Purdue Pharma has potential to upend common channeling-and-release practice in bankruptcy courts
1/4/22
By: Travis Knobbe
For the most part, the nuances of bankruptcy law go unnoticed by our colleagues who do not frequent the bankruptcy courts. Some issues we deal with, however, have broad application to the practice of law generally. Consider, …
Massachusetts employer alert: termination for submitting personnel file rebuttal violates public policy
1/3/22
By: Jennifer Markowski and R. Victoria Fuller
On December 17, 2021 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held in Meehan v. Medical Information Technology, Inc. that the termination of an employee for submitting a rebuttal for inclusion in the employee’s personnel …
Employer alert: CDC updates mask and quarantine guidelines
1/3/22
By: Diandra Franks and R. Victoria Fuller
On December 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) once again updated its mask and quarantine guidelines. In this most recent update, the CDC shortened its recommended isolation and quarantine periods for the general public. These new …
A word to employers: EEOC advises COVID-19 may be a disability under the ADA
12/28/21
By: Julia Bover
COVID-19 and its related health conditions may now be considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Rehabilitation Act. On December 14, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued updated guidance on …
The Travis Scott concert tragedy and related insurance issues
12/27/21
By: Jessica C. Samford
Around the year-end holidays, news of tragic deaths is as shocking as it is heartbreaking. Just last month, ten people lost their lives from being trampled or crushed to death at a music festival in Houston, Texas. One of them was only 9 years old. In addition to the …
“Uninsured location” exclusion in homeowner’s policy precludes coverage for negligent misrepresentation claims.
12/23/21
By: David A. Slocum
The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently held, based on an “uninsured location” exclusion in a homeowner’s policy, that an insurer was not required to defend and indemnify an insured homeowner against a third-party’s negligent misrepresentation claim arising out of the …
Appellate Arguments in the Age of COVID
12/22/21
By: Philip Savrin
The COVID pandemic has impacted the practice of law in many ways including moratoriums on jury trials, conducting depositions remotely on ZOOM platforms, and courthouses being closed to the public. For the most part, however, the appellate …
Legal considerations for stethoscope hygiene in a new era of infection control (COVID-19)
12/21/21
By: Edward Solensky, Jr.
A recent article in American Heart Journal Plus: Cardiology Research and Practice discusses how stethoscopes may be implicated in medical malpractice lawsuits as a potential cause of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The authors note that while there …
6th Circuit reverses earlier injunction and reinstates OSHA’s Covid-19 vaccine or test mandate
12/20/21
By: Courtney M. Knight
On Friday, December 17, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an earlier stay by the Fifth Circuit, and allowed OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) to move ahead.
By way of background, on …
No mask required: Fifth Circuit grants stay in E.T. v. Paxton
12/16/21
By: Tia J. Combs
On July 29, 2021, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas issued Executive Order GA-38, which provided, among other things, that “[n]o governmental entity, including…a school district…and no governmental official may require any person to wear a face …
Squeezing blood from stones: an introduction to creditors’ rights
12/15/21
By: Travis Knobbe
Creditors’ rights, practiced properly, is a truly unique intersection in the law. When I clerked with the Honorable William F. Stone, Jr., in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia, he said a …
Update on upcoming Title IX regulations
12/14/21
By: Candice Jackson
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has updated its plans to issue amendments to Title IX regulations. In a statement by ED’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Catherine Lhamon, ED announced that the Department intends to publish proposed regulatory amendments in April 2022.
Under the previous …