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Pandemic Closing does not Breach Lease
A commercial landlord sued a tenant that stopped operating a café and paying rent following a statewide order disallowing on-premises...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Mar 30, 20211 min read


The Federal No Surprises Act
On 28 December 2020, the Federal No Surprises Act (Act) was enacted. It protects patients from surprise medical bills in certain...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Mar 23, 20215 min read


Race Case Against Whole Foods Dismissed
Whole Foods Market employees claimed it discriminated and retaliated against them when it barred them from wearing Black Lives Matter...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Mar 16, 20211 min read


Prompt Payment Act Noncompliance Waives Defenses
A contractor requested seven progress payments on a construction project which were not paid. The construction manager did not follow the...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Mar 9, 20211 min read


SEC's New Marketing Rule for Investment Advisers
On 22 December 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a new rule to regulate investment adviser advertising and...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Mar 2, 20211 min read


What Creditors Need to Know About the New Federal Debt Collection Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has finalized two parts of its debt collection rule under the Fair Debt Collection...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Feb 23, 20214 min read


Protecting Trade Secrets with a Remote Workforce
To keep employees and communities safe, many businesses have given remote access to systems and data without ensuring new technologies...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Feb 16, 20212 min read


COVID-19 Compulsory Patent Licensing Law
A patent gives the owner the legal right to sue other parties for making, using, selling, or importing the patented matter. Compulsory...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Feb 9, 20216 min read


Cannabis Contract Enforcement
When a contract involves cannabis, federal courts cannot enforce performance or order remedies, one court has ruled. A cannabis company...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Feb 2, 20211 min read


State Privacy Laws Have Teeth
In 2008, Illinois passed the Biometric Information Privacy Act to grant consumers privacy protections for collected biometric...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jan 26, 20211 min read


Final Carbon Capture Credit Regulations Ease Participation For Smaller Businesses
The IRS has released final regulations under Code Section 45Q. It provides for a U.S. federal income tax credit at varying rates to...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jan 19, 20212 min read


Uber Arbitration Agreement Tossed
The Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that Uber's customer terms and conditions requiring them to arbitrate claims against Uber are...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jan 12, 20211 min read


NEW COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK LAWS PASSED
On December 21, Congress passed, and the President later signed, a spending bill that folded in several intellectual property provisions...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Jan 5, 20211 min read


Remote Work Legal Issues
Technology and changing preferences make remote work possible for a large part of the workforce but before COVID-19 it had not been...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Dec 22, 20203 min read


Designing M&A Earn-outs to Avoid Disputes After Covid
COVID-19 is likely to increase the use of earn-outs in M&A transactions. Due to the unpredictability caused by the pandemic, buyers and...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Dec 15, 202010 min read


Confidentiality Obligations Wiped Out by Non-Compete Restrictions
Most of those aware of California employment law know that non-compete clauses prohibiting employees from working for competitors after...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Dec 8, 20202 min read


Remote Work Legal Implications
Technological advancements and shifting societal preferences have made remote work programs possible for a significant segment of the...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Dec 1, 20203 min read


The Rapid Development of Data Privacy Law
Rapid law changes mean information privacy is something every company must worry about.

Paul Peter Nicolai
Nov 24, 20202 min read


Children’s Online Privacy Protection
Coronavirus makes understanding the rules protecting children's privacy in the virtual world much more critical, especially since...

Paul Peter Nicolai
Nov 17, 20205 min read


Losing Your Right of First Refusal
Rejecting any part of the terms offered to fulfill a right-of-first-refusal can terminate the entire right.

Paul Peter Nicolai
Nov 10, 20201 min read
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