In Lowry v. Southfield Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a taxpayer in bankruptcy could challenge a Michigan tax foreclosure sale under federal bankruptcy fraudulent transfer law, opening the door for other challenges to tax foreclosures. A recent decision from the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan eases this concern.
When the government allows a private group to display its message on public property, the message does not necessarily become government speech, and the private speaker may remain entitled to First Amendment protections. Shurtleff v. Boston, 596 U.S. ___ (2022). Whether a message is held to be government or private speech has significant implications in cases involving the display of religious messages on public property.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its 6-3 decision in Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C., holding that emotional distress damages are not recoverable in a lawsuit brought under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) or the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Hawkins, et al. v Cintas Corp. demonstrates the scrutiny placed upon arbitration of ERISA claims. Although employees may have signed a broad arbitration agreement, that does not necessarily mean that certain ERISA claims are subject to arbitration.
On April 12, 2022, the Sixth Circuit decided Chelf v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., __ F.4th __ (6th Cir. 2022), which involved breach of fiduciary duty claims against an employer. The district court dismissed the claims, concluding that the alleged wrongdoings were purely ministerial functions or fell outside of ERISA's fiduciary requirements.
For 40 years, marijuana businesses have been prohibited from deducting business expenses in their federal income tax returns. After a brief victory in the Tax Court in Jeffrey Edmondson v. Commissioner, allowing an illegal drug dealer’s business deductions, Congress amended the Internal Revenue Code in 1982 to deny illegal drug dealers all business deductions and credits.
National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has issued a memorandum stating her intent to seek to change the NLRB's longstanding rule allowing employers to hold mandatory meetings during union election campaigns.
China-origin products that are classified under the 10-digit HTSUS subheadings and meet the descriptions in the Annex are now eligible for entry without payment of the additional Section 301 duties through the end of 2022.
The court's rationale, if followed elsewhere, could lead to significantly broader institutional and corporate liability for statements by students and employees.
In a little-noticed recent decision, a nearly-unanimous U.S. Supreme Court significantly narrowed the jurisdiction of the federal courts to confirm, vacate or modify arbitration awards under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The decision, Badgerow v. Walters, issued March 31, 2022, sets a jurisdictional trap for the unwary attorney.
