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Public Policy
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July 22, 2025
9th Circ. Rejects Gun Club's Bid For Permitting Cost Coverage
An insurer for a Washington shooting club had no duty to cover roughly $400,000 in costs to secure proper site development permits after county officials won a public nuisance lawsuit against the club, the Ninth Circuit ruled, finding the club can't be covered for its deliberate actions.
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July 22, 2025
FCC Urged To Exempt Private Networks In Foreign Owner Rule
Private networks that offer public safety and industrial communications shouldn't be required to fill out new paperwork saying they aren't under the thumb of foreign adversaries, a nonprofit group told the Federal Communications Commission.
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July 22, 2025
Colo. Ballot Proposal Seeks Tax Break For Overtime, Tips
Colorado would exempt overtime and tipped income from state taxation under a proposed 2026 ballot measure reviewed Tuesday by state officials.
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July 22, 2025
Ethics Appeal Over Columbia Letter Nixed As Judge Joins USDA
In its first decision of 2025, the Judicial Conference's conduct committee on Tuesday dismissed a challenge to the Seventh Circuit Judicial Council's decision to toss ethics claims against a U.S. Court of International Trade judge who threatened not to hire law clerks from Columbia University over the school's handling of Israel protests.
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July 22, 2025
AST Plan Called Threat To Amateur Satellite Signals
A nonprofit amateur satellite organization is fighting an application from AST SpaceMobile to launch hundreds of satellites for space-based cellular service, saying the company's proposal to use the 430-440 megahertz frequencies for telemetry and command could cause interference with amateur satellites active in the band.
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July 22, 2025
Transportation Cases To Watch: Midyear Report 2025
Litigation concerning whether local delivery drivers qualify as transportation workers exempt from arbitration and clashes over the scope of federal preemption in personal injury cases involving freight brokers and motor carriers are among the court battles that transportation attorneys are watching in the latter half of 2025.
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July 22, 2025
8th Circ. Axes Witness Tampering Verdict In Kidnapping Case
The Eighth Circuit upheld the kidnapping conviction of a man who held a woman at gunpoint and forced her to drive across state lines, but it vacated his attempted witness tampering conviction, holding that there wasn't enough evidence.
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July 22, 2025
Native Groups Reject Trump's Call For Old Team Names
Two Native American advocacy groups are condemning President Donald Trump's threat to kill a $3 billion plan for the new Washington Commanders stadium if the NFL team's former name isn't reinstated, saying Indigenous cultures are not past relics, mascots or forms of entertainment.
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July 22, 2025
Sable Aims To Sink Groups' Suit Over Calif. Oil Platforms
Sable Offshore Corp. told a California federal judge that green groups didn't follow proper litigation notice rules, dooming their lawsuit alleging the federal government failed to require the company to update safety and pollution control plans at drilling facilities.
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July 22, 2025
EU Deepens Look Into Universal Music $775M Downtown Deal
European Union antitrust enforcers kicked off an in-depth probe Tuesday into Universal Music Group's bid to buy Downtown Music Holdings, raising concerns that the $775 million transaction could give UMG access to the "commercially sensitive data of its rival record labels" held by Downtown.
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July 22, 2025
NJ Judges End Habba's Tenure, Bondi Removes Replacement
The New Jersey federal district court brought Alina Habba's run as interim U.S. attorney to an end Tuesday by not extending her tenure in the temporary role past 120 days.
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July 22, 2025
NY To Make Prison Phone Calls Free, Saving Families Millions
Phone calls for inmates in New York state prisons will soon be free of charge, officials announced Tuesday — a policy shift advocates say will save more than $13 million annually for families of incarcerated people and strengthen ties that are crucial to rehabilitation and public safety.
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July 22, 2025
Missouri Solicitor General, State Judge Secure Federal Seats
The Senate confirmed two nominees on Tuesday to serve on Missouri federal courts.
