On April 22, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 to ban noncompete agreements, which prevent employees from working for competitors or launching a competing business after they leave a job. The FTC’s new rule is slated to go into effect 120 days after it is published in the Federal Register. Whether the rule will ever actually take effect, however, is uncertain.
On Friday, April 12, 2024, LuLu Reisman, George Denegre, Carey Menasco, and Melanie Derefinko secured a significant appellate victory for Luv n’ care, Ltd. (“LNC”), an international manufacturer of baby products, against Eazy-PZ, LLC (“EZPZ”), a Colorado-based baby product manufacturer and former Shark Tank contestant, in a patent and trade dress infringement case.
Liskow lawyers Tyler Trew and Sheri Corales recently secured a ruling in their favor in Louisiana state court, at the preliminary stage of the litigation, dismissing the entirety of Plaintiffs’ claims against Liskow’s client, Lincoln Wood Products, Inc. (“Lincoln”).
Liskow lawyers Cherrell Taplin and Melanie Derefinko recently secured a ruling in their favor dismissing the entirety of Plaintiffs’ claims against Liskow’s client, ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company (“ExxonMobil”).
On March 22, 2024, the Treasury Department published a proposed regulation relating to certain transactions involving Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts (“CRATs”) investing in single premium immediate annuities (“SPIAs”). The rule would designate transactions seeking to exclude from income SPIA payments from a CRAT under Section 72(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”).
On February 16, 2024, the Treasury Department published a proposed regulation relating to new reporting requirements for certain transfers of residential real estate consistent with its rulemaking authority under the Bank Secrecy Act. The rule would require the filing of a Real Estate Report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) after the transfer of residential real estate.
As a matter of first impression, the Fifth Circuit held that an oil-and-gas royalties class action belongs in federal court based on its interpretation that the “principal injuries” prong of the CAFA local controversy exception requires all plaintiffs sustain their principal injuries in the forum state.
On March 11, 2024, Liskow lawyers Kathryn Gonski and Melanie Derefinko secured the denial of a motion to remand on improper joinder grounds and the dismissal of an intentional tort claim against Methanex, a major Louisiana plant owner, in Knight v. Turner Industries Group, L.L.C., et al., No. 23-469 (M.D. La.).
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is unconstitutional. Read more about the update here.
On February 15, 2024, Liskow lawyers Kathryn Gonski and Shannon Holtzman secured a unanimous, published United States Fifth Circuit Opinion in Shaw v. Restoration Hardware, Inc., affirming a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal without leave to amend. 2024 WL 640246 (5th Cir. Feb. 15, 2024). Through this opinion, the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed the pleading requirements for breach of contract and quasi-contractual claims.