North America

May 17, 2013

Third Circuit: President Obama’s Recess Appointments to the NLRB Were Unconstitutional

By Adam Abrahms of Epstein Becker & Green

By: Evan Rosen and Adam Abrahms

Yesterday, in a 2-1 decision, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals became the second appellate court to issue a ruling that President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) were constitutionally invalid because they did not occur during an “intersession recess” of the United States Senate.  The case comes a few months after the D.C Circuit’s ruling in Noel Canning, which similarly held that the recess appointments were invalid.  The Third Circuit and D.C. Circuit decisions, taken together, call into question the validity of a considerable number of decisions and rules that the Board has issued over the past few years.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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May 17, 2013

Trade Secret, Proprietary Information, & Regulatory Requirements Concerns Contribute To Veto of New Jersey Social Media Bill

By Michelle Capezza

By:  James P. Flynn

The New Jersey Legislature was overwhelmingly in favor of a measure that would have barred employers from obtaining social media IDs and other social media related information from employees and applicants. Click here for A2878 as passed. But Governor Chris Christie vetoed A-2878 because it would frustrate a business’s ability “to safeguard its business assets and proprietary information” and potentially conflict with regulatory requirements on businesses in regulated industries such as finance and healthcare. Click here for the Governor’s Veto Statement. While the Governor thought the bill well-intentioned, he conditionally vetoed it for painting “with too broad a brush,” citing the trade secrets/proprietary information concern as a primary motivation: “In view of the over-breadth of this well-intentioned bill, I return it with my recommendations that it be more properly balanced between protecting the privacy of employees and job candidates, while ensuring that employers may appropriately screen job candidates, manage their personnel, and protect their business assets and proprietary information.”

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May 16, 2013

Lawyers Urge Bahamas To Recognise Living Wills

By Halsbury Chambers

Originally published in the Tribune 242

Bahamians too frequently overlook the certainty of death, top attorneys and a medical expert warning that the failure to leave their financial house in order can leave loved ones and family vulnerable.

It could also place an undue burden on family or doctors to make end-of-life life and death decisions in a country where living wills, so accepted elsewhere, are not legally recognised. More…

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May 16, 2013

MORE STATES BAR COMPANIES FROM DEMANDING ACCESS TO EMPLOYEES’ SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

By Davis & Gilbert LLP

Nearly every state across the country is now considering, or has already enacted, legislation to prohibit employers from requiring employees and job applicants to provide access to their social media accounts, IDs or passwords. In addition, in some states, the legislation also extends to preclude universities from seeking this social media information from students or applicants. More…

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May 16, 2013

McDonald Hopkins Government Strategies Advisory: This Week in Washington–May 17, 2013

By McDonald Hopkins News

Second terms are notorious for generating scandals – regardless of the partisan political affiliation of the president. This week, President Obama faced a barrage of criticism over three separate dustups; the most significant – at least politically at this point – appears to be the admission of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that they singled out conservative groups for additional scrutiny.

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May 16, 2013

Franchises Alert: Ohio franchisors — Is your liquidated damages clause enforceable?

By McDonald Hopkins News

On October 31, 2012, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio denied a franchisor’s demand for liquidated damages against two franchisees. The case, Leisure Systems, Inc. v. Roundup LLC, provides guidelines for determining whether liquidated damages clauses are reasonably correlated to potential actual damages that could result from a breach of the franchise agreement or whether such provisions constitute an unenforceable penalty.

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May 16, 2013

Punitive Damages: Trademark and Copyright Infringement

By Larry Munn of Clark Wilson

The most recent case from the Federal Court continues the Court’s tough stance with respect to trademark and copyright infringement in Canada.

In Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Group LLC v. Manoukian, the Court awarded significant compensatory and punitive damages against the Defendant company and its principal.

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May 16, 2013

No FIFRA Preemption, No Problem!

By William A. Ruskin of Epstein Becker & Green

In Gresser v. Dow Chemical Co., Ind. Ct. App., No 79A02-1111-CT-1014, 4/30/13, the plaintiffs in this toxic tort case alleged that their children developed a variety of illnesses after a purported exposure to Dursban TC in their home following a pesticide application by the co-defendant pesticide applicator.

Plaintiffs alleged that defendants Dow Chemical Company and Dow Agrosciences (collectively, “Dow”) failed to use reasonable care to instruct about the use of the product; warn about its danger; and appropriately test the design of the product. Following discovery, both plaintiffs and Dow filed motions for summary judgment.

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May 16, 2013

Trade Secret, Proprietary Information, & Regulatory Requirements Concerns Contribute To Veto of New Jersey Social Media Bill

By James P. Flynn of Epstein Becker & Green

The New Jersey Legislature was overwhelmingly in favor of a measure that would have barred employers from obtaining social media IDs and other social media related information from employees and applicants. Click here for A2878 as passed.  But Governor Chris Christie vetoed A-2878 because it would frustrate a business’s ability “to safeguard its business assets and proprietary information” and potentially conflict with regulatory requirements on businesses in regulated industries such as finance and healthcare. Click here for the Governor’s Veto Statement. While the Governor thought the bill well-intentioned, he conditionally vetoed it for painting “with too broad a brush,” citing the trade secrets/proprietary information concern as a primary motivation: “In view of the over-breadth of this well-intentioned bill, I return it with my recommendations that it be more properly balanced between protecting the privacy of employees and job candidates, while ensuring that employers may appropriately screen job candidates, manage their personnel, and protect their business assets and proprietary information.”

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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May 16, 2013

Spring Fashion Series Part 2: Men’s Fashion

By Ronald R. Urbach of Davis & Gilbert LLP

Men’s fashion has evolved over the years to incorporate more styles and fashion forward items.  Other men’s-only retailers offer customers the option of designing their own custom dress shirts, providing choices of size, pattern, collar type, buttons, cuff link style, monogram options, and other features.  The custom tailored concept is very popular among men, young and old, and it is now being introduced in online shopping to make it more convenient for men to custom design their shirts without even going to retailers.  While the industry often focuses on women’s designers and luxury fashion houses when examining marketing and advertising initiatives, the world of men’s fashion cannot be ignored.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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