On March 10, Christopher Mufarrige, the newly-appointed Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), published a blog explaining the significance of Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs)...more
On October 31, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) proposed an amendment to Local Civil Rule 7, which governs general motion practice before the Court. On December 1, 2024, the amendment...more
For small- to medium-sized business owners, the cost and burden of resolving a lawsuit can seem catastrophic and overwhelming, leading some business owners to simply ignore the issue (or procrastinate until it’s too late). ...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced that it ordered American Medical Response (AMR) to pay a civil monetary penalty of $115,200 for failing to comply with the...more
In Ogunsula v. Warrenfeltz, 2024 WL 298984 (D. Md. Jan. 25, 2024), the Court recognized a split of authority and addressed the interplay between Rule 37(a)’s maxim that “evasive and incomplete” discovery responses are deemed...more
On December 19, 2023, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion and judgment vacating (the “Judgment”) the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Share Repurchase Disclosure Modernization rule (the...more
In a litigator’s nightmare, when old wooden floors creak and the house speaks in sinister tones to its owner, it’s not: “Get Out!” that the lawyer hears. It’s: “Your Responses to the Admissions are Late.” Such is the life. ...more
In Buergofol GmbH v. Omega Liner Company, Inc., 4-22-cv-04112 (DSD Jul. 13, 2023) (Karen E. Schreier), the court granted the defendant’s motion to compel and awarded monetary sanctions after the plaintiff failed to respond at...more
The Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) is a set of rules that apply to federal defense contractors with access to Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Covered Defense Information (CDI). Defense...more
COVID-19 has slowed down many pending court cases, with trial dates being pushed out indefinitely as the pandemic worsens. Despite these slowdowns, the Vermont Supreme Court recently made clear that court deadlines remain in...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court decision that res judicata can apply to dismissals on procedural grounds and to claims arising after a prior judgment. Sowinski v. California Air...more
On August 5, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB’s decision to cancel a trademark registration for the mark HOLLYWOOD BEER as a discovery sanction for the registrant’s repeated,...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided additional insight case in which a former investment advisor at UBS sought to prevent the company from collecting on promissory notes the advisor owed to UBS upon his...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In Sellars v. CRST Expedited, Inc. Case No. C15-117-LTS (July 15, 2019), the Northern District of Iowa held that employer responses to sexual harassment complaints need not deter harassment by other...more
Want to give up a contractual right to arbitrate? Easy. Don’t seek to enforce it. For example, just litigate for awhile and don’t mention your arbitration clause. The court has no obligation sua sponte to raise or enforce...more
On February 6, 2018, a Kansas state court entered a default judgment against a Florida student debt relief company banning it from doing business in Kansas and ordering it to pay over $39,000 back to one consumer. Kansas...more
The assignee of a residential mortgage loan is not liable under the Truth In Lending Act (TILA) for a loan servicer's failure to timely provide a payoff demand, the 11th Circuit recently held. TILA requires that a mortgage...more
If you are a business owner and have employees, at some point you will receive a garnishment. Garnishment is a post-judgment process that allows a judgment creditor to acquire the judgment debtor’s assets (property or...more
In Stuart-Findlay v. Bank of America, N.A., 2010CA014370, 41 Fla. L. Weekly D207a (Fla. 4th DCA 2014), Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal held that a clerk’s default entered in error should have been set aside,...more
Private equity firms may be subject to new mandatory BEA reporting requirements with respect to their cross-border financial services transactions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the US Department of Commerce...more