California

Expert Analysis

• What COVID-19 Means For Opportunity Zone Projects

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  Opportunity zone project owners nervous about upcoming deadlines can expect some leniency from the U.S. Department of the Treasury in light of the current pandemic conditions; but raising capital will likely get harder, says Jessica Millett at Duval & Stachenfeld.

• Calif. Organic Waste Regs Mean Sweeping Changes For Cos.

  

  With the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery set to release final regulations aimed at aggressively minimizing organic waste, businesses should review their obligations under the rules as well as the details of their local jurisdiction’s implementation, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

• CARES Act May Propel Gig Economy Employment Law Shift

  

  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’s extension of unemployment benefits to independent contractors could provide insight into how gig economy employment law standards might evolve, but some proposed changes may do more harm than good, says Kevin Vozzo at Epstein Becker.

• Electric Utilities May Need Policy Help For COVID-19 Losses

  

  The closure of businesses, schools and government agencies due to COVID-19 has made it difficult for electric power providers to recover their authorized revenue requirement, so proactive policy solutions may be needed to protect ongoing provision of electricity service, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Coronavirus Stimulus Fraud May Be A Target For State AGs

  

  Emboldened by their 2009 financial recovery enforcement experiences, state attorneys general are expected to play a large role in rooting out fraud, waste and abuse related to Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds, says Jeff Tsai at DLA Piper.

• Virus Class Actions Against Chinese Gov't Face Uphill Battle

  

  Three recently filed class actions claim that the Chinese government is liable for injuries and damages in the U.S. caused by COVID-19 — but precedent suggests that plaintiffs in these cases face little likelihood of recovery, say Robert Boone and Simren Gill at Bryan Cave.

• Opinion

  In #MeToo Era, Victims Must Have Choice Over NDAs

  

  States have started enacting laws that invalidate nondisclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases, but victims should have the individual choice of whether to agree to confidentiality, say Lynne Bernabei and Kristen Sinisi at Bernabei & Kabat.

• How Sellers Can Avoid Price-Gouging For 'Essential' Cannabis

  

  With the nascent cannabis industry unexpectedly being labeled "essential" and experiencing a sudden surge in consumer demand, dispensaries and operators must be careful to avoid triggering violations of state-specific price-gouging laws, say Joshua Mandell and Evelina Gentry at Akerman.

• Social Distance And Livestreams: Protecting Music Copyright

  

  As social distancing forces musical performances to be streamed live online, artists and music publishers can continue to generate income by firmly enforcing their copyrights and ensuring compliance with licensing requirements, say Tal Dickstein and Nathalie Russell of Loeb & Loeb.

• Don't Forget Firm Culture When Adapting To Remote Work

  

  While law firms suddenly pivoting to remote work due to coronavirus restrictions are busy dealing with logistical challenges, an equally pressing and perhaps more difficult task may be adjusting a long-standing brick-and-mortar culture to working remotely for the first time, say Heather Clauson Haughian and Grant Walsh at Culhane Meadows.

• Potential Federal Vs. State Conflicts Due To COVID-19

  

  When President Donald Trump decides it's time to kick-start the economy, governors will need to be prepared to answer some hard questions, like whether refusing to reopen nonessential businesses while managing the COVID-19 crisis in their states would be in violation of federal law, say David Blake and Kristina Arianina at Squire Patton.

• Does COVID-19 Fall Under Insurers' Pollution Exclusions?

  

  Despite inconsistent rulings from state and federal courts, an analysis of bacterial and viral contamination cases provides insight on whether COVID-19 is the type of environmental harm expected to fall within insurance policies' pollution provisions, says Elise Allen at BatesCarey.

• What Calif. Office Of Tax Appeals Says About Income Sourcing

  

  While California's Office of Tax Appeals has issued few corporate decisions since opening in 2017, a look at its opinions thus far provides clues about how the agency will approach income sourcing and other weighty corporate issues, say Timothy Gustafson and Alexandra Louderback at Eversheds Sutherland.

• Examining California's Urgency And Emergency Powers

  

  California has been one of the most active states to take strong actions in response to COVID-19, and state and local governments will likely continue to push forward urgency or emergency regulations that could have a profound impact on businesses, say Brandon Young and Jacob Itzkowitz at Manatt.

• Opinion

  Calif. Auto Defect Law Incentivizes Overlitigation

  

  California’s lemon law was meant to help consumers obtain quick resolution for serious vehicle defects, but plaintiffs attorneys appear to be taking advantage of the fee-shifting provisions of the law to generate large windfalls for themselves, says Kyla Christoffersen Powell, president of the Civil Justice Association of California.