Client Alerts

Your business suffered a loss on a project resulting in damage to your work or the Owner’s property, and you filed a claim with your Commercial General Liability insurance carrier expecting coverage and indemnification. However, if your insurer believes a policy may not provide coverage for a claim, the first response you are likely to receive from your insurer is a reservation of rights letter.

In late January, the market was upended when shares of video game retailer GameStop suddenly climbed from roughly $30 to $347.

As we reach a year of combatting COVID-19, a vaccine has finally emerged, but with that vaccine, come distribution challenges, and, additionally, the virus has mutated and created a new hazard.

A number of significant new legal requirements for employee benefit plans were packed into the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”), which passed on December 27, 2020.

Last week, a three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade unanimously rejected the authority of former President Trump to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. 

On January 29, 2021, OSHA issued “Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace.”

While the new Biden administration is working on a long-term prosecutorial policy, as of January 29th, federal prosecutors should focus on an “individualized assessment” of relevant facts.

When Stellantis became the 4th largest automaker in the world after the PSA-FCA merger, it reinforced the global nature of the automotive industry and the interest global companies (e.g. former PSA) have in doing business in the United States. 

On January 22, 2021, Tesla filed a trade-secret theft Complaint against a software engineer that had been with the company for just three days, serving as an important reminder to businesses that the discovery of unauthorized use of protected information requires swift action to mitigate harm.

In our last Client Alert, we discussed the future of Section 301 duties on Chinese imports that have affected the auto industry and the possibility of the repeal of these tariffs under the Biden Administration.

In two recent cases, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has for the first time brought criminal antitrust charges against businesses for entering into agreements to not vigorously compete for employees.  Both cases were brought against healthcare entities.

Our last Client Alert to the auto industry on January 19th broadly outlined areas involving trade laws that automakers should be aware of for 2021. Many of these involve potential changes in existing laws, practices, and policies that impact the automotive industry. Among the most important of these are tariffs imposed on imports from China pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Starting April 3, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B petitions. This suspension may last up to 6 months. Because Fiscal Year 2018 cap-subject H-1B petitions cannot be filed before April 3, 2017, this suspension will apply to all petitions filed under H-1B regular cap and master’s cap for this year. The suspension also applies to cap exempt petitions, extensions, and amendments. Under premium processing employers have been able to have a decision made on their H-1B Petitions in 15 calendar days for an additional fee of $1225. Regular processing of H-1B petitions can take several months. The unavailability of premium processing may result in significant issues for employees including the ability to travel and obtain new visas. Some States such as Michigan also limit the expiration of the driver’s license to the expiration of the immigration status. The unavailability of premium processing will affect an H-1B worker’s ability to seek renewal of his or her driver’s license.

To keep abreast of important developments in the automotive industry in 2021, last week we provided the first of a series of regular updates.  Last week, we focused on “Research and Development Opportunities Expand for US Vehicle and Equipment Manufacturers”.  This week, we begin the first of a series of Client Alerts on various trade-related issues that we expect the automotive industry (and others) to face in 2021.

FCA issued new terms and conditions effective January 1, 2021. The only material changes are to Section 13, governing service part supply and pricing obligations. Unfortunately for suppliers, the changes increase their service part obligations. 

When Congress enacted the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) through the CARES Act in March 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic, businesses rushed to apply for this federal aid to bridge them through the initial lockdowns and operational restrictions imposed across the country. 

On December 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sent shockwaves through the digital asset industry with a Southern District of New York action alleging that Ripple Labs, Inc. improperly raised over $1.3 billion through a years’ long unregistered securities offering.

Michigan property owners will be receiving their real property tax Notice of Assessment within the next few weeks.  Property owners may find that they are being assessed using inflated taxable values, especially in light of the pandemic and if they have not recently appealed their property tax assessments.

2020 saw an increase in enforcement action by the Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) regarding noncompliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules, with penalties ranging from $3,500 to $6.85 million.

A recent decision by the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit conclusively answered that question with a clear “no.”