After a wait of more than 10 years, on January 12, 2017, the EPA issued its final rule relating to reporting requirements under TSCA for nanoscale chemicals, being the agency’s first time in requiring such reporting.

We will not attempt to set out the particulars of the reporting requirements (e.g., what substances are reportable under the rule

The combination of globalization and the trend toward clean living has revolutionized the natural products industry, creating opportunities and presenting challenges. Opportunities include the availability of products and human capital from around the world. Bringing those resources into the United States, however, presents challenges. Companies that meet those challenges will have a competitive advantage.

NatureCare,

The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, affirming a trial court’s decision, has ruled that assault and battery exclusions in an insurance policy issued to a bar precluded coverage for a negligence lawsuit against the bar stemming from an alleged fight.

The Case

Barnie’s Bar & Grill, Inc., was sued by a plaintiff who alleged that

A federal district court in Montana has ruled that a personal profits exclusion in a directors, officers, and managers liability and corporate indemnification (“D&O”) policy had been triggered by a special master’s finding that the insured officer had committed conversion – but only with respect to that claim.

The Case

After an officer of Global

The Oregon Supreme Court, affirming a lower court’s decision, has ruled that an insurer had a duty to defend an additional insured against a complaint that contained allegations that, reasonably interpreted, could result in the insured being held liable for damages covered by the policy.

The Case

West Hills Development Company was the general contractor

An appellate court in California, affirming a trial court’s decision, has ruled that an insurer had no duty to indemnify its insured, a licensed general contractor, in a construction defect case where the contractor’s action that led to the defect had been deliberate.

The Case

D.B.O. Development No. 28 entered into a construction contract with

An appellate court in California has affirmed a trial court’s decision that a general contractor was not an additional insured on a subcontractor’s excess insurance policy.

The Case

Advent, Inc., was hired as the general contractor for the Aspen Family Village project in Milpitas, California. Advent subcontracted with Pacific Structures, Inc. In turn, Pacific subcontracted

An appellate court in Ohio, applying the “triggering event” theory, has ruled that each individual claimant’s exposure to asbestos was an “occurrence” for purposes of insurance policies issued to a valve manufacturing company.

The Case

Some of the valves manufactured by the William Powell Company before 1987 contained asbestos. In 2001, Powell began receiving personal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in a case involving asbestos liabilities, has affirmed a Michigan district court’s decision that pro rata allocation was the appropriate method to use to allocate damages and costs under an insured’s policies and has affirmed the district court’s decision requiring the insured to pay approximately $2.4

New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has signed a new legislation that may pave the way for outpatient clinics and diagnostic and treatment centers, which includes ambulatory surgery centers (“ASCs”), to provide primary care services to their patients off-site under limited circumstances. The new law, codified in the Public Health Law § 2803(11), requires that the

The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) has released its Work Plan for Fiscal Year 2017 (the “Plan”). The Plan, available through the OIG website, summarizes new and ongoing audits, investigations and evaluations that OIG will prioritize in the upcoming year. Some of the new initiatives that OIG intends to

In December 2016, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services amended existing safe harbors and issued a number of new safe harbors to   protect certain business practices and arrangements of doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies from sanctions under the anti-kickback statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)). Additionally, OIG amended

Since its enactment six years ago, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the ACA) has faced numerous challenges from Republicans attempting to repeal the law. Though previous efforts, through both legislation and litigation, have been unsuccessful, the election of Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress likely portends at least a partial repeal of the

Florida Court Upholds Denial of Long-Term Disability Benefits to Employee Who Worked Fewer Hours 

The plaintiff in this case was a financial sales professional with AXA Equitable Insurance Company who said that he experienced neck and back pains stemming from motor vehicle and snowboarding injuries that he had suffered in 2003. The plaintiff regularly worked 70 to

Employers regularly collect and maintain confidential personal information about their employees, including birth dates, social security numbers, addresses, tax information, and bank information.  A data breach may put this employee information at risk.  In two recent decisions, courts have had to consider the scope of employers’ duties to their employees to protect confidential personal information