On October 24, 2016 the Ninth Circuit joined the Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Circuits in applying the fee-shifting ruling of Octane Fitness LLC v ICON Health & Fitness Inc, 134 S Ct 1749 (2014), to a Lanham Act case – SunEarth Inc v Sun Earth Solar Power Co, DC 4:11-cv-04991-CW (9th Cir 2016). The 2014 Supreme Court decision in Octane Fitness overturned the Federal Circuit’s standard for determining when a case is “exceptional” under 35 USC §285, adopting a flexible “totality of the circumstances” analysis and lowering the standard of proof to establish entitlement of fees from “clear and… Read more

On December 20, 2016, the District of Columbia Council in a 9-4 vote approved one of the nation’s most generous paid family and medical leave laws. The Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016 (the “Act”) establishes a paid family and medical leave system for private sector employees within the District of Columbia. The Act provides for (1) up to eight weeks of paid leave to care for a newly born or adopted child, (2) six weeks of paid leave to care for a sick family member, and (3) up to two weeks of paid leave for a personal illness…. Read more

With 2016 quickly coming to a close and before the holiday parties begin, now is the time to consider your year-end tax planning. Gifts An individual can make gifts free of gift and estate taxes without using any of his or her gift or estate tax exemption of up to $14,000 per person per year.  A married couple can make gifts of up to $28,000 per person per year regardless of which spouse actually makes the gift.  (The annual exclusion amount is adjusted annually for inflation but will remain at $14,000 for 2017.) Use it or lose it!  If you… Read more

In the first law of its kind in the United States, New York City has passed a local law which establishes a variety of protections for freelance workers. Called “Establishing Protections for Freelance Workers,” or the “Freelance Isn’t Free Act,” the law provides freelance workers with the right to a written contract, and to be paid timely and in full.  The law also prohibits retaliation and creates penalties for violations. Any person or business who hires a freelance worker in New York City should familiarize itself with the law, because there are significant consequences for failing to comply. A freelance… Read more

The number of ADA accessibility lawsuits being filed is increasing across the nation.  States like Georgia, Arizona, California, Florida, New York and Texas are seeing alarming increases in the number of federal lawsuits alleging violations under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).  Property owners in Georgia have been hit particularly hard with such lawsuits.  One Atlanta law firm that regularly represents disabled plaintiffs in such cases, and markets itself as a disability protection law firm, has filed well over 400 lawsuits in federal court in Atlanta against local business. The steep rise in litigation has businesses on… Read more

On December 1st, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) filed an appeal of the recent decision by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to enter a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the DOL from implementing changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act it announced back in May 2016. As explained in a prior SGR Client Alert,these new regulations would have raised the minimum salary level for executive, administrative and professional employee exemptions to $913 per week, or $47,476 per year, more than doubling the current federal minimum salary level of $455 per week, or $23,660 per… Read more

A November 23, 2016 Order from Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers voided the double digit workers’ compensation rate increase that was to take effect December 1, 2016.  Details regarding the planned increase are available here. The Court ruled that the National Council on Compensation Insurance (“NCCI”) and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (“OIR”) did not comply with the state’s Sunshine Laws and open meeting requirements in setting the rate increase.  The Court also held that the NCCI failed to provide its data to an actuarial expert retained by the plaintiff in the case.  In addition to finding the workers’ compensation… Read more

End-of-the-Year and Holiday Bonuses:  Manage Expectations You may recall the shock and anger, in the movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, when Clark Griswold finally receives the holiday bonus he has been waiting for-only to discover that, instead of his usual check, his boss gifted him a one-year membership to the Jelly of the Month Club.  After an epic rant and with Cousin Eddie’s help, Clark learns that his boss decided to cut-out holiday bonuses without telling anyone.  Cue the music as Clark sympathetically explains that he depends on his yearly bonus as a part of salary, and has done so… Read more

Washington, D.C., Nov. 28, 2016.  Smith Gambrell partner Bruce Alexander McDonald has returned to the United States after attending a meeting of advisors to the Intellectual Property Court of the Russian Federation in Moscow, Russia.  The meeting was convened on November 25, 2016, by Chief Judge Lyudmila Novoselova, to discuss the application of Russian law to the ownership and commercialization of intellectual property by Russian universities and research institutions.  A copy of Mr. McDonald’s report to the IPC is available here, including the table of contents to a compilation of sample licenses and secondary sources, a copy of which is… Read more