Chevron deference was an important factor in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s 180-page ruling, in United States Telecom Assoc. v. FCC, et al., on June 14 (Flag Day), upholding the Federal Communications Commission’s “Open Internet” rule. The Court of Appeals’ notes that “[f]or the third time in seven years, we confront an…
In EPA Doubles Down with Expansive New Methane Regulation, Pillsbury attorneys Sheila McCafferty Harvey, David Lewis, Amanda Halter, Matthew Morrison, and Brendan Hennessey discuss President Obama’s administration’s two recent, major steps in implementing its comprehensive climate change strategy. The Administration has set the first-ever methane emissions standards for new, reconstructed and modified sources and simultaneously begun a process to…
There are three types of bonds that afford financial protection in connection with a construction project: payment bonds, performance bonds, and bid bonds. Below is a primer on the differences between these bonds and who is protected by them. Construction Bonds Construction bonds may be required by contract or by statute.…
In FedRAMP Accelerates the Process for Federal Contractors to Obtain Cloud Service Provider Authorizations and DoD Revises its Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide for FedRAMP+, my colleague Selena Brady and I discuss cloud computing requirements for contractors in the federal market place. For those providing cloud services, it is a time of…
On June 10, 2016, the Supreme Court of North Carolina, in Kirby, et al., v. North Carolina Department of Transportation, issued a unanimous ruling affirming the decision of the intermediate Court of Appeals that the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) use of the state’s Roadway Corridor Official Map Act (Map…
In A New Day in Chemical Regulation, Pillsbury attorneys Matt Morrison, Sheila McCafferty Harvey, Reza Zarghamee, and Brendan J. Hennessey discuss what you need to know about the “Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act”. The Act makes sweeping amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).…
On June 6, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts released an opinion of considerable importance to petroleum retailers in Massachusetts. In Peterborough Oil Company, LLC v. Department of Environmental Protection, the Court interpreted the term “Oil” as used in the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) regulation (the “Oil exemption”) implementing the Massachusetts…
On June 3, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, in Rhea Lana, Inc., et al., v. Department of Labor, reversed the district court’s holding that a warning letter sent to the plaintiff by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) was not a…
On June 1, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued an interesting ruling in Beatrice Boyer, et al., v. BNSF Railway Company dba Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company. It ordered plaintiffs’ counsel to compensate BNSF almost $35,000. The Court of Appeals’ ruling was premised on…
On June 2, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit addressed another matter of alleged attorney misconduct in a Deepwater Horizon claims case and the District Court’s authority to impose sanctions for misconduct. This controversy also involves former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who was designated a Special Master…