On April 18, the USPTO announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Notice”), which sets forth proposed rules affecting AIA trial proceedings for public comment. These proposed rules relate primarily to how the Patent Trial...more
INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS THE SAFESPORTS ACT? The SafeSports Act is a piece of legislation introduced in the United States Congress that aims to protect children and young athletes from abuse and misconduct in sports....more
I’ve spent a fair amount of time over the last few months working on the examination recently administered to those seeking to become North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialists in Appellate Practice. During my...more
A recent Sixth Circuit decision emphasizes the importance of maintaining correct benefit plan delegations to avoid tussles over the correct standard of review for benefit claims. In this case, the Sixth Circuit concluded...more
This week, the Court addresses the bounds of the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). ...more
Recently, the Florida Supreme Court resolved an interdistrict conflict between the decision of the Second District Court of Appeal in Suarez Trucking FL Corp. v. Souders, 311 So. 3d 263, 272 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020) and the...more
Today’s news media is full of stories about supposed malicious allegations, unfounded criminal investigations and indictments based on perjury. Regardless of our political leanings, all of us should hope that such things...more
On June 21, USPTO Director Kathi Vidal issued a memorandum concerning the PTAB’s practice of determining whether to institute an AIA post-grant proceeding in view of the Fintiv factors. The memorandum is in part a result of...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review a significant decision of the Second Circuit which (1) clarified the scope of California’s statutory ban on discretionary clauses in life and disability insurance contracts,...more
Employers that use an IRS-approved form 401(k) or profit sharing plan document are required to adopt updated IRS-approved adoption agreements no later than July 31, 2022. Most plan recordkeepers and other plan document...more
The Israeli High Court of Justice ruled recently that section 46 of the Income Tax Ordinance does not authorize the Knesset Finance Committee to exercise broad discretion in recognizing NPOs and in fact the Committee’s...more
Is it principal or it is income? This question has plagued trust beneficiaries, trustees, accountants, and attorneys since trusts have been used. The answer to the question is important, because the answer generally controls...more
In 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) heard arguments in Wastech Services Ltd. v. Greater Toronto Sewage and Drainage District, 2021 SCC 7 (Wastech) and C.M. Callow Inc. v. Zollinger, 2020 SCC 45 (Callow), both of which...more
LLC managers (or members vested with decision-making authority) are sometimes lulled into a false sense of security by “sole discretion” provisions in their LLC’s operating agreement. That can be a costly mistake....more
The US Food and Drug Administration’s recent policy, issued in part due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, also suspends enforcement of Direct Marking requirements for certain Class I, Class II, Class III, and...more
If you read most any operating agreement for a manager-managed LLC, chances are you’ll find somewhere in it a grant of decision-making authority in the manager’s “sole and absolute discretion” or verbiage to similar effect....more
The USPTO explained the significance of the cases as follows: Becton, Dickinson and Company v. B. Braun Melsungen AG, Case IPR2017-01586 (PTAB Dec. 15, 2017) (Paper 8) – (precedential as to section III.C.5, first paragraph...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued the following decision this morning: Thacker v. TVA, No. 17-1201: The Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”) is a federally-created and Government-owned corporation that...more
On April 29, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Authority, No. 17-1201, holding that the “sue-and-be-sued” clause that waives the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) sovereign...more
It is no secret that LLC managers enjoy a lot of discretion regarding how they operate the LLC. Members of the LLC often find it difficult to challenge the manager’s decisions on key transactions, investments, and other...more
For years, employment lawyers on both sides have disagreed on what is required to obtain class treatment in a Title VII discrimination case. ...more
On September 27, 2018, the Kentucky Supreme Court in Northern Kentucky Area Development District v. Snyder held that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not preempt a Kentucky statute, KRS § 336.070(2), barring employers...more
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in five cases: Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Jackson, No. 17-1471: (1) Whether an original defendant to a class-action claim can remove the class action if it...more
The Supreme Court has ruled by a narrow majority of 5-4 that the Patent Office’s regulation allowing for partial institution decisions in inter partes review is foreclosed by the text of 35 U.S.C. § 318(a). SAS Institute Inc....more
What happens when corporate directors approve their own awards under an equity incentive plan? Under Delaware law, so long as the plan is approved by a majority of the fully informed, uncoerced and disinterested stockholders,...more