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A group of freelance writers and editors backed by the Pacific Legal Foundation filed the first lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s new rule making it more difficult for companies to treat some workers as independent contractors, reports Dan Wiessner.
The rule is widely expected to increase labor costs for businesses in industries that rely on contract labor or freelancers, including trucking, manufacturing, healthcare and app-based “gig” services. The four freelance workers who filed the lawsuit in Georgia federal court say the rule unveiled last week is so vague that it violates the U.S. Constitution.
The rule, which is scheduled to take effect March 11, is expected to face more legal challenges. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has said it is considering suing, and Republicans in Congress have also said they will move to repeal the rule through legislation.
When it issued the rule, the U.S. Department of Labor said it was meant to clarify the test for determining whether workers are independent contractors or employees. The department referred a request for comment to the U.S. Department of Justice, which declined to comment.
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- North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls said a state judicial ethics panel dropped an investigation concerning comments she made about the lack of diversity in the state’s courts without recommending any discipline. Earls, one of two Democrats and the only Black woman on the seven-member state high court, also said she was dropping a lawsuit accusing the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission of chilling her free speech. The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- Former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone joined the law firm founded by Trump-era U.S. Attorney General William Barr and former Facebook general counsel Ted Ullyot, part of a key expansion of the year-old firm Torridon Law in Washington, D.C. Patrick Philbin and Kate Todd, who both served as White House deputy counsel, are among the lawyers also joining from Ellis George.
- A Black former associate at Troutman Pepper sued the law firm in D.C. federal court, claiming she was discriminated against and then fired for complaining about her treatment. Plaintiff Gita Sankano said she was fired in retaliation for filing an internal discrimination complaint against a partner who demeaned and demoralized her. A firm spokesperson said it will fight the lawsuit.
- Washington, D.C.-based Steptoe has entered the Houston legal market, gaining more than 40 lawyers and business services professionals in a combination with Texas litigation firm Smyser Kaplan & Veselka. The deal with the nearly 30-year-old SKV will bring 24 lawyers to Steptoe, as more large law firms open up Houston outposts.
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That is the amount of legal fees and other costs that Apple has asked a U.S. judge in California to award it for defending against “Fortnite” maker Epic Games’ lawsuit accusing the iPhone maker of unlawfully restrictive policies in its lucrative App Store. Apple’s request came hours after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected appeals from Epic Games and Apple challenging parts of a lower court’s order in the closely-watched antitrust case. Apple’s law firms in the case included Gibson Dunn and Weil.
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An 11th Circuit ruling in October seemed to establish an alternative path to appellate jurisdiction in cases involving unresolved claims. But Alison Frankel writes that in a new decision issued last week at the court’s own initiative, the 11th Circuit just closed off that path. Frankel explains why.
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“Lower court judges, even here in this rather prosaic case, can’t figure out what Chevron means.“
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—U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was among the justices who expressed skepticism about allowing the continuation of the Chevron deference doctrine – a precedent established in 1984 that calls for judges to defer to federal agency interpretation of U.S. laws deemed to be ambiguous. The justices were hearing arguments in appeals by two fishing companies of lower court rulings allowing the National Marine Fisheries Service to require commercial fishermen to help fund the program. The questions posed by the justices did not reveal a clear majority willing to overturn the precedent.
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- The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the SEC’s plans to finalize a rule requiring publicly traded companies to disclose climate-related risks and expenditures. The witnesses include Charles Crain, the vice president of domestic policy at the National Association of Manufacturers, and Lawrence Cunningham, who is special counsel at Mayer Brown.
- The Democratic-led U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to hold a hearing where it could vote to advance some of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, including Adeel Mangi, a New Jersey lawyer who would become the first Muslim American to serve on the 3rd Circuit.
- A final pretrial conference is scheduled in New York federal court in the criminal case against former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández, who is facing drug trafficking and weapons charges. Prosecutors accused him of participating in a vast conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S. Hernández has pleaded not guilty.
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Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.
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- Apple cannot sell two flagship Apple Watch models in the U.S. as the iPhone maker fights a legal battle over patents covering a blood oxygen measurement feature, the Federal Circuit ruled. The legal fight could take a year and analysts expect Apple to disable the disputed feature in the meantime to comply with the ban and to keep selling the watch.
- The 5th Circuit refused to revive part of a Texas law banning sexually explicit books from public school libraries, agreeing with a lower court judge that it violated booksellers’ right to free speech. The panel found that the law’s requirement that booksellers review and rate books for sexual content before they can sell them to schools was illegal compelled speech.
- The Montana Supreme Court in a 5-2 ruling refused to pause a landmark ruling that found that the state’s policies prohibiting regulators from considering the impacts on climate change when approving fossil fuel projects violate the rights of young people.
- The 2nd Circuit gave wedding-dress designer and influencer Hayley Paige Gutman a new chance to regain control of “Hayley Paige” social media accounts and end a five-year ban on competing with dressmaker JLM Couture following the breakdown of their partnership. JLM CEO Joseph Murphy said in a statement the company was confident that the district court will “come to the same determination” on the social media and noncompetition disputes on remand.
- Regional sports programmer Diamond Sports Group said it has signed an agreement with a group of creditors to emerge out of bankruptcy and that it would also get funding from Amazon.com as part of a streaming deal. Amazon’s Prime Video will now become the primary partner through which customers can stream Diamond’s local channels, which carries the games of more than 40 major sports teams across the U.S.
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- Freshfields brought on partner Mary Lavelle in London, where she will be global co-head of the firm’s private funds and secondaries group. She arrives from Akin Gump. (Freshfields)
- BakerHostetler hired D.C.-based antitrust partner Justin Murphy as leader of the firm’s cartel and government antitrust task force. He previously was at McDermott. (BakerHostetler)
- Day Pitney added corporate partner Elizabeth Yoo in New Jersey from Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi. (Day Pitney)
- O’Melveny brought on restructuring partner Julian Gurule in Los Angeles from Buchalter, where he served as co-chair of the insolvency and financial law group. (O’Melveny)
- McKool Smith brought on patent litigator Erik Fountain as a partner in Dallas. He arrives from Sidley. (McKool Smith)
- Squire Patton Boggs hired partner David Nisbet for its tax strategy and benefits practice in London. He arrives from Orborne Clarke, where he led the private equity tax team. (Squire Patton Boggs)
- Goodwin added partner Mark David McPherson to its complex litigation and dispute resolution practice in New York. He previously was at Morrison Foerster. (Goodwin)
- Barnes & Thornburg brought on commercial and securities litigation partner Noah Katsell in San Diego from DLA Piper. (Barnes & Thornburg)
- Stoel Rives hired Seth Row as a litigation partner in Portland, Oregon. He arrives from Miller Nash, where he was co-chair of the insurance recovery practice group. (Stoel Rives)
- Ashurst added Gavin Weir as a London-based partner and UK head of financial institutions M&A. He previously was at Akin Gump. (Ashurst)
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