility patents that protect the utility of an inventive concept. While the scope of protection provided by a utility patent is delineated by one or more claims, the scope of a design patent is dependent on included drawings. Effective May 13, […]
The OFCCP recently released updated FAQ sheets pertaining to obligations towards protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. As expected, as the revised regulations unfold and become operational among contractors’ workplaces, questions continue to arise concerning the interpretation and implementation of the new rules. The OFCCP has offered additional clarification in these documents; the most recent […]
OFCCP Proposed Rule to Collect Pay Data Earlier this month, the OFCCP announced proposed regulations that would require contractors to submit an annual Equal Pay Report on employee compensation. This would apply to all covered contractors and subcontractors with more than 100 employees. The OFCCP is proposing to have employers file the information electronically as […]
Today is the day these new regulations are effective! However, contractors will not be expected to do it all or have it all done on this day. Many of the new requirements are contained in the section of the regulations that the OFCCP has allowed employers to wait until their current AAPs expire. Here is […]
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, or NLRA, gives employees the right to organize, to bargain collectively, and “to engage in other concerted activities.” More simply put, by operation of Section 7, employees enjoy the right to act for the benefit of, or on behalf of, themselves and their co-workers regarding wages, hours […]