In California Lawyer-Client Sex Will Soon Be A No-No
5/14/18
By: Greg Fayard
In California, lawyers can have consensual sex with their clients as long as it is not based on coercion or in exchange for legal services. That will change this Fall. On May 10, 2018, the California Supreme …
Insurance Company Adjuster May Be Liable for Bad Faith
5/14/18
By: Joyce Mocek
Recently a Washington Court of Appeals held that an insurance adjuster, employed by an insurance company, could be held personally liable for bad faith and violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act (CPA) in the context of …
Cybersecurity in Georgia Hits a Roadblock
5/14/18
By: Ze’eva Kushner
On May 8, 2018, Georgia’s Governor Nathan Deal made a controversial decision to veto a cybersecurity bill. Issued in the wake of the massive data breach of Atlanta-based Equifax, among other data breaches across the country, the …
"Lien On Me, When You're Insured …”*
5/11/18
*Apologies to Bill Withers.
By: Zach Moura
On May 8, 2018, the Court of Appeal, Second District, upheld a trial court’s decision that an insured plaintiff who chooses to receive treatment from providers who are outside of his private health …
A House of Cards: Stacking Inferences to Prove Liability
5/10/18
By: Melissa Santalone
A Florida appellate court recently reaffirmed Florida’s state law prohibition against stacking inferences in personal injury cases with a reversal of a $1.5 million verdict in a slip-and-fall case against Publix. In Publix Super Markets, Inc. v. …
Georgians: Hang Up and Drive
5/9/18
By: Wesley C. Jackson
Beginning July 1, 2018, it will be illegal for Georgians to hold their phones while driving. The new law was signed by Governor Nathan Deal on Wednesday May 2, 2018.
How might this new law effect …
FINRA Increases Penalties For Brokers’ Bad Behavior
5/8/18
By: Ted Peters
In further response to mounting pressure for securities regulators to exert greater control over problem brokers, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) released Regulatory Notice 18-17 on May 2, 2018. FINRA has long maintained a “rulebook” of …
Philadelphia's “Salary History Ban Law” Gets Banned!
5/7/18
By: John McAvoy
More than a half-century after President JFK signed the Equal Pay Act, the gender pay gap is still with us. Women earn 79 cents for every dollar men earn, according to the Census Bureau. What will it …
Alabama Becomes Last of the Fifty Nifty United States (and D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) to Pass a Data Breach Law
5/7/18
By: Robyn Flegal
Alabama has officially become the last of the 50 States to pass a data breach notification statute, which will go into effect on June 1, 2018. The Alabama Data Breach Notification Act of 2018 requires that covered …
New FINRA Proposals for High Risk Brokers
5/4/18
By: Theodore C. Peters
On April 30, 2018, FINRA published Regulatory Notice 18-16, captioned “High-Risk Brokers,” which seeks comment on proposed rule amendments that would place further restrictions on not only high-risk brokers, but also the member firms that …
2018 GA Legislative Session Adjournment Report
5/4/18
By: Allan J. Hayes
The Georgia General Assembly adjourned sine die the 2018 legislative session late night on March 29. What follows is a list and summary of all bills tracked by FMG this session. Governor Nathan Deal must sign
…
DOJ Fails to Challenge 5th Circuit Ruling Striking Fiduciary Rule
5/3/18
By: Theodore C. Peters
On March 15, 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal stuck down the “fiduciary rule” proposed by the Department of Labor (DOL), which required brokers to act in the best interests of their clients in retirement …