Monthly Archives: March 2013

March 29, 2013

Supreme Court Raises Bar for Class Certification

By Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

By Stuart Gerson

Wage-hour lawsuits filed under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) represent one of the fastest growing and most problematic areas of litigation facing employers today, especially when such cases are brought as collective actions. A recent Supreme Court case based in class action analysis provides a potentially-useful analog for employers to stave off such collective actions.

Class action criteria are set forth in Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, and they allow for one or more individual named plaintiffs to sue on behalf of a large – sometimes very large – group of unnamed employees, where: 1) the number of putative class members is so large that it would be impractical for them to participate; 2) where the putative class claims are defined by common questions of law or fact; 3) where the representative plaintiffs’ claims or defenses are typical of those of everyone else; and 4) where the named plaintiffs will fairly and adequately represent the interests of the rest of the putative class. 

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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ILN Today Post
March 29, 2013

Week of March 25, 2013 on ILNToday – A Roundup

By Lindsay Griffiths of ILN

Here we are again, at another Friday, and for me, it’s a holiday weekend! It’s been another busy week here at the ILN, so I’m glad to be taking an early day today. Once again, we’ve seen a lot of content come through ILNToday, so let’s jump into the roundup!

  • Changes to Ohio’s asset protection planning from McDonald Hopkins: McDonald Hopkins delves into the changes to Ohio’s asset protection planning, as House Bill 479, known as the Ohio Asset Management Modernization Act (AMMA) took effect on March 27th.
  • Work is biggest cause of stress in people’s lives from Miller Samuel: Miller Samuel discusses the results of a recent study that revealed something most people could guess – work is the biggest cause of stress in people’s lives. 
Posted in Zen & the Art of Legal Networking
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ILN Today Post
March 29, 2013

Real Estate Investment in England and Wales

By Fladgate LLP

Introduction

Historically there has been significant investment by overseas individuals and corporations in property in England and Wales and in particular in central London which is perceived as a safe haven for overseas investors.

Much of the recent overseas investment has been focussed on residential property, but there has also been substantial investment in commercial property. More…

Posted in Europe | Legal Updates
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ILN Today Post
March 29, 2013

Recent developments of interest to trust practitioners

By Fladgate LLP

The Supreme Court has been busy. Two final appeals in matters of interest to trust practitioners have been heard in the past few weeks. Judgment is awaited on the appeals in Petrodel Resources Limited & others v Prest & others (1) and the conjoined appeals in Pitt v Holt and Futter v Futter (2). The note below should whet the appetite for those judgments. More…

Posted in Europe | Legal Updates
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ILN Today Post
March 29, 2013

Employment update

By Fladgate LLP

Good News for Employers

March 2013: The Equality Act 2010 provisions dealing with discrimination questionnaires will be repealed by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill 2012-13 as part of the Government’s ongoing quest to reduce red tape in discrimination cases. This is despite the fact that 83% of the responses to the Government’s consultation on this issue opposed the move. As discrimination questionnaires are often used by (potential) claimants purely as a tactic to prompt an early cash settlement, most employers will welcome the change. More…

Posted in Europe | Legal Updates
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ILN Today Post
March 28, 2013

An Interplay of Canadian Official Marks and Canadian Trademarks

By Larry Munn of Clark Wilson

A February 2010 blog, “Professional Designations and Abbreviations, Acronyms and Initials” discussed the summary judgment and permanent injunction obtained by the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of British Columbia (“the College”) against the Council of Natural Medicine College of Canada (“the Council”) pursuant to which certain trademarks which the Council had registered, such D.C.T.M (DOCTOR OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE) and REGISTERED D.P.C.M, were expunged on the basis that the marks were clearly descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive (contrary to s.12(1)(b) of the Trade-Marks Act) and recognised in Canada as designating the services of doctors of Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncturists (and therefore contrary to s.10).  The Council was also enjoined from registering similar trademarks.  The Council appealed this decision, but subsequently discontinued the appeal.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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ILN Today Post
March 28, 2013

HEALTH REFORM: OIG Issues Updated Guidelines for Evaluating State False Claims Acts: Is More State Litigation on the Horizon?

By Epstein Becker & Green

On March 15, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) released the UpdatedOIG Guidelines for Evaluating State False Claims Acts (“2013 Guidelines”),[1] which replaces the original version released in 2006 (“2006 Guidelines”). The 2013 Guidelines describe OIG’s methodology for determining whether a state’s Medicaid false claims law satisfies the four requirements in Section 1909(b) of the Social Security Act (“Act”) that are necessary to qualify for a 10-percentage-point increase in the state share of Medicaid-related false claims recoveries.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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ILN Today Post
March 28, 2013

HEALTH REFORM: Federally Facilitated Exchanges Are Almost Ready

By Epstein Becker & Green

On March 1, 2013, the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (“CCIIO”) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released lengthy and detailed draft guidance[1] regarding the federally facilitated exchanges (“FFEs”) that will operate in the 26 states[2] that have chosen not to establish their own exchange or partner with CMS. Although the guidance was issued in draft form, CCIIO and CMS allowed only two weeks for the public to submit comments and, as described below, CMS intends to start accepting issuer applications to the FFEs on April 1, 2013. As such, it seems unlikely that the guidance will be materially revised.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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March 28, 2013

Affordable Care Act Implementation Regulations Webcast: What Retail Employers Need to Know Now!

By Epstein Becker & Green

 Tuesday, April 30, 2013

 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EDT/ 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. PDT

To register, please click here.

Please join Epstein Becker Green’s Labor & Employment and Employee Benefits practitioners as they review the Affordable Care Act and its ongoing impact on retail employers and their group health plans and programs.

U.S. government agencies are moving quickly to implement the Affordable Care Act. Rules have been released over the past few months concerning participation in health benefit exchanges; the 90-day waiting period limitation; employer responsibility penalties; discrimination based on pre-existing conditions; and expanded employment-based wellness programs.

This webcast will provide an update on the implementation of the law, including planning for 2014 and beyond, and will focus on how the law will impact retail employers both large and small, and what they should do now to plan for it.

During this program, Epstein Becker Green practitioners will discuss:

• The structure of the law and basic concepts affecting retail employers
• The Affordable Care Act implementation timeline
• Critical employer decision making and planning for 2014
• New developments

Presenting Epstein Becker Green Attorneys:

Michelle Capezza, Member, Employee Benefits
Gretchen Harders, Member, Employee Benefits
Jeffrey M. Landes, Member, Labor and Employment

Registration Is Complimentary and Reservations Are Limited. Don’t Miss This Opportunity!

To register, please click here.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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March 28, 2013

Understanding the FTC’s Expansion of COPPA: A Conversation with the Director of the Children’s Advertising Review Unit

By Ronald R. Urbach of Davis & Gilbert LLP

Surrounding a breakfast seminar, which was held at Davis & Gilbert today entitled, “Complying with the FTC’s Final Amendments to its COPPA Rule: What You Need to Know,” I thought a great post would be to examine that very topic.  In addition, I had the chance to speak to Wayne Keeley Director of the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus and interview him as my Q&A guest this week.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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