Insights on Complex Litigation

Confirming decades of established precedent, the California Supreme Court recently concluded in Nationwide Biweekly Administration, Inc. v. Superior Court of Alameda County, that there is no right to a jury trial in Unfair Competition Law (UCL) or False Advertising Law (FAL) actions.

In today’s episode, we continue our conversation on “Force Majeure” with Partners Barbara Wahl and Bernice Leber. Our lawyers cover a few of the first COVID-related lawsuits filed, important trends, and ways to leverage mediation to avoid costly litigation.

Following two recent federal court decisions, states and municipalities that otherwise qualify for state action immunity from federal antitrust laws remain unlikely to lose it for allegedly acting as market participants.

The new bill, which follows April 23, 2020 legislation aimed at opening COVID-19 emergency response funding to cannabis businesses, offers a previously unclear path forward for financial services to the cannabis industry by amending the current restrictive regulatory framework on banking.

AF International Co-Leader and Litigation Partner Malcolm McNeil was recently quoted in a Law360 article titled “Will.i.am’s Co. Ordered To Pay Costs Award To Tech Investors.”

On May 6, 2020, Judge Richard G. Stearns of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts put the brakes on an attempt by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey to alter the relationship between collectors and consumer debtors during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the wake of the coronavirus, businesses and courts remain shuttered as a result of stay-at-home government orders.

As the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the nation, consumers and businesses alike are resorting to class action litigation to air their grievances.

It feels like only yesterday that we were discussing the seminal 2018 DC Circuit case, PHH Corp. v. CFPB, the first decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau).

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business has recognized 29 Arent Fox LLP attorneys as leaders in their field.

The US Department of Justice issued a business review letter on April 16, 2020, that confirms trade associations can remain relevant and valuable as they manage an escalated emphasis on supporting online marketplaces.

Effective April 17, 2020, additional temporary rules have been added to the California Rules of Court in response to COVID-19.

The case reveals the Trump administration’s express recognition of the importance of the bureau’s work and highlights the declining ability of companies to challenge bureau investigations on constitutional grounds.

A Maryland federal District Court Judge declined to issue an emergency temporary restraining order on April 13, which was intended to remove eligibility restrictions put in place by Bank of America under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act’s Paycheck Protection Program. 

Zoom Video Communications, the remote conferencing service whose usage has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been sued in California federal court in two putative class action cases alleging, among other claims, violations of users’ privacy rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act.

To sustain essential court services in California state courts, the Judicial Council, headed by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, announced the adoption of Emergency Rules to the California Rules of Court, to immediately go into effect as of April 6, 2020. 

In today’s episode, we talked with Barbara Wahl about “Force Majeure” and possible defenses that may be available to avoid performance under a contract due to Coronavirus and the Government Orders related to the pandemic.

In this webinar, members of Arent Fox’s COVID-19 Task Force provide an overview of Force Majeure and Related Common Law Principles. This includes analysis of the enforcement of force majeure, issues surrounding neutralizing key clauses, and critical bankruptcy questions.

Law360

On March 30, 2020, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey affirmed an award of spoliation sanctions, forensic audit, and attorney’s fees in favor of Arent Fox client Sabinsa Corporation.

The result of such denials was not just academic; as a practical matter, they have paved the way forward for the Bureau to continue its investigatory work over the constitutional objections asserted by regulated entities. 

If history is any guide, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will provide many opportunities for fraudsters to separate the desperate and vulnerable from their money and personal information.

The typical path for the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice when it determines that a contemplated merger is anticompetitive is to sue in federal court to block the merger.

As the COVID-19 pandemic reaches further into all corners of the United States, a bevy of federal, state, and local emergency orders aimed at slowing the outbreak’s spread continues to impact an increasing number of industries and workers. 

International Co-Leader and Litigation Partner Malcolm McNeil participated in a 3 part online series on coronavirus-related business and legal developments hosted by the Beverly Hills Bar Association.