Publications
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 […]
As the number of data breaches and federal and state enforcement actions for privacy and security violations reach new heights, Connecticut's highest court has added fuel to the fire in a decision that paves the way for individuals to use Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) violations as a basis for state negligence claims. […]
Following a year and a half of secret negotiations and a Cold War-style prisoner swap, President Obama announced yesterday that he will begin to normalize several aspects of relations with Cuba. Before you light up a few Cuban cigars to celebrate the opening of a new market only 90 miles from Miami, however, it is […]
Introduction There were a number of notable developments in patent case law in 2014. Key decisions from the Federal Circuit and Supreme Court tackled a variety of key issues, including patent eligibility of software and business methods, standards for induced infringement when multiple actors are involved, the burden of proof in declaratory judgment cases, the […]
On January 6, 2015, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) released its 2015 Regulatory and Examinations Priorities Letter highlighting a number of compliance areas that FINRA examiners will focus on in the coming year. According to FINRA’s 15-page letter, examiners will carefully scrutinize the sales practices of certain complex products, financial and operational priorities such […]
On July 2, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued Amended Franchise Rule FAQ 38. [1] FAQ 38 has not received much attention, perhaps due to the fact that the FTC’s website for posting FAQs has recently changed. In any event, FAQ 38 attempts to give extra-territorial effect to one state regulator’s comments on a […]
Corporate officers with compliance duties, take note: you may face personal liability for your role in failing to prevent your company’s violations of federal law. This new reality comes courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (“FinCEN”) unprecedented assessment, on December 18, 2014, of a $1,000,000 penalty against Thomas E. […]
On January 12, 2015, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) released its Examination Priorities for 2015 (available here) outlining the issues that it will focus on this year in examining investment advisers, broker-dealers and other financial industry participants. This year’s exam priorities are broken down into three thematic areas: (1) protecting retail […]