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Business Litigation

Justice Kavanaugh Moves Antitrust Law One Giant Step Forward

by Clyde E. Findley | March 14, 2019 | Business Litigation

On May 13, 2019, Justice Kavanaugh created a seismic shift in the world of antitrust law. He abandoned his fellow conservative justices on the Supreme Court and joined the liberal justices to author a 5-4 opinion holding that a class-action antitrust case filed by a group of consumers against Apple,…

Subcontractor Employee’s Alleged Disclosure Of Proprietary Bid And Proposal Information To A Competitor Is Not A Procurement Integrity Act Violation

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | March 13, 2019 | Business Litigation

The Procurement Integrity Act (PIA) restricts the disclosure and knowing obtainment of proprietary bid or proposal information before the award of a procurement to which the information relates. In a recent protest decision, GAO affirmed that the PIA applies only when the government is involved in the alleged misconduct, and…

SCOTUS Rules Eighth Amendment’s Ban On Excessive Fines Applies To States

by John W. Polk | February 26, 2019 | Business Litigation

Timbs v. Indiana, ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-1091 (20 February 2019) Eighth Amendment; excessive fines Tyson Timbs pled guilty in Indiana state court to dealing in heroin and conspiracy to commit theft. He was sentenced to one year of home detention and five years of probation, including addiction-treatment.

Getting Paid For Suing Your Employer? Virginia May Pass Wage Law Making This Reality

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 19, 2019 | Business Litigation

Under current Virginia law, employees have a difficult time collecting wages that are improperly withheld.  The costs of hiring a lawyer often outweigh the benefits of collecting the unpaid wages.  The remedies presently available to a Virginia employee seeking to collect earned wages are (1) file a complaint with the…

Is A State Robbery Offense That Has As An Element The Use Of Force Sufficient To Overcome A Victim’s Resistance Categorically A “violent felony” Under The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA)

by John W. Polk | February 14, 2019 | Business Litigation

Stokeling v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-5554 (15 January 2019) Denard Stokeling was either an inept criminal or just plain unlucky. In the course of his checkered career, he managed to acquire three felony convictions; home invasion, kidnapping, and robbery.  Then, he acquired a fourth felony conviction, being…

Supreme Court Unanimous-Independent Contractors Engaged In Interstate Commerce Are “Transportation Workers” Exempt From The Federal Arbitration Act

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | January 29, 2019 | Business Litigation

New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira, ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-340 (15 January 2019) Federal Arbitration Act; contracts of employment; statutory authority to compel arbitration In 1925, Congress enacted the Federal Arbitration Act (“the Act”), 9 U.S.C. §1 et seq., in an effort to counteract judicial hostility to arbitration…

New U.S. Privacy Initiatives:  FTC & NTIA Privacy Initiatives

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | January 15, 2019 | Business Litigation

  Last month, we looked at NIST’s efforts to develop a new Privacy Framework to supplement its widely used Cybersecurity Framework.  This month we review a couple of the Administration’s other data privacy initiatives, which reflect that further changes in data protection requirements are a…

New U.S. Privacy Initiatives:  FTC & NTIA Privacy Initiatives

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | January 15, 2019 | Business Litigation

  Last month, we looked at NIST’s efforts to develop a new Privacy Framework to supplement its widely used Cybersecurity Framework.  This month we review a couple of the Administration’s other data privacy initiatives, which reflect that further changes in data protection requirements are a…

The Small Business Runway Extension Act: Great News for Small Businesses… Eventually

by Terrence O’Connor | January 10, 2019 | Business Litigation

Growing small businesses facing the possible loss of small business status got two more years of “growing room” from Congress and the President on December 17th. On that day, the President signed The Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018 that changed to 5 years from 3 years…

Armed Career Criminal Act; meaning of the statutory term “burglary”

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | January 7, 2019 | Business Litigation

United States v, Stitt, ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-765 and 17-766 (10 December 2018) Armed Career Criminal Act; meaning of the statutory term “burglary” The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. §924(e)(2)(B)(ii) provides that if a person unlawfully possesses or transports a firearm and has three previous convictions for…