FINRA revised its Sanction Guidelines to instruct adjudicators in the disciplinary process to consider customer-initiated arbitrations that result in adverse arbitration awards or settlements when assessing sanctions. As a result, when a Respondent’s disciplinary history, and history of arbitration awards and arbitration settlements, together with the violation found in a disciplinary case, form a pattern,…
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The Fourth Circuit reversed a District Court’s dismissal of a lawsuit over a Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP subsidiary’s gasoline pipeline spill in South Carolina, holding the Clean Water Act covers claims that the spill contaminated nearby creeks and wetlands after traveling through groundwater. Upstate Forever v. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., 887 F.3d 637…
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The recently passed Consolidated Appropriations Act (“CAA”) put an end to an ongoing controversy over the status of a proposed Department of Labor (“DOL”) tip rule and the underlying dispute over whether employers who do not claim the tip credit against the federal minimum wage may be prohibited from including non-tipped employees in mandatory tip…
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In United Riggers & Erectors, Inc. v. Coast Iron & Steel Co., No. S231549, 2018 WL 2188916 (Cal. May 14, 2018), the Supreme Court of California determined that while a general contractor or owner may withhold monies from subcontractors in circumstances where a dispute has arisen between the parties, the exception is limited to only…
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In Engineering and Terminal Services, L.P. v. TARSCO and Orcus Fire Protection, LLC, 525 S.W. 3d 394 (TX 2018), the Court of Appeals of Texas held the statutory requirement to file a Certificate of Merit along with a lawsuit based on professional negligence of an engineer does not apply to third party claims for contribution….
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In Duke Energy Florida, LLC v. Firstenergy Corp., CV No. 17-3024, April 10, 2018, the Sixth Circuit refused to pierce the corporate veil to determine which corporate entity would be liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq., for costs associated with cleaning up hazardous waste…
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On April 2, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, 584 U.S. ___ (2018), holding that auto dealership service advisors are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) overtime pay requirement. The case began in 2012 in a California District Court, and was later…
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In Blok Builders, LLC v. Katryniok, No. 4D16-1811, 2018 WL 637399 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Jan. 31, 2018), the District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District, overturned a trial court’s decision requiring a subcontractor to defend and indemnify a project owner based on a reference in the Subcontract which adopted and incorporated by reference…
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On March 15, 2018, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans voided the U.S. Department of Labor’s “fiduciary rule” adopted by the Obama administration in 2016 as a means to limit and reduce conflicts of interest among financial advisors providing retirement planning advice. The majority found in the case, Chamber of Commerce…
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Last week, the Eleventh Circuit in InComm Holdings, Inc. v. Great American Insurance Company affirmed a district court decision holding an insurer is not obligated to reimburse a prepaid debit card processer for a $10.7 million loss. The insured operated a network that sells “chits,” each of which has a specific monetary value, to consumers…
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