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July 22, 2025
Judge Blocks Some Planned Parenthood Cuts In Partial Ruling
A Massachusetts federal judge partially blocked a measure passed by Congress this month stripping Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood-affiliated facilities, but only as it applies to those that do not provide abortions or that receive minimal federal support.
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July 22, 2025
Ore. Extends Brownfield Development Tax Breaks
Oregon extended its program of local property tax incentives for brownfield development by six years under a bill signed by the governor.
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July 22, 2025
Ala. Pot Regulators Seek Dismissal Of Retaliation Suit
Alabama medical cannabis regulators have urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from a prospective medical marijuana business that was denied a license, or abstain from the matter entirely, because similar cases are pending in state court.
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July 21, 2025
Revived Effort To Break Up 9th Circ. Makes Its Way To Senate
Idaho Republicans have reintroduced a U.S. Senate bill that looks to split up the Ninth Circuit and create a new Twelfth Circuit, according to an announcement made Monday, roughly nearly seven months after a similar bill was introduced in the House.
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July 21, 2025
Md. Judges Slam 'Unprecedented' Suit Over Habeas Orders
Maryland federal judges on Monday pressed a Virginia federal judge to throw out the Trump administration's "unprecedented" suit challenging their standing order that temporarily blocks deportation of detained noncitizens who file habeas petitions, warning that if the suit succeeds, "it will not be the last."
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July 21, 2025
Trump Asks DC Circ. To Block FTC Dem's Reinstatement
The Trump administration on Monday asked the D.C. Circuit to pause a Thursday order restoring a fired Federal Trade Commission Democrat's job, arguing that the ruling defies recent U.S. Supreme Court orders staying similar reinstatements at other independent agencies.
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July 21, 2025
The Biggest Telecom Developments Of 2025: Midyear Report
It's been a headline-grabbing year in communications law so far, with the U.S. Supreme Court handing down a major win for federal programs that help pay for broadband deployment and a new Republican chief at the nation's telecom agency ushering in a rule-slashing agenda.
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July 21, 2025
Sinclair Stations Clear Up FCC's Kid TV Enforcement
Sinclair Broadcast Group stations that aired Hot Wheels commercials during a children's Hot Wheels program in violation of Federal Communications Commission rules are settling with the agency after their owner inked a deal allowing the parent company to avoid a $2.6 million fine.
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July 21, 2025
FCC Waives Rules To Use Radar Digging In Construction
Rod Radar has convinced the Federal Communications Commission to grant it a waiver that would allow it to hook ground-penetrating radar to excavator buckets to help avoid underground infrastructure like utility lines.
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July 21, 2025
Man Tweaks Suit Over Gun Purchase Ban Tied To Pot Conviction
A man who claims he was wrongly denied the right to buy a gun despite his four-decades-old marijuana felony being expunged has tweaked his legal efforts, dropping the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as defendants in his lawsuit in Kansas federal court.
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July 21, 2025
DC Circ. Urged To Leave FERC Project Approvals Alone
Grid operator Southwest Power Pool Inc. urged the D.C. Circuit to deny utility petitions challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of four transmission projects developed by Kansas-based Sunflower Electric Power Corp.
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July 21, 2025
Nonprofits Take Aim At New HUD Grant Rules
A coalition of nonprofit groups filed suit Monday in Rhode Island federal court, challenging new conditions for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants that target diversity, equity and inclusion programs; abortion access; and transgender individuals.
Expert Analysis
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Section 899 Could Be A Costly Tax Shift For US Borrowers
Intended to deter foreign governments from applying unfair taxes to U.S. companies, the proposal adding new Section 899 to the Internal Revenue Code would more likely increase tax burdens on U.S. borrowers than non-U.S. lenders unless Congress limits its scope, says Michael Bolotin at Debevoise.
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Calif. Bar Exam Fiasco Shows Why Attys Must Disclose AI Use
The recent revelation that a handful of questions from the controversial California bar exam administered in February were drafted using generative artificial intelligence demonstrates the continued importance of disclosure for attorneys who use AI tools, say attorneys at Troutman.
