By: Sandra Fadel Twenty-eight states challenging the implementation of the Clean Power Plan (“CPP”) were handed a big win last week when the Supreme Court reversed a ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and issued a temporary stay blocking the implementation of the CPP until further review. [i] By issuing a stay, the…

Read More

By: Stephanie Costa In Hayuk v. Starbucks Corp., the court dismissed Maya Hayuck’s claim that Starbucks Corporation (“Starbucks”) and 72andSunny Partners, LLC (“72andSunny”) used her artwork in their Mini Frappuccino Campaign. Maya Hayuck is a world famous visual artist known for her style of work that utilizes a layering of bright colors and hues and…

Read More

By: Chauna Pervis On January 14, 2016, the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a male-to-female transgender mechanic presented sufficient circumstantial evidence from which a jury could find that discriminatory animus towards her gender was a “motivating factor” in her termination.[1] To arrive at this ruling the court held that under Title VII there is more than…

Read More

By: Shawn Marcum The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided on December 22, 2016, whether the government acts unconstitutional when barring registration of disparaging trademarks under § 2(a) of the Lanham Act. The Court found that when the government denied registration of disparaging trademarks, it was refusing registration because it disapproved…

Read More

By: Kiki McArthur On January 20, 2016 the Supreme Court held that an unaccepted offer for settlement has no force under Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and that government contractors are not granted sovereign immunity when in violation of federal law.[1] Mindmatics LLC, a subcontractor of defendant Campbell, sent text messages…

Read More

By: Tiana Cherry On January 13, 2016, Plaintiff Julio Lamboy Ruiz, a condominium owner, refused to go to arbitration after making architectural changes to his home that were alleged to not adhere to the condominium’s bylaws enforced by Millennium Square Residential Association and Millennium Square Unit Owners Association (“the Associations”).[1] Plaintiff claimed the arbitration clause was…

Read More