Publications

As Connecticut employers well know, they have been operating under archaic and what many feel to be unreasonable wage and hour laws. Particularly difficult to administer have been the rules addressing exempt employees. Most commonly the questions arise in the context of whether an employee falls within the wage and hour laws’ definition of exempt, […]

The 2004 legislative session was, once again, active and provided significant legislation for the utility and regulated industries. Among other things, the session extended the moratorium on electric and gas transmission line construction across Long Island Sound and made numerous changes to the statutes governing the Siting Council (“Siting Council” or “Council”). The following is […]

The federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA) requires hospitals and other healthcare institutions to submit annual Tier II reports which describe chemical inventories, management, and use. Such health-related facilities in Connecticut and elsewhere in New England should immediately take note that Region 1 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering […]

Thanks to all of who responded positively to my initial e-mail (update #1). As to those receiving this e-mail who didn’t respond, I’m keeping you on the list for now just in case you would like to receive these updates but haven’t had a chance to tell me so. If that’s the case, please let […]

Government agencies that provide financial and other types of incentives and assistance to affordable housing developers are increasingly incorporating “green building” standards, often developed by the private sector, into their programs and regulations. These standards generally incorporate specific construction, rehabilitation, and outfitting methods and/or materials intended to reduce a building’s energy use and environmental impact.

The United States Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently issued its Final Rule regarding Internet Applicants. It is imperative that employers who are government contractors familiarize themselves with the Final Rule. Particular attention should be paid to the actions that trigger record keeping requirements and what the OFCCP calls “consideration […]

Effective October 1, 2005, same sex couples in Connecticut will be able to obtain legal recognition as members of a civil union. Under the new law, “[p]arties to a civil union shall have all the same benefits, protections and responsibilities under law, whether derived from the general statutes, administrative regulations or court rules, policy, common […]

In a July 6, 2006 decision in the seemingly never-ending tobacco wars the Florida Supreme Court in Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc. managed to include some good news for each side. Industry defendants were pleased by the Court’s decision affirming an intermediate appellate court’s reversal of a July 2000 jury verdict awarding a class of […]

A grant of rights to a copyrighted work does not necessarily permit use of the copyrighted work in a digital or electronic form. Two recent judicial decisions illustrate the need for agreements to expressly indicate whether a grant includes digital and electronic media. In one case, Random House v. Rosetta Books, the District Court for […]

Generally, an “estate freeze” is any technique that allows a person to fix or “freeze” an asset’s value for estate and gift tax purposes at a given time, so that any future appreciation in value of the asset can pass to a recipient at no additional tax cost. In a sense, all outright gifts made […]

Estate freeze techniques range from simple installment sale arrangements to complex arrangements involving private annuities, “grantor retained annuity trusts” (GRATs) and “intentionally defective grantor trusts” (IDGTs). No one approach fits all situations. Installment Sales Perhaps the easiest way to freeze asset value for estate tax purposes is to simply sell the asset for its current […]

The Spring 1999 Estate Planning Advisory outlined the advantages of Family LLCs as a means of centralizing the management of real property while also allowing for the ownership of the property to be disbursed among family members. While that remains one of the primary uses, family LLCs can also be used to manage many other […]

Imagine that you go into work, pick up your mail, and discover a letterfrom CompuGlobal Mega Hypernet. The fine folks at CompuGlobal are takingthe time to inform you that if you don’t start giving them a percentageof your sales, they will be forced to sue you for infringing the claimsof their patent. “A patent, you […]

Love and affection can be sufficient motivation to make gifts. But savvy planners can also use lifetime gifts to significantly reduce future estate taxes. Care must be taken, however. The Internal Revenue Code and Connecticut law impose a gift tax on gifts in excess of $10,000 and on gifts of future interests. (Connecticut gift tax […]

Making gifts to minors can pose special challenges. While you can make an outright gift of cash or property to a minor, for obvious reasons that is not always a sensible thing to do. All states permit some form of custodial accounts for minors, which can often be the most economical way of giving gifts […]

Among the educational incentives created under the Tax Reform Act of 1997 are “qualified state tuition programs” that allow tax-deferred investment accounts to be set up by states that individuals can use for college expenses. Connecticut and a handful of other states (including New Hampshire and New York) have set up such programs. Basically, the […]

We wanted to take a moment to summarize for you the uncertain status and politics of the HIPAA privacy regulations and the implications for this uncertainty on how to plan for HIPAA compliance and other information technology (IT) strategies. In short, this remains a time for evaluating your current privacy and security practices, thinking about […]

This rule adopts standards for eight electronic transactions and for code sets to be used in those transactions. It also contains requirements concerning the use of these standards by health plans, health care clearinghouses, and certain health care providers.

When I participated in If’s Ansvarskonferens last February 3, it became apparent to me that attorneys for and representatives of Swedish companies whose products are sold in the United States are very interested in U.S. product liability law. Since then I’ve been thinking of creating a list of interested persons to whom I could send […]

If you are a lobbyist, do business or plan to do business with the State of Connecticut, or own or work for a business with a registered political action committee (“PAC”), you should be aware of sweeping new campaign finance reform provisions that take effect on December 31, 2006. These provisions are contained in Public […]

According to a November 2007 article published by the RREEF Research Foundation, “Buildings account for 39 of the nation’s primary energy use, 70 of its electricity consumption, 30 of raw materials use and 30 of greenhouse gas emissions.” At a June 2007 program sponsored by the New York City Bar and the Pace Law School […]

I didn’t think I’d be writing again so soon but there’s some big news on the tobacco front that I thought I’d share with you. Even if your company doesn’t sell tobacco products, I think you’ll find these developments to be broadly applicable.

It’s been a while since I’ve written but that’s because things have been quiet on the product liability front. I won’t be surprised if that continues for the rest of the summer.

Much has been written in the press about the pending (albeit temporary) repeal of the federal estate tax. Less has been written about the actions of state governments to modify (which is to say, increase) state death taxes in the wake of the federal estate tax repeal. Even if it turns out that total federal […]

An interesting appellate court ruling from New Jersey came across my desk this week. The case, Bialek v. Ford Motor Company, is remarkable both for the extent of bias demonstrated by Superior Court (trial) Judge Carol Ferentz towards Ford and the appellate court’s explicit finding of “antagonistic” comments by Judge Ferentz.

A new Connecticut law imposing protections against identify theft will take effect on October 1, 2008. The law, Public Act 08-167, applies to any person or entity that collects or possesses another person's personal information.  

On January 27, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc., 296 F.3d 894 (9th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 123 S.Ct. 993 (2003), a case in which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the First Amendment protected the producers of the song Barbie Girl from a trademark […]

A so-called “experimental use” exception to patent infringement has long been recognized under U. S. law. This exception provides that infringement does not occur if the otherwise infringing acts are for amusement, to satisfy idle curiosity or for philosophical inquiry. However, if the infringing acts are for commercial purposes, the exception does not apply and […]

In Mosley v. V Secret Catalogue, Inc., 537 US – (2003), the United States Supreme Court resolved a split among the federal circuits and held that the Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c) (2003), (FTDA) requires a plaintiff to show actual dilution, rather than a likelihood of dilution, in order to […]

The “fair use doctrine,” articulated in 17 U.S.C. § 107, embodies the idea that persons should be free to use portions of copyrighted works for the purposes of comment, criticism, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, research and other “transformative” uses. In other words, although a person engages in conduct that involves verbatim copying of a copyrighted […]