Legal News

On July 2, 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued a new state permitting order that rescinds and replaces his March 26, 2020 order. The new order sets specific dates for agencies to take action and for appeals of state permits to be filed. The main takeaways of the new order are......By: Pierce Atwood LLP

While the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to disrupt the global economy, it is also causing the number of disputes over pending mergers and acquisitions transactions to rise....By: Seyfarth Shaw LLP

On June 30, 2020, the Department of Justice and a split Federal Trade Commission released the final version of their new Vertical Merger Guidelines, which outline how the federal antitrust agencies evaluate the competitive impacts of vertical mergers, as well as other non-horizontal mergers. This is the first time that the federal antitrust agencies have jointly issued guidance on vertical mergers, and these guidelines provide the first major update regarding vertical merger enforcement since.....

On June 30, 2020, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission released new Vertical Merger Guidelines (“Guidelines”), which explain how the agencies assess mergers and acquisitions of companies at different levels of the supply chain. The new Guidelines mark the first time the FTC and DOJ have issued joint guidelines on vertical mergers. They provide the most significant guidance on vertical merger enforcement policy since the DOJ’s 1984 Merger Guidelines; however, we do not......

Delaware Supreme Court reinstates case alleging fiduciary breach for failure to disclose CEO’s post-merger compensation discussions. Deal negotiators should take care not to negotiate their own post-closing compensation before finalizing deal terms. In general, we do not recommend that officers negotiate their own compensation without the involvement of the board....By: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

While the vast majority of Proposition 65 claims involve consumer products, Proposition 65 also applies to environmental exposures. On July 3, 2020, a Proposition 65 notice of intent to sue was filed against a consulting firm and a national home builder for alleged exposures (via both inhalation and ingestion) of Proposition 65 chemicals associated with the presence of contaminated dirt and use of heavy equipment disturbing the dirt at a construction site....By: Environmental General Counsel LLP

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) formally released the new Vertical Merger Guidelines on June 30, 2020, to provide insight to companies as to how the agencies will evaluate the competitive impact of vertical mergers. These guidelines replace the DOJ’s 1984 Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines. The Guidelines provide companies with a tool for assessing the antitrust risks associated with a merger involving companies at different parts of the same supply chain or...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. John C. Grimberg Co., Inc., recently reversed an Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) decision that a federal contractor was entitled to an equitable adjustment on a differing site conditions claim. The Federal Circuit held that the contractor, in developing its proposal, did not demonstrate that its interpretation of government subsurface data was reasonable — a condition precedent to entitlement....

On June 26, 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis signed fifteen bills into law, including HB 441, a revision to the allowable maximum dollar amount for continuing contracts for construction projects. Increasing the dollar cap from $2 million to $4 million, the legislation revises the maximum dollar amount that a public entity can spend to procure certain services under a continuing contract......By: Shutts & Bowen LLP

On June 24, 2020, the California Office of Planning and Research (OPR) issued updated General Plan Guidelines for use by cities and counties in developing land use planning documents. The Guidelines are intended to implement SB 1000, which requires the safety elements of general plans to be updated to address floodplain hazards, fire safety, and related environmental justice concerns. The Guidelines are OPR’s first attempt to provide comprehensive guidance to local jurisdictions on how to...By:...