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Massachusetts
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January 10, 2025
Real Estate Recap: REIT Activism, Enviro Policy, Power Woes
Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including one attorney's expectations for shareholder activism at real estate investment trusts in 2025, the environmental policies that are top of mind for attorneys going into the new year, and the impact power constraints may have on data center gains.
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January 10, 2025
GSK Hits Back At Moderna Counterclaims In Patent Feud
GlaxoSmithKline wants a Delaware federal court to quickly reject some of the counterclaims leveled by Moderna in response to patent suits over the company's mRNA vaccines.
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January 10, 2025
Blue State AGs Urge Walmart To Reinstate DEI Initiatives
A group of Democratic state attorneys general sent a letter to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on Thursday urging the retail giant to reconsider scrapping diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, saying such programs "are not just good policy, but in many cases are necessary to comply with the law."
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January 10, 2025
New Pirate Loot Claims Lodged In Chancery
A Flying Dutchman of a legal wrangle over a treasure-laden, sunken pirate ship off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, surfaced again Friday in Delaware's Court of Chancery in an investor suit demanding books and records on a decades-long salvage operation and alleging possible fraudulent conveyances by "rogue fiduciaries."
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January 10, 2025
Patent Partner Leaves Kilpatrick Townsend For K&L Gates
K&L Gates LLP has added to its Orange County, California, office a Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP partner with a practice of working with Chinese companies looking to file patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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January 10, 2025
SEC's $93M Win Not Backed By Proof, Adviser Tells 1st Circ.
Commonwealth Financial asked a First Circuit panel Friday to undo a $93 million award the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission won last year, saying the lower court was too quick to find that the firm's disclosure practices harmed investors.
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January 10, 2025
Couple Says EBay, Top Brass Can't Duck Trial In Stalking Suit
A Massachusetts couple argued Friday that eBay Inc. and several of its top executives were at least aware of a harassment campaign perpetrated by employees of the online retailer and should not be let off the liability hook.
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January 10, 2025
1st Circ. Questions Reach Of Anti-Torture Law In Civil Cases
The First Circuit on Friday hinted it may be considering limits on the jurisdiction of the Torture Victims Protection Act, during a hearing where former Justice Stephen Breyer recalled concerns he first raised on the Supreme Court that an overly broad reading could pave the way for other nations to arrest Americans for incidents on U.S. soil.
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January 10, 2025
Ex-McKinsey Partner Admits To Obstructing Purdue Probe
A former senior partner at consulting giant McKinsey & Co. pled guilty Friday to obstructing the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into the firm's work with opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP, a month after McKinsey agreed to pay $650 million to resolve related charges.
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January 09, 2025
DraftKings Says Fired Worker 'Has No Legal Path' Forward
DraftKings asked a Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday to throw out a former engineer's lawsuit claiming that he was fired in retaliation for seeking paid parental leave, saying the claims have no legal basis.
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January 09, 2025
Mass. Hospital, Insurer Settle Pandemic Coverage Row
A Massachusetts hospital and its commercial property insurer told a Boston federal judge Thursday that they had settled a suit over costs and lost revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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January 09, 2025
SharkNinja Customer Sues For $3.75M After Blender Explodes
A woman who was nearly blinded when her Ninja brand blender "exploded" claimed SharkNinja's design of the appliance was defective in a complaint transferred to Michigan federal court this week.
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January 09, 2025
MoFo Taps Goodwin Duo To Grow Exec Comp, Benefits Team
Morrison Foerster announced Wednesday that it has tapped two former Goodwin Procter LLP partners to expand its executive compensation and benefits group.
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January 09, 2025
Beer Sales Rep Can't Show Lasting Harm From Noncompete
A former Boston Beer Co. sales employee challenging a one-year noncompete agreement has failed to show how she will suffer irreparable harm without a preliminary injunction, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying any damages are "readily calculable" if she ultimately wins the case.
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January 09, 2025
Wind Power Substation Is Quiet Enough, Mass. Justices Say
Massachusetts' top court on Thursday gave the green light for an electric substation connected to an 800-megawatt wind turbine generation facility in federal waters south of Martha's Vineyard, rejecting a resident's argument that the new facility would be too noisy.
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January 08, 2025
Edward Jones Fined $17M Over Customer Transition Fees
Edward Jones has agreed to pay $17 million to end an investigation into alleged supervisory failures that may have led it to overcharge customers who transitioned from its brokerage division to its advisory division, state regulators announced Wednesday.