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The Sentencing Guidelines Are Commencing A New Era
Sweeping new amendments to the U.S. sentencing guidelines — including the elimination of departure provisions — intended to promote transparency and individualized justice while still guarding against unwarranted disparities will have profound consequences for all stakeholders, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
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The State Of Play For Bank Merger Act Applications
Both the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent reversal of changes to its bank merger policies and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s rescission of its 2024 statement may be relevant for all banks considering a transaction, as responsibility for review depends on the identity of the parties and the transaction structure, say attorneys at Davis Polk.
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Del. Corporate Law Rework May Not Stem M&A Challenges
While Delaware's S.B. 21 introduced significant changes regarding controllers and conflicted transactions by limiting what counts as a controlling stake and improving safe harbors, which would seem to narrow the opportunities to challenge a transaction as conflicted, plaintiffs bringing shareholder derivative claims may merely become more resourceful in asserting them, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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State AGs' Focus On Single-Firm Conduct Is Gaining Traction
Despite changes in administration, both federal antitrust agencies and state attorneys general have shown a trending interest in prosecuting monopolization cases involving single-firm conduct, with federal and state legislative initiatives encouraging and assisting states’ aggressive posture, says Steve Vieux at Bartko Pavia.
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What Parity Rule Freeze Means For Plan Sponsors
In light of a District of Columbia federal court’s recent decision to stay litigation challenging a Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act final rule, as well as federal agencies' subsequent decision to hold off on enforcement, attorneys at Morgan Lewis discuss the statute’s evolution and what plan sponsors and participants can expect going forward.
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Max Pressure On Iran May Raise Secondary Sanctions Risk
New sanctions designations announced June 6 are the latest in a slew of actions the administration has taken to put pressure on Iran’s military programs and petroleum exports that will likely increase non-U.S. businesses’ secondary sanctions risk, says John Sandage at Berliner Corcoran.
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Platforms Face Section 230 Shift From Take It Down Act
The federal Take It Down Act, signed into law last month, aims to combat deepfake pornography with criminal penalties for individual wrongdoers, but the notice and takedown provisions change the broad protections provided by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in ways that directly affect platform providers, say attorneys at Troutman.
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4 Midyear Employer Actions To Reinforce Compliance
The legal and political landscape surrounding what the government describes as unlawful diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives has become increasingly complex over the past six months, and the midyear juncture presents a strategic opportunity to reinforce commitments to legal integrity, workplace equity and long-term operational resilience, say attorneys at Krevolin & Horst.
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ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ's Guidance Withdrawal Deepens Industry Uncertainty
Following the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent withdrawal of dozens of guidance documents in a post-Chevron world, financial services providers are left to make their own determinations about the complex issues addressed in the now-revoked materials, presenting a significant compliance burden, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.
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Justices Widen Gap Between Federal, Calif. Enviro Reviews
While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent opinion in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, narrowed the scope of National Environmental Policy Act reviews, it may have broadened the gulf between reviews conducted under NEPA and those under the California Environmental Quality Act, say attorneys at Hanson Bridgett.
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In 2nd Place, Va. 'Rocket Docket' Remains Old Reliable
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia was again one of the fastest civil trial courts in the nation last year, and an interview with the court’s newest judge provides insights into why it continues to soar, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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SEC Signals Opening For Private Fund Investment Reform
At SEC Speaks in late May, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made clear that it's considering allowing registered funds of private funds to be offered broadly to true retail investors, meaning existing funds should review their disclosures focusing on conflicts of interest, liquidity and fees, say attorneys at Stradley Ronon.
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CIPA May Not Be Necessary To Protect Ad Tech Plaintiffs
A California bill designed to protect businesses from advertising technology claims under the California Invasion of Privacy Act by amending the act retroactively has been highly contested by various consumer advocacy groups, but other existing law may sufficiently protect any plaintiff who suffers actual harm from such tech, says Justin Donoho at Duane Morris.