eplawecki

Connect: https://www.lexblog.com/author/eplawecki/feed/
Firm/Organization: Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr
Blogs: Bad Faith Sentinel, Construction Industry Counselor, Consumer Finance Litigation Bulletin, The Regulatory Roundup, Whistleblower Wire

Latest Articles

New Jersey Appellate Division Rejects Consumer’s Attempt to Declare Arbitration Provision Invalid Under New Jersey Plain Language Act In a recent unpublished opinion, Maisano v. LVNV Funding, LLC, No. A-1775-18T2, 2019 WL 6341035 (App. Div. Nov. 27, 2019), the New Jersey Appellate Division upheld the trial court’s order compelling Maisano (the “consumer”) to arbitrate his claims against LVNV Funding, LLC (“defendant”), an entity that acquires outstanding credit card accounts and collects the balances. In…
FDA Issues Round of CBD Warning Letters and Revised Consumer Update, Restates Potential Risks and Unknowns On November 25, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) announced that it had issued Warning Letters to 15 companies for illegally selling products containing cannabidiol (CBD). Simultaneous with its latest round of CBD-related enforcement, the Agency also published a revised Consumer Update, in which it detailed specific safety concerns and questions about CBD…
IF THE SHIELD AGAINST AT-WILL TERMINATION OF THE CFPB’S DIRECTOR IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, WHAT NEXT? The U.S. Supreme Court has already agreed to consider in the matter of Seila Law v. CFPB whether the for-cause requirement for the President’s dismissal of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) director is unconstitutional as a violation of the separation of powers. Now the Court is being asked by All American Check Cashing to review the same issue but with…
USDA Issues Long-Awaited Hemp Production Rule, Some Questions Answered, Many Remain On October 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a pre-publication version of its long awaited hemp production interim final rule. Public comments are due 60 days after USDA publishes the rule in the Federal Register. While we are still digesting the 161-page rule, below are our initial observations regarding the rule. USDA State and Tribal Plan Review, Producer Compliance Per…
Should relators rejoice? The Supreme Court may have put to rest the vast uncertainty surrounding the applicable statute of limitations in False Claim Act (“FCA”) suits where the government declines to intervene with its recent ruling in Conchise v. U.S. ex rel. Hunt. After the Eleventh Circuit’s holding deepened an already existing circuit split as to applicable statute of limitations under the FCA, the Supreme Court granted certiorari. The Whistleblower Wire blog previously discussed…
The United States Supreme Court has granted certiorari in the matter of Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to address the question of whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) single-director structure and the President’s authority to remove the director only “for cause,” as prescribed by 12 U.S.C. § 5491(c)(3), violate the separation of powers. The Supreme Court also directed the parties to brief the question of whether, if the CFPB is found…
Overview This week, Pennsylvania Senators Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery/Delaware) and Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia) introduced a bill, the “Adult-Use Cannabis Act” (Senate Bill 350), that would legalize adult-use (i.e., recreational) cannabis in the Commonwealth. If passed, the bill would legalize adult-use cannabis for individuals 21 years of age and older, and establish a permitting process for growers, processors, and dispensaries; the current measure would not place a limit on the number of permits that could be issued.…
House Passes First-Ever Standalone Cannabis Reform Bill, SAFE Act Would Provide Cannabis Businesses With Much Needed Banking Access On September 25, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Secure And Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (SAFE Act) by vote of 321 to 103. If it passes the U.S. Senate and is signed into law, it would prohibit federal banking regulators from penalizing a depository institution simply because the bank provides services to legitimate marijuana-related…
Trump Administration Seeking Presidential Authority to Remove CFPB Director, asking Supreme Court to Decide As the CFPB is currently structured, the head of the CFPB may only be ousted by the President for good cause. However, the Trump Administration is asking the Supreme Court to take up a case[1] on certiorari to decide the issue of the CFPB’s constitutionality, ultimately seeking to allow the President the power to fire the head of the CFPB…
11th Circuit Finds Receipt Of A Single Unsolicited Text Message Fails To Confer Article III Standing Under The TCPA In Salcedo v. Hanna, No. 17-14077 (11th Cir. Aug. 28, 2019), the 11th Circuit considered whether receipt of a single unsolicited text message was sufficient to confer Article III standing to sue for a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The court found it was not and in doing so, it rejected decisions…