Client Alerts

Attorneys often have to correct common misunderstandings that clients have about certain legal principles. For example, whether attorney fees are recoverable in litigation and what is and is not covered by insurance. In the area of construction law, a common misconception for both construction professionals (e.g. construction companies, homebuilders, etc.) and non-construction professionals (e.g. property owners, homeowners, etc.) is the concept that exposure for all construction-related claims ends after the one-year warranty often found in construction contracts.  

On February 19, 2020, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (the “SBRA”) becomes effective. A small business debtor under the US Bankruptcy Code is a person or entity, other than the owner of a single asset real estate, that is engaged in commercial or business activities that has aggregate noncontingent liquidated secured and unsecured debt of not more than $2,725,625 (subject to periodic adjustment). The objective of the SBRA is to make it easier and less expensive for small businesses, considered by Congress to be the backbone of the American economy,  to reorganize and remain in business under Chapter 11. The SBRA makes a number of changes to the Bankruptcy Code that will decrease the costs of reorganizations and enable small business owners to retain control over their businesses.

At both the federal level and in Michigan, public policy favors enforcement of arbitration clauses. Arbitration is perceived as a faster, more flexible, less expensive way of having subject-matter experts resolve disputes, with limited appellate rights to promote finality. So, when your company contracts for these benefits, it important that your business agreements make it clear for the court just which disputes you intend to be arbitrated—some of them, those arising from events in the past, present, or future, or all of them.

With January now behind us, hopefully everyone is sticking to their New Year’s resolutions. But separate from those resolutions, many employers are experiencing increased employee resignations in early 2020. Indeed, most employers experience their highest employee turnover rate after the 1st of the year. Why?

The World Health Organization declared the spread of a new strain of coronavirus that is centered in China a “global health emergency” last week, sending global markets into a steep downward spiral, causing major global airlines to suspend flights to China, and resulting in the issuance of a “level 4” emergency warning by the US State Department admonishing citizens to avoid traveling there.

U.S. steel and aluminum producers were the intended beneficiaries of the Section 232 tariffs initiated by President Trump in 2018. Steel imports in 2019 dropped 17% year-over-year providing an opportunity for U.S.-based steel manufacturers to improve their market share to above 80%. 

On 01/09/2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) formally announced the implementation of the H-1B registration process for fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions.

Case to Watch:  Progress Michigan v. Attorney General

2019 brought with it numerous efforts to limit, restrict or outright ban the use of non-compete agreements. Those efforts occurred at both the state and federal level and some state actions were successful. But 2019 also brought with it a renewed effort at the federal level for change in the non-compete arena.

This is the second part of our discussion of issues arising in cross-border acquisitions, both inbound and outbound. 

In Michigan, the economic-loss doctrine bars tort remedies for nonperforming goods where the injury consists of damage to the goods themselves and any related property damage resulting from the nonperforming goods.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA” or the “Act”) became effective with the New Year.  While this may catch many off-guard, the good news is that due to some regulatory uncertainty, the California Attorney General has stated that official enforcement actions under the CCPA will not begin until July 1, 2020, four months after the finalized regulations are released on March 1, 2020. This does not mean, however, that companies can expect a free ride until then.

In a much-heralded ceremony on January 15, top delegates from China and the US, signed what was referred to as a Phase I trade deal between China and the US which hopefully will put a partial end to some of the contentious issues that have disrupted import supply chains and roiled the stock market.

Under the SECURE Act, which was signed into law in December 2019, important changes have been made to the required minimum distributions rules applicable to retirement accounts inherited from the original owner of the retirement account (the “account owner”). 

A recent decision by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida serves as yet another cautionary tale to employers seeking to hold former employees to the terms of their non-compete and non-solicitation agreements.

In an effort to assist employees in union organizing, in 2014 the National Labor Relations Board adopted what are commonly known as the “Quickie Election Rules”.  These rules moved election petitions forward at a greatly accelerated pace and focused on conducting a representation election within 21 days after a petition was first filed.

The saga involving the allocation of spectrum for connected cars by the Federal Communications Commission is a long and twisting one. 

The merger and acquisition market has been robust for quite a while. Many deals have a cross-border element, either because a non-U.S. purchaser is acquiring a U.S. target (an inbound deal) or a U.S. purchaser is acquiring a non-U.S. target (an outbound deal). Although purely domestic transactions have many common issues with cross-border deals, the latter also present considerations not present in domestic deals.

On December 19, 2019, the United States Department of Health & Human Services (“HHS”) and Department of Education (“DoE”) issued an updated Joint Guidance on the Application of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) And the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) To Student Health Records (“Guidance”). This updated Guidance replaced the original version, issued in November 2008, to address additional privacy concerns pertaining to Student Health Records.

On December 20, 2019, the President signed into law numerous changes to key Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) provisions concerning retirement plans.