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January 08, 2025
Departing Mass. US Atty Predicts Similar Goals For Successor
As he prepares to leave his ninth-floor office at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse on Boston's waterfront for the final time next Friday, U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy told reporters he expects his successor will continue to pursue the types of nonpartisan cases nearly everyone would agree are important.
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January 08, 2025
Feds Say Official Used City Cash For Steak Tips, Studio Time
A former Massachusetts city official was charged Wednesday with using city funds to pay for an eclectic array of personal expenses, including hundreds of pounds of steak tips, a music studio session for himself and a lacquered self-portrait.
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January 08, 2025
Boston Scientific Paying Up To $664M For Bolt Medical
Boston Scientific Corp. said Wednesday it plans to acquire the remaining stake it does not own in Bolt Medical Inc., the developer of a proprietary laser-based treatment for coronary and peripheral artery disease, for up to $664 million.
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January 08, 2025
Mortgage Cos. Fined $20M Over Cybersecurity Breach
Bayview Asset Management LLC and three affiliates on Wednesday agreed to pay a $20 million fine and improve their cybersecurity programs to settle allegations from 53 state financial regulators that the mortgage companies had deficient cybersecurity practices and didn't fully cooperate with regulators after a 2021 data breach.
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January 08, 2025
Divisive Mass. Housing Law Can Stand With Administrative Fix
Massachusetts' top appellate court on Wednesday upheld a controversial law requiring towns in Greater Boston to add housing density near mass transit facilities, but found that the state must take additional procedural steps before the law can go into effect.
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January 07, 2025
HHS Fines Mass. Health Firm $80K Over Ransomware Attack
Elgon Information Systems, which provides digital medical record and billing support services, will pay $80,000 over alleged healthcare data protection rule violations following a ransomware attack on its systems in March 2023 that impacted roughly 31,248 customers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.
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January 07, 2025
Hockey Pro Says Ex-Teammates Stole 'Moms Who Puck' TM
Two retired professional women's hockey players who started a podcast last year called "Moms Who Puck" have been sued for trademark infringement by a former teammate who alleges they stole that phrase from her, according to a lawsuit in Connecticut federal court.
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January 07, 2025
Developer Says Mass. Stalling $15M Brownfields Tax Credit
The developer of a 3.5-acre luxury condo and apartment complex in Boston's Seaport District is accusing the state of improperly second-guessing the work of its licensed environmental remediation consultant to deny a $15.3 million brownfields tax credit, then dragging its feet on an administrative appeal.
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January 07, 2025
DOJ Ropes Landlords Into RealPage Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice dramatically expanded its antitrust case against RealPage on Tuesday, accusing half a dozen residential landlords of using the software company's tools to coordinate rental rates while reaching a settlement with one of the property owners.
Expert Analysis
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SEC Fine Shows Risks Of Nonpublic Info In X, LinkedIn Posts
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced a settlement with DraftKings over charges arising from posting material nonpublic information on the CEO's social media accounts, highlighting that information posted to company websites and social media sites does not automatically qualify as "publicly disclosed" for purposes of Regulation FD, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
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Opinion
Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits
With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.
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How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program
During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.
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Series
Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.
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Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys
Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.
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Opinion
Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code
As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan
Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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Review Shipping Terms In Light Of These 3 Global Challenges
Given tensions in the Middle East, labor unrest at U.S. ports and the ongoing consequences of climate change, parties involved in maritime shipping must understand the relevant contract provisions and laws that may be implicated during supply chain disruptions in order to mitigate risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Defining All-Risk: Despite $30M Loss, Loose Bolt Not 'Damage'
A Massachusetts federal court’s recent ruling in AMAG Pharmaceuticals v. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Co., denying coverage for $30 million in damages claimed when a loose bolt caused an air leak, highlights an ongoing debate over the definition of “direct physical loss or damage,” say Josh Tumen and Paul Ferland at Cozen O'Connor.
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8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney
A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.
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Opinion
This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process
In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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The Complex Challenges Facing Sustainable Food Packaging
More and more states are requiring recycled content to be used in product packaging, creating complex technological and regulatory considerations for manufacturers who must also comply with federal food safety requirements, say Peter Coneski and Natalie Rainer at K&L Gates.
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Series
Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers
Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.
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Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys
Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.