On December 26, 2024, New York enacted a law requiring certain energy companies to contribute cumulatively $75 billion to a climate "superfund" over the next 25 years....more
1/10/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government ,
Superfund
Class action procedures vary greatly among jurisdictions. These differences include how developed the procedures are; the types of claims parties can bring; the parties that can represent classes; whether classes are...more
California recently imposed new mandatory disclosure requirements related to social compliance audits....more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
The California legislature continues to press forward with the implementation of two of the state's sweeping climate disclosure laws after a proposal to delay the implementation dates by the governor failed to be considered...more
The Development: On August 22, 2024, the Australian Senate passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 ("Bill")....more
A recent jury verdict finding Chiquita Brands International ("Chiquita") responsible for deaths by a Colombia paramilitary group marked the first "bellwether trial" in a massive multidistrict litigation and is reported to be...more
The Situation: The California Supreme Court recently granted review of a California Court of Appeal decision, Gilead Life Sciences, Inc. v. The Superior Court of the City and County of San Francisco, that made waves in the...more
5/15/2024
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Duty of Care ,
FDA Approval ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Gilead Sciences ,
Healthcare ,
HIV ,
Life Sciences ,
Manufacturers ,
Negligence ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Phase II ,
Product Defects ,
Summary Judgment
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
On 27 March 2024, Australia's climate disclosure regime moved a significant step closer to implementation, with the federal government's introduction of proposed legislation into Parliament. Any organisations with a presence...more
4/17/2024
/ ASIC ,
Audits ,
Australia ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sustainability
The use of earnout provisions, which buyers and sellers often use to bridge differing views of value, is on the rise, especially in the private equity and corporate venture capital markets. This White Paper examines how...more
The Situation: The Australian government has released its widely anticipated exposure draft legislation for the introduction of Australia's national mandatory climate-related financial disclosures regime....more
In Short -
The Situation: In 2020, a cruise ship in Australian waters, the Ruby Princess, experienced a COVID‑19 outbreak that resulted in an Australian class action. Part of the class were passengers subject to...more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
12/22/2023
/ Article III ,
Australia ,
Class Action ,
EU ,
France ,
Germany ,
International Litigation ,
Jurisdiction ,
Settlement ,
Standing ,
UK
In Short -
The Situation: The California legislature passed landmark climate bills that surpass emissions disclosure requirements of any other existing state law. The bills are branded as the nation's first comprehensive...more
9/28/2023
/ California ,
CARB ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Doing Business ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
In Short -
The Situation: In the last month, two courts in the Ninth Circuit allowed human rights focused cases to proceed beyond the pleading stage. These cases seek to impose liability on U.S.-based companies for alleged...more
8/2/2023
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Alien Tort Statute ,
California ,
Child Labor ,
CLRA ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Customers ,
Domestic Corporations ,
False Advertising ,
Forced Labor ,
Greenwashing ,
Human Rights ,
Subsidiaries ,
Suppliers ,
Torture Victims Protection Act of 1991 ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL)
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided Twitter v. Taamneh, clarifying the meaning of key provisions in the Anti-Terrorism Act ("ATA") and the pleading standard for aiding-and-abetting claims under that law....more
In Short -
The Situation: Section 1782 of Title 28 of the U.S. Code authorizes U.S. district courts to order discovery "for use in a proceeding in a foreign or international tribunal." Over the last several years, U.S....more
JASTA's stated intention is to provide litigants "with the broadest possible basis" for relief against entities that have "provided material support, directly or indirectly, to foreign organizations or persons that engage in...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that 28 U.S.C. § 1782 authorizes discovery to assist only governmental or intergovernmental adjudicative bodies, and not private adjudicative bodies like the international commercial and ad hoc...more
6/15/2022
/ 28 U.S.C. § 1782 ,
AlixPartners LLP v The Fund for Protection of Investors Rights in Foreign States ,
Arbitration ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Litigation ,
Commercial Arbitration ,
Discovery ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Foreign Tribunals ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
UNCITRAL ,
ZF Automotive US Inc v Luxshare Ltd
On March 23, 2022, the California Supreme Court denied review of the Court of Appeal's decision in Isaak et al. v. Superior Court of Contra Costa County. In Isaak, the Court of Appeal held that the provisions governing...more
In Nestle, six citizens of Mali claimed they were trafficked into and enslaved on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast. Pursuant to the ATS, these former child slaves sought to impose liability upon Nestle, Cargill, and other U.S....more