FMG’s BlogLine features an array of articles written by our attorneys who cover recent legal trends and developments both locally and nationally. Explore our blogs on a multitude of legal and industry topics.
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, 740 ILCS 14/1 (“BIPA”), brings no better a result for businesses and their insurance carriers than the Court’s recent…
2/16/23
By Thomas K. McCraw, Jr., Esq. and Alexandra F. Held, Esq. Both federal and state law impose an affirmative duty on defendants to preserve relevant evidence to a legal action involving their organizations—but when exactly does this duty begin? On remand from the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Business Litigation Session of the Superior Court recently…
Massachusetts Appeals Court Rejects Double Taxation Argument
2/16/23
By Sean Andrés Rapela and Ben N. Dunlap In Murrow v. Bd. of Assessors of Bos., the petitioner Murrow, a Boston taxpayer, asserted the City of Boston (the “City”) cannot tax both the common area of a condominium, owned by the unit owners, and her easement interest in a parking space on the same land.…
Florida Supreme Court Finds Appraisers Cannot Have Pecuniary Interest in Outcome of Appraisal
2/15/23
By Jessica Cauley and Jonathan Schwartz The Florida Supreme Court weighed in and resolved a conflict between district courts regarding appraised property claims and held that an insured’s public adjuster, who accepts an assignment on a contingent fee basis, is not a disinterested appraiser under a standard homeowners insurance policy. Parrish v. State Farm Florida…
2/9/23
By: Jessica Gray Kelly & Ryan Giggi On February 2, 2023, Massachusetts’s Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) upheld a real estate broker’s right to recover lost commissions after her clients breached an oral exclusivity contract and purchased a home on their own. The decision, Biping Huang v. Jing Ma, clarifies that exclusive broker contracts need not be…
CHATGPT AND COVERAGE B: What Copyright Liability Exposures Could AI Users Face?
2/9/23
By Alexia R. Roney and Matthew F. Boyer Previously, we introduced you to ChatGPT and the concept of an AI Chatbot application here. This week, we discuss the legal exposure that comes hand-in-hand with the internet – copyright infringement, 17 U.S.C. § 501, and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), 17 U.S.C. § 1201-1205. ChatGPT…
California’s Attorney General Is Investigating Mobile Apps’ Compliance with the CCPA
2/8/23
By: Robert Buckley California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s recent press release puts companies that are subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”) on notice that they should determine whether their mobile apps comply with the CCPA’s requirements. On January 27, 2023, Attorney General Bonta announced an “investigative sweep” that involved “sending letters to…
Illinois Supreme Court Shifts BIPA Landscape with 5-Year Limitations Period Applicable to All Claims
2/7/23
By Pat Eckler, Amy Frantz, Glenn Klinger, Michael Sanders, and Jonathan Schwartz Finding all claims under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1 (“BIPA”), subject to a five-year statute of limitations, the Illinois Supreme Court’s February 2, 2023 Opinion in Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, Inc., 2023 IL 127801 continues the assault on Illinois’…
New York’s 175-Year-Old Wrongful Death Statute Lives on
2/2/23
By Lisa R. House and Josh Ferguson New York Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed the Grieving Families Act this week. The bill expanded who could recover for the wrongful death of a family member, the type of damages that could be awarded to those individuals, and the time to bring a wrongful death lawsuit. The bill…