Minding Your Business

Proskauer’s perspective on developments and trends in commercial litigation.

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Minding Your Business

The “Truth Hurts”: Judge Rules Lizzo is 100% That [Copyright Owner]

By Sandra Crawshaw-Sparks, David Munkittrick & Anisha Shenai-Khatkhate

May 11, 2021

Judge Dolly M. Gee of the Central District of California recently awarded singer Lizzo a major victory in a copyright dispute concerning the artist’s hit song “Truth Hurts.” In her ruling, Judge Gee dismissed with prejudice a claim that Lizzo must share copyright ownership of “Truth Hurts” with the plaintiffs in the case, because the co-ownership claim was based only on the plaintiffs’ contributions to a prior independent work. See Melissa Jefferson v. Justin Raisen …

Minding Your Business

Sixth Circuit Remands Price Gouging Case, Allows Kentucky AG to Resume Investigations

By Christopher E. Ondeck, John R. Ingrassia, Kelly Landers Hawthorne & Jennifer Tarr

May 7, 2021

The Sixth Circuit issued its opinion in the Online Merchants Guild v. Cameron case on April 29, 2021, dissolving a preliminary injunction that had prevented the Kentucky Attorney General from investigating alleged violations of Kentucky’s price gouging laws, and remanding to the district court for further proceedings.…

Minding Your Business

Uber Can’t Compel Arbitration of PAGA Claim According to California Court

By Shiva Pedram

April 30, 2021

On April 21, 2021, the Second Appellate District of the Court of Appeal of the State of California filed an unpublished opinion rejecting Uber’s attempt to enforce an arbitration provision that waived an employee’s right to bring a claim under the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). This statute authorizes “aggrieved employees” to file lawsuits to recover civil penalties from employers for violations of the California labor code.…

Minding Your Business

Updates to Price Gouging States of Emergency

By Christopher E. Ondeck, John R. Ingrassia & Shannon D. McGowan

April 30, 2021

Over a year ago, states of emergency were declared across the country. Such emergency declarations are often the trigger for state pricing restrictions. Tracking the start and end of the emergency declarations is essential for interpreting the pricing restrictions they impose. For instance, in Oklahoma, the pricing restrictions remain in place throughout the duration of the emergency, and extend for 30 days after the state of emergency has terminated. Proskauer’s Price Gouging Coast to Coast…

Minding Your Business

Another Court Gets on (Hover) Board with Online Marketplace Liability for Defective Products

By Jeffrey Warshafsky

April 28, 2021

In two prior blog posts, we covered how online marketplaces, like Amazon, are being held responsible for defective and counterfeit products sold on their platforms. In the latest development in this space, California’s Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District) determined that Amazon could be held strictly liable for injuries a consumer suffered from a defective hoverboard she bought from the retailer, even though Amazon neither manufactured nor sold the product. Loomis v. Amazon.com …

Minding Your Business

The FTC’s Enforcement Power: How AMG Reshapes the Landscape

By Chantel L Febus, Jennifer Tarr, Kelly Landers Hawthorne & Shannon D. McGowan

April 23, 2021

In a unanimous opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Section 13(b) of the FTC Act does not authorize the Federal Trade Commission to seek monetary relief in the form of restitution or disgorgement, despite the agency’s redoubled practice of seeking such relief under the Act since 2012. The Court’s opinion significantly reshapes the FTC’s process for obtaining money judgments from defendants. The FTC will now most likely turn to Section 19 of the Act…

Minding Your Business

A Comedy of Errors Sinks a Local Government’s Price Gouging Case

By Christopher E. Ondeck, John R. Ingrassia & Shannon D. McGowan

April 22, 2021

In a case of mistaken identity and a web of conflicting testimony, a Fresno local business successfully appealed a price gouging fine. The saga between the store and the City of Fresno offers insights in the importance of maintaining proper business records to defend potential price gouging allegations. On April 8, 2021, an Administrative Hearing Officer for the City of Fresno, California dismissed an Administrative Citation issued by the City Attorney’s Office against a local…

Minding Your Business

Bioplastics: Snickers® Candy Bars Have It Wrapped Up

By Michelle M. Ovanesian

April 21, 2021

A team of researchers from Yale University, the University of Maryland and the University of Wisconsin-Madison just published a study on a durable, biodegradable plastic alternative made 100% of wood. This study is just one example of the advent of a new generation of biobased plastics or bioplastics, a term broadly referring to products made from organic matter that have the same properties as “ordinary” plastic. The attractiveness of bioplastics is due to their…

Minding Your Business

ICC Expands Automatic Application of Expedited Procedure

By Sophie C. Matamoros

April 14, 2021

ICC arbitrations based on agreements entered into in 2021 and beyond will follow an expedited procedure if the amount in dispute is $3 million or less – up from the previous $2 million or less. This expansion of the automatic applicability of the Expedited Procedure is one of the most significant amendments made to the revised ICC Arbitration Rules 2021, which entered into force on January 1, 2021. It is thus important for parties agreeing…

Minding Your Business

DOJ Continues Price Gouging Enforcement Under the Defense Production Act

By Christopher E. Ondeck, John R. Ingrassia & Nathaniel Miller

April 12, 2021

On April 2, 2021, the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey released an update of her office’s efforts to prevent fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic, noting prosecutions involving the Paycheck Protection Program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, and the Unemployment Insurance programs, as well as prosecutions involving price-gouging and hoarding of critical personal protective equipment. The announcement comes on the heels of a similar one by Attorney General Merrick Garland…

Minding Your Business

Proskauer’s perspective on developments and trends in commercial litigation.

Blog Authors

The “Truth Hurts”: Judge Rules Lizzo is 100% That [Copyright Owner]

Sixth Circuit Remands Price Gouging Case, Allows Kentucky AG to Resume Investigations

Uber Can’t Compel Arbitration of PAGA Claim According to California Court

Updates to Price Gouging States of Emergency

Another Court Gets on (Hover) Board with Online Marketplace Liability for Defective Products

The FTC’s Enforcement Power: How AMG Reshapes the Landscape

A Comedy of Errors Sinks a Local Government’s Price Gouging Case

Bioplastics: Snickers® Candy Bars Have It Wrapped Up

ICC Expands Automatic Application of Expedited Procedure

DOJ Continues Price Gouging Enforcement Under the Defense Production Act

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