Commercial Litigation Update

On June 30, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), issued the first government-wide Priorities for anti-money laundering (“AML”) and countering the financing of terrorism (“CFT”) policy (the “Priorities”). In accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AMLA 2020”), FinCEN established the Priorities, after consulting with the Attorney General, and various Federal regulators, to assist covered financial institutions, (which include, banks, brokers-dealers, mutual funds, insurance companies, commodities ...

Our colleague Lauren Petrin of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on Health Law Advisor that will be of interest to our readers:  "DOJ's Recent Telehealth Enforcement Action Highlights Increased Abuse of COVID-19 Waivers."

The following is an excerpt:

On May 26, 2021, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a coordinated law enforcement action against 14 telehealth executives, physicians, marketers, and healthcare business owners for their alleged fraudulent COVID-19 related Medicare claims resulting in over $143 million in false billing.[1] This coordinated ...

Three years ago, the United States Supreme Court confirmed in Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund, 138 S. Ct. 1061 (2018) that claims brought under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) are subject to “concurrent jurisdiction,” meaning they can be asserted either in federal or state court and that a state court action cannot be removed to federal court. On the last day of this past term, the Supreme Court announced that it has now accepted certiorari in Pivotal Software, Inc. v. Tran in which it will address the follow-up question of whether the ...

As the “new normal” of pandemic virtual legal proceedings appears to be waning, a question arises as to which, if any, practices initially born out of necessity, but no longer so, should continue to be utilized. One such device previously employed sparingly, but which became de rigueur during COVID, is the virtual deposition. In some but not all circumstances, virtual depositions can remain an effective tool for litigators.

The critical considerations in determining whether to continue using this mechanism will hinge on the purpose of the deposition and the stature of the ...

Our colleague Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on SCOTUS Today that will be of interest to our readers:  "Two Election-Related Decisions, Decided on Strict Ideological Grounds, Close Out the Term."

The following is an excerpt:

No harmony today. The Court has rendered two 6-3 decisions mirroring strong ideological divisions. In one, Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, the Court was unmoved by allegations that two provisions of Arizona election law offended Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (“VRA”) and had resulted in disproportionate ...

Our colleague Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on SCOTUS Today that will be of interest to our readers: "Today, but a Few More Unusual Alliances."

The following is an excerpt:

Three decisions were released today, each showing a greater division of opinion than we’ve seen over the last several weeks. While one of the three, an immigration case, was decided across strict conservative/liberal reputational lines, the other two, yet again, were the result of unusual alliances of Justices expressing independent views of the law and jurisprudential process.

Our colleague Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on SCOTUS Today that will be of interest to our readers: "Two 'GVRs' Show Continued Restraint by the Justices."

The following is an excerpt:

The Court issued two per curiam opinions today, both of them granting cert., vacating the judgments below, and remanding the cases to a lower court for further factual inquiry, a procedure known colloquially as a “GVR.” Both of these unsigned opinions represent restraint, deferring to trial courts for factual findings and deferring reaching legal issues until it ...

Our colleague Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on SCOTUS Today that will be of interest to our readers: "More Unlikely Lineups."

The following is an excerpt:

Some critics might claim that the Justices are trying to prove something—that the unlikely alliances that they are forming are confined to narrowly drawn opinions issued to counter criticisms coming from the political arena that extra Justices should be appointed to the Court, or term limits should be imposed. It is, I suggest, clear enough that the Chief Justice is doing a masterful job of promoting ...

Our colleague Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on SCOTUS Today that will be of interest to our readers: “Surprising Consensus Under a Strong Chief Justice.”

The following is an excerpt:

A number of commentators, including myself, have been highlighting the apparent fact that under the strong leadership of the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court is exhibiting what, to many, has been surprising consensus in opinions, even in cases that are publicly controversial.

This has led to cases decided on narrow, fact-specific grounds, applying constitutional ...

Our colleague Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on SCOTUS Today that will be of interest to our readers: "Three More Cases Demonstrating Jurisprudential Reason, Not Politics."

The following is an excerpt:

Another busy day for the Court, which is no surprise given the short time remaining in the term and the number of opinions that yet have been published. If there is a distinguishing characteristic, it is the continued fracturing of the stereotype that the Justices act for political, not jurisprudential reason, and hence that there are immovable blocs of ...