Corporate & Commercial

By Kevin LaCroix on June 25, 2019

As I noted in a recent post, the securities class action lawsuit pending against Toshiba raises the question of whether or not the U.S. securities laws apply to transactions in unsponsored American Depository Receipts (ADRs). The company’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court posed the larger question of whether there are exceptions to the second-prong of the Morrison standard holding that the U.S. securities laws apply to domestic transactions in securities. A number of…

The Contractor's Perspective

Government contractor pleads guilty to fraud for paying drivers as independent contractors

By David P. Hendel on June 25, 2019

Paying workers as independent contractors instead of as employees may land a former executive in jail for criminal wire fraud. On June 12, 2019, the former operations manager and vice president of a Florida-based mail transportation contractor pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud related to such treatment. The Government’s case was based on pricing estimates for employee-related costs that the contractor later did not incur because it instead used independent contractors. In the June…

GlobalTort

Two Days Later – Idiocy Continues at Lexis/Nexis’ Advantage Service

By Kirk Hartley on June 25, 2019

It’s Tuesday evening; two days after my first public complaint after multiple days of Lexis/Nexis failure. As of now, Lexis/Nexis still has not explained why my laptop cannot access the Lexis/Nexis site so that I can read cases, or read my $500 per month subscriptions to two Mealey’s reports. Same stupid error message still shows up.…

Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation Industry Insider

What the FUCT: Supreme Court Overturns Ban on Vulgar Trademarks

By Kris Kappel & Tara Allstun on June 25, 2019

Supreme Court Again Strikes Down Trademark Restrictions Yesterday the United States Supreme Court announced its decision in Iancu v. Brunetti, holding that prohibiting trademarks that consist of or comprise immoral or scandalous matter(1) violates the First Amendment. The majority, written by Justice Kagan, centered its finding on the fact that the Act’s “immoral or scandalous” criterion is viewpoint-based which results in viewpoint-discriminatory application. In other words, a Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) Examiner must issue registrations…

Hunton Retail Law Resource

FTC and FDA Warn e-Liquid Companies to Disclose Hazards and Connections

By Phyllis H. Marcus & Alex Lazo on June 25, 2019

The FTC and the FDA jointly sent warning letters to four manufacturers of flavored e-liquid products, citing the absence of particular disclosures in paid social media endorsements as potentially in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the FTC Act.…

FinReg

New Economic Sanctions on Iran: More Sound than Fury

By John B. Reynolds, Jeanine P. McGuinness, Will Schisa & Brooklynn Moore on June 25, 2019

On June 24, 2019, President Trump signed an Executive Order (“EO” or “Order”) imposing new economic sanctions on the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the Iranian Supreme Leader’s Office. The EO blocks all of the Supreme Leader’s property and interests in property in the United States, that come within the United States, or come within the possession or control of any United States person, and provides that such property may not be…

Free Writings + Perspectives

SEC Issues Concept Release on Harmonization of Securities Offering Exemptions

By Michael L. Hermsen on June 25, 2019

On June 18, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a concept release soliciting “comment on possible ways to simplify, harmonize, and improve the exempt offering framework to promote capital formation and expand investment opportunities while maintaining appropriate investor protections.” Under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), every offer and sale of securities must be registered with the SEC unless an exemption from registration is available. In the concept release,…

Texas Commercial Litigator

Multi-Million Dollar Judgment against IBM Reversed by Texas Supreme Court

By Dane Patrick on June 25, 2019

Introduction. The Texas Supreme Court reversed a judgment rendered against IBM originally in the amount of $21 million because Lufkin Industries disclaimed its reliance upon IBM’s misrepresentations in the written contract between the parties. Int’l Bus. Machines Corp. v. Lufkin Indus., LLC, 573 S.W.3d 224 (Tex. 2019), reh’g denied (May 31, 2019). Background. Lufkin manufactures machinery and equipment used in the energy industry. It needed to upgrade its business-operations computer-software system. After several meetings with…

Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog

Volkwagen and Audi Allegedly Sold Unsafe Pre-Production Models to American Consumers — Chicago Auto-Fraud lawyers near Schaumburg and Naperville

By Peter S. Lubin & Patrick Austermuehle on June 25, 2019

Buying cars that are “certified pre-owned” (CPO) has long been a way for consumers to get a car they know they can rely upon without having to pay the high prices associated with cars that come right off the lot. Because CPO models tend to go for a lower price than brand new cars, Volkswagen Group of America and Audi of America allegedly decided to sell pre-production models of some of their cars and label…

Hunton Retail Law Resource

District Court Finds Use of Third-Party Hashtags Created Implied Association

By Jessica Cohen-Nowak on June 25, 2019

Social media can be a minefield of intellectual property issues. The hashtag, for example, began as a searching tool, but now has evolved into its own form of communication. And if a hashtag can include a trademark or otherwise represent a brand, when can you use someone else’s trademark in a hashtag?…