On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, 143 S. Ct. 1322 (2023) to narrow the scope of the Clean Water Act’s (“CWA”) regulations governing wetlands. The Court held that for wetlands to be regulated under the CWA, the wetlands must be connected to traditional navigable waters…
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A New Jersey appeals court affirmed summary judgment for insured pharmaceutical company Merck in a cyber coverage dispute regarding a “Hostile/Warlike Action” exclusion included in a $1.75 billion “all risks” property insurance program. Merck & Co., Inc. v. Ace American Ins. Co., No. A-1879-21, A-1882-21, 2023 WL 3160845 (N.J. Sup. Ct. App. Div. 2023). …
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In 2014, Amy and William Dempsey purchased a vacant lot in a subdivision. The Dempseys hired an architect to design a home, who then contracted with Briggs Engineering to prepare plans for site grading, drainage, and erosion control. In 2015, the Dempseys entered into a contract with BrunoBuilt, Inc. to build the home, which called…
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On April 20, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (”SEC) released a staff bulletin regarding the standards of conduct for broker-dealers and investment advisors. The bulletin is focused primarily on the Care Obligation of Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”) for broker-dealers and the duty of care enforced under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the…
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On April 13, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law SB 360 (Chapter 2023-22, Laws of Florida). The new Florida law affects claims against design professionals in many ways. First, Fla. Stat. §95.11(3)(c) establishes a new statute of repose for design defect claims. SB 360 leaves intact the four-year statute of limitations, but shortens the…
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On April 28, 2023, President Biden signed an executive order entitled “Executive Order on Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All” (“the Order”). The purpose of the Order is to renew a pledge made in Executive Order 12898 of February 11, 1994 (“the 1994 Order”) and more effectively implement the tenets in the…
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The Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) have issued a joint statement outlining a collective commitment to monitor the use of automated systems and artificial intelligence (“AI”) and its relation to unlawful discrimination. The agencies have warned that while…
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In A.S. Horner, Inc. v. Navarrette, 656 S.W.3d 717, 719 (Tx. App. 2022), a Texas Court of Appeals found a road contractor was entitled to statutory immunity for a personal injury suit after the completion of the project, as it built the road in compliance with the Texas Department of Transportation’s (“TxDOT”) design. In an…
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The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently issued a decision in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58 (2023), holding that severance agreements containing overly broad non-disparagement or confidentiality clauses violate the rights of employees under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), Section 7. The NLRB held that such clauses interfere with employees’ rights to assist co-workers or…
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On March 28, 2023, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) published Regulatory Notice 23-06 addressing the “recent trend[s] in the fraudulent transfer of customer accounts through the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS).” ACATS is an automated transfer system developed by the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC). It allows eligible participants to automatically initiate, review,…
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