Blog Post
Published 07/24/2020
By Jonathan A. Havens, Lauren A. Farruggia
Alert
Published 07/22/2020
By Richard B. Carroll, Jessica M. Jones, Chad Davis, Elizabeth Fenton, Richard A. Forsten, William S. Gee, Pam Scott, Alex P. Ferraro, Jourdan S. Garvey
Services Corporate
On July 16, Delaware Governor John Carney signed into law the 2020 amendments to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act (the “LLC Act”), the Delaware Revised Uniform Partnership Act (the “Partnership Act”), and the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (the “LP Act”). The amendments will be effective on varying dates as provided in the signed legislation. Set forth below is a brief summary of the most important of these amendments. General Corporation Law Emergency Bylaws Overall, the amendments to Section 110...
Blog Post
Published 07/21/2020
By Gregory M. Boucher
Alert
Published 07/20/2020
By Bruce Armon, Kevin M. Levy, Samantha R. Gross
Industries Health Care
On July 16, 2020, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced a new $50 million grant program to “help employers provide hazard pay to employees in life-sustaining occupations during the COVID-19 pandemic” (the “Grant Program”). The Grant Program allows eligible Pennsylvania-based employers to apply for grants of up to $3 million to provide hazard pay benefits to eligible employees (the “Grant”). A copy of the Governor’s Grant Program announcement can be retrieved here . Under the Grant Program, entities which provide health care services, including education, development, and support for...
Alert
Published 07/17/2020
By April Doss, Patrick Hromisin, Jillian Walton
Services Cybersecurity and Privacy
With the commencement of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) enforcement on our heels, we are now looking ahead to CCPA 2.0 – the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (CPRA). If voters approve the ballot initiative this November, CPRA would drastically amend CCPA, create a privacy protection agency, and incorporate additional foundational privacy principles, including data retention and minimization. Because the measure appears to have broad public support, businesses should begin to evaluate modifications they may need to make to their privacy compliance programs in light of CPRA’s...
Article
Published 07/17/2020
Industries Energy | Energy Transmission / Pipelines
Services Environmental
Alert
Published 07/16/2020
By Bruce Armon, Carolyn A. Pellegrini, Samantha R. Gross, Lelia F. Parker
Industries Health Care
In February 2020, just prior to COVID-19 dominating the news, wreaking havoc on the health care delivery system and leading to tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of positive cases, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) filed suit against Yale New Haven Hospital, Inc. (“YNHH”) alleging violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) and Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The EEOC attempted pre-litigation settlement through conciliation before filing suit. The EEOC is seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as permanent...
Blog Post
Published 07/16/2020
By Sarah Lockwood Church, Andrew J. Daly, Dasha G. Brockmeyer
Article
Published 07/15/2020
Article
Published 07/15/2020
Services Litigation
Alert
Published 07/15/2020
By David J. Falcone, Kevin M. Levy
Industries Real Estate
The Philadelphia City Council came together recently to enact an unprecedented package of renter protections designed to assist Philadelphia’s renter community weather the COVID-19 storm and help brace the City for an inevitable torrent of eviction actions. The package, referred to as the Emergency Housing Protection Act (EHPA), was initially comprised of six wide-ranging proposed ordinances which applied to various categories of renters with differing situations distinctly. The EHPA provides that a residential tenant has faced a “COVID-19 financial hardship” if the tenant or a tenant’s...
Alert
Published 07/15/2020
By Sally Lockwood Church, Dasha G. Brockmeyer
Services Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
In order to reduce expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic, plan sponsors have expressed an interest in reducing or eliminating safe harbor contributions under their 401(k) plans. The circumstances permitting such amendments are limited, but guidance in IRS Notice 2020-52 temporarily modifies prior IRS guidance (See: IRS Notice 2016-16) to make it easier to amend a safe-harbor 401(k) plan mid-year. A safe harbor 401(k) plan design eliminates the need to perform certain non-discrimination tests and permits highly compensated employees to contribute the maximum amount permitted by the Tax Code’s...
Article
Published 07/15/2020
Services Life Sciences and IP Litigation | Litigation
Darius Gambino, a partner in the Firm's Life Sciences and IP Litigation Practice, authored this article regarding federal trade dress protection and enforcement under the Lanham Act. It addresses the potential categories of trade dress, the requirements for trade dress protection (i.e., distinctiveness and nonfunctionality), the advantages of federal registration and trade dress enforcement. Darius also discusses the importance of an integrated protection strategy that comprises trade dress, copyright and design patent protection, where feasible. This excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor®, a...
Alert
Published 07/14/2020
By James E. Goodrich, Kathleen M. Gilligan
Industries Higher Education | Real Estate
As colleges and universities grapple with the prospect of how to provide housing and adequate distancing opportunities for their students for the Fall 2020 term, numerous institutions have negotiated (or may be considering negotiating) master leases with apartment and hotel owners for spaces in which to house students. Here are eight considerations for colleges and universities in those negotiations: A Master Lease Is Important to Reflect the Parties’ Relationship and Expectations . Although an apartment owner might prefer as a matter of expedience that the college or university sign several...
Alert
Published 07/13/2020
By Jennifer L. Beidel, Christie R. McGuinness
Services White Collar and Government Enforcement
In last week’s decision in Trump v. Vance [1] , the Supreme Court addressed for the first time whether a state District Attorney’s Office can issue a state criminal subpoena to a President. Relying on historical examples dating as far back as Aaron Burr in 1807, the Supreme Court held that Article II of the United States Constitution and the Supremacy Clause do not categorically preclude, nor categorically require, a heightened standard for the issuance of a state criminal subpoena to a sitting President. While this landmark decision sets important precedent for potential future state...
Alert
Published 07/13/2020
By David J. Falcone, Kevin M. Levy
Industries Real Estate
Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania extended the Commonwealth’s moratorium on residential evictions and foreclosures through August 31, 2020. This new development builds upon previous moratoria from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as well as the Governor’s prior actions staying evictions and foreclosures issued on March 18 and May 7, respectively. Governor Wolf’s latest order clarifies that the renewed moratorium applies only to those eviction and foreclosure actions pertaining to the nonpayment of monies or related to the removal of a holdover tenant (previous moratoria only allowed evictions...