Client Alerts

On Sunday, December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the COVID-19 Economic Relief Bill into law.

When one agrees to a contractual agreement, he or she should focus on the clause selecting the forum for potential future disputes. There are two types of forum-selection clauses: permissive clauses and mandatory clauses. While permissive forum-selection clauses authorize jurisdiction and venue in a designated forum without excluding litigation elsewhere, mandatory forum-selection clauses exclusively designate a specific jurisdiction and venue for future disputes.

A USMCA Technical Amendment to the FY21 Omnibus Appropriation/Covid Relief Act allows post importation refunds of the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) for the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) participants.

On December 10, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule in furtherance of HHS’s Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care.

On December 9, 2020, Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, executed a symbolic agreement with labor unions and business leaders to negotiate a controversial amendment to Mexico’s Federal Labor law that would virtually prohibit all outsourcing practices (except for specialized work) in Mexico (the “Bill”).  

Last week, a bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would create new requirements regarding the issuance, management, and supervision of the digital asset class known as “stablecoins.”   

The London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR) will no longer be published by end of 2021 or possibly even sooner.

Last week, the CDC added two self-quarantine options for individuals who have been in “close contact” with someone with COVID-19. In so doing, however, the CDC did not change its standard recommendation that self-quarantine should last for 14 days from the last close contact with the infected person. Nonetheless, the CDC cited several studies suggesting that there is minimal risk associated with reducing the self-quarantine period, as described below.  

President-elect Joe Biden was quoted as recently as December 2019 saying that "[i]t's simple: companies should have to compete for workers just like they compete for customers . . . . We should get rid of noncompete clauses and no-poaching agreements that do nothing but suppress wages." 

Virtual currency has been a hot topic for some time, but a case filed last week presents a unique intersection of media law and cryptocurrency regulation. William Kraus and Jennifer Dukarski give their quick take on Binance v. Forbes. 

The allocation of 5.9GHz spectrum, a safety band originally allocated for transportation safety communications, was the subject of a meeting of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on November 18, 2020. The transportation community had encouraged the FCC to reserve access for vehicle use, but the decision of the FCC has put the industry in a position where it must question where future development efforts should be aimed.

Last week, the President of Mexico (Andrés Manuel López Obrador), citing his concerns of abusive and simulated practices in outsourcing practices, announced a bill aimed to virtually eliminate or substantially limit all employee outsourcing in Mexico (the “Bill”).

Recently, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor (the “Federal Agencies”) jointly issued a final regulation requiring that group health plans and health insurance issuers disclose certain pricing and cost-sharing information. The new regulation will ultimately require group health plan sponsors to revisit their contractual arrangements with their third party administrators and health insurance issuers to ensure compliance.

Yesterday evening, at 6:00 pm on November 15, 2020, Governor Whitmer announced new COVID-19 restrictions and mandates that will affect businesses, schools, and families. 

A recent federal court decision provides cautionary guidance for manufacturers or suppliers planning on terminating their dealers in a distributorship. In Keen Edge Co, Inc, v Wright Mfg, Inc, No. 19-1673, 2020 WL 4926664 (ED Wis, Aug. 21, 2020), the court held that the manufacturer was not allowed to terminate its business relationship with an exclusive dealer—temporarily trapping the manufacturer.

A bill expanding the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may provide safer medical devices to the American public amid the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as support manufacturers of legitimate medical devices, by addressing a loophole in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.  Counterfeit medical devices have been a danger in the U.S. supply chain for years, but their presence has been especially of concern during the current pandemic, when there have been shortages of products considered to be medical devices by the FDA, such as medical masks, surgical gowns and gloves, respirators, and other products.  Counterfeit medical devices may include various products like those mentioned above, but often depend on the intended use and labeling.

The Internal Revenue Service has recently announced cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for retirement plans (and other items) for 2021. 

For years, the healthcare industry has been on guard for ransomware attacks, and now, more than ever, healthcare leaders must continue to be vigilant. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have received credible information of an increased and imminent threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers. On October 28, 2020, the agencies issued a joint announcement (revised on October 29th) to advise healthcare providers to take timely and reasonable precautions against these threats.

Export control on artificial intelligence (“AI”) and machine learning algorithms should be considered by multinational automotive suppliers and OEMs, especially for those who have research and development (R&D) facilities overseas.

A lawsuit filed by three vinyl tile importers last month at the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) challenging the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) implementation of Section 301 “List 3” and “List 4” duties on products from China, HMTX Industries LLC et al. v. United States (Court No. 20-00177), has resulted in the filing of thousands of additional lawsuits brought by other affected importers.