Disaster Preparedness for Employers: Fifth Circuit Affirms the Importance of Proactive Practices in Responding to Discrimination and Harassment Complaints
3/20/23
By: Tia Combs and Allison Spears
In Hudson v. Lincare, Inc., the Fifth Circuit provided employers with a roadmap for the proper response to claims of co-worker harassment. As discussed below, the case exemplifies how prompt and deliberate action …
Real Estate Company Agrees to Settle Robocall Class Action for $40 Million
3/16/23
By: Matthew Foree
The days of large robocall class action settlements are not over. Keller Williams Realty, Inc. (“Keller Williams“) recently sought approval to settle a class action lawsuit alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act …
Business and Legal Considerations for Nursing Homes: Bill of Rights, Fee-Shifting, and Damage Caps for Assisted Living/Long-Term Care Facilities Within FMG’s National Footprint
3/13/23
By Lisa R. House, Paul-Michael La Fayette, and Kevin Ringel
Assisted living and long-term care facilities doing business or expanding into FMG’s national footprint should be aware of differences in state law that directly impact litigation involving their …
What Non-Union Employers Need to Know After NLRB Nixes Broad Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Clauses in Severance Agreements
3/10/23
By: Bob Chadwick and Gabriel Canto
As part of a permanent furlough in 2020, McLaren McComb, a union teaching hospital, offered 11 union employees severance agreements offering severance payments in exchange for releases of claims and the following clauses:
Clause…
Responding to a Growing Investment Advisor Industry
3/9/23
By: Andrew Iles
The fields of investment management and financial advising are ever growing. For example, the Securities and Exchange Commission recently stated that the number of Registered Investment Advisors (“RIAs”) has ballooned by 25% since 2016, and now covers …
Supreme Court Limits Liability for Failure to Accurately Report Foreign Bank Accounts
3/6/23
By: Nancy Reimer and Cara Alexiou
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court limited an individual’s liability under 31 U.S.C. § 5314 for failure to accurately report foreign bank accounts to the government. Bittner v. United States, No. 21-1195, 598 …
Massachusetts Appeals Court Clarifies Scope of the Statute of Repose
3/3/23
By: David Slocum
In a recent decision, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has clarified the scope of the significant protections afforded by the Massachusetts statute of repose to design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, and others involved with improvements to real property. …
The end of the Covid-19 public health emergency: impacts for hospitals, healthcare providers, and telehealth
3/2/23
By: Kevin Ringel and Lisa House
On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced that the Covid-19 public health emergency will end on May 11, 2023. The public health emergency has been in effect since the start of the pandemic …
To Arbitrate or Not to Arbitrate: That Is The Question
3/1/23
By: Jessica Farrelly and Jessica Cauley
How broadly can an employer apply an arbitration agreement? In Espinoza v. Peoplease, LLC, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently evaluated the right to compel arbitration …
Supreme Court of Texas upholds order erroneously drafted by legal counsel as final judgment
2/28/23
By: Robert Chadwick
In Texas state courts, legal counsel are generally asked to draft proposed orders and judgments for execution by district and county court judges. A February 10, 2023 per curiam opinion by the Supreme Court of Texas in …
Overview of Midwest Sanitary, Inc. v. Sandberg, Phoenix, and Von Gontard, P.C.
2/27/23
Chicago partner, Donald Patrick Eckler, was published in the Winter Edition of Association of Defense Trial Attorneys commenting on the recent decision of the Illinois Supreme Court in Midwest Sanitary, Inc. v. Sandberg, Phoenix, and Von Gontard, P.C., 2022 IL …
Illinois Supreme Court Find BIPA Claims Accrue Upon Each Scan and/or Disclosure
2/23/23
By Pat Eckler, Amy Frantz, Glenn Klinger, Michael Sanders, and Jonathan Schwartz
The long-awaited decision from the Illinois Supreme Court on how claims accrue under Subsections 15(b) and 15(d) of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, …