FINRA has announced Merrill Lynch, Peirce and Finner & Smith, Inc. was fined more than $15.2 million for restitution owed to customers who purchased Class C mutual funds shares despite the availability of Class A mutual fund shares. In differentiating between the two types of mutual fund shares, FINRA noted Class A shares are subject…
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The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently reaffirmed in Brown v. Nexus Bus. Solutions LLC, that the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) allows an administrative exemption from overtime provisions. (11th Cir. Apr. 1, 2022). Traditionally, FLSA requires employees be paid overtime for all hours worked beyond 40 in a week. The rate of pay is…
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In Donovan v. Hastings, the Supreme Court of Tennessee analyzed whether the trial and appellate courts properly limited an award of attorney fees and costs under Tennessee Code § 20-12-119(c) to a plaintiff homeowner to those incurred after the date an amended countercomplaint was filed by the defendant contractor. 2022 WL 12301177, at *1 (Tenn….
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The Supreme Court recently decided a case related to the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era regulatory scheme that would apply to the energy industry across the country. The main holding of the opinion in West Virginia v. EPA focused on the degree to which an administrative agency may assert power over the states, and by…
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In A. Alexis Varela, Inc. v. Pagio, No. 5D21-2077, 2022 WL 1592482 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. May 20, 2022), the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court’s order dismissing a contractor’s lien foreclosure claim. The Court of Appeal stated that the trial court erred in computing the deadline for the contractor to…
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On June 6, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision that certain airline employees are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), as they are considered to be a “class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce”. See Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, No. 21-309 (June 6, 2022). The FAA exempts “contracts…
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed new regulations that could be disruptive to Financial Advisors. There are currently 12 proposals and 26 more being discussed. One such proposal seeks to address the practice of “greenwashing”, which refers to firms or companies claiming to abide by ESG principles when they are actually not. The proposed…
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On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new drinking water health advisories for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The EPA also announced $1 billion in funding to address PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water. PFAS have been linked to infertility, thyroid problems, and several types of cancer. Since the…
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The United States Supreme Court recently held that emotional distress damages are not recoverable in private actions to enforce statutes authorized by the Spending Clause of the United States Constitution. Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C., No. 20-219 (Apr. 28, 2022). Statutes authorized by the Spending Clause include the Rehabilitation Act, Title IX of the…
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In KB Home Fort Myers LLC v. Taishan Gypsum Co., No. 2D21-384, 2022 WL 1099385 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Apr. 13, 2022), Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court’s decision to vacate an $18 million default judgment against a supplier that sold defective drywall. The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court…
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