In Fennec v. Cipla, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey recently granted Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s (“Fennec”) motion to amend the Joint Claim Construction and Prehearing Statement to add constructions of two disputed terms that were consistent with the relevant patent’s express language. Fennec is a Hatch-Waxman litigation involving several patents covering Fennec’s Pedmark® product. Pursuant to Local Patent Rule 4.3, the parties are required to file a Joint Claim Construction and Prehearing Statement (“JCCPS”) that contains “[e]ach party’s proposed construction ..read more

Labor Day weekend is in the rear view mirror, which means that several recently enacted lead-based paint (LBP) laws for residential properties in New York City have taken effect. In total, these NYC Local Laws significantly expand the requirements imposed by the city on landlords of residential properties constructed before 1980. Landlords of residential properties in NYC should pay close attention to these changes, which are discussed in detail below. XRF Testing Requirement Expanded to Building Common Areas (Local Law 111 of 2023) Under Local Law 31 of 2020, owners are required to hire an in ..read more

As part of its ongoing efforts to implement Local Law 97 of 2019, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) recently released a package of four new proposed rules; the full text of these proposed rules can be found at Rule 1, Rule 2, Rule 3, and Rule 4. Local Law 97 establishes strict GHG emissions caps for “Covered Buildings,” which essentially include all buildings over 25,000 square feet, subject to some exceptions. These GHG emissions caps went into effect on January 1, 2024, and become more stringent over time in five-year increments referred to as compliance periods. Beginning ..read more

In a recent published opinion, Marmo & Sons General Contracting, LLC v. Biagi Farms, LLC, the Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s finding that a party had waived its contractual right to compel arbitration. At issue was the non-moving party’s assertion that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Morgan v. Sundance, Inc. forbade considerations of prejudice in the seven-factor waiver analysis originally set forth in 2013 by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Cole v. Jersey City Medical Center. The post Yes, Prejudice May Be Included in a Court’s Analysis of a Waiver of Arbitration ..read more

The Northern District of California recently issued a decision further constraining plaintiffs’ ability to assert claims under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). In Ambriz v. Google, LLC, the plaintiff filed a putative class action alleging that Google violated CIPA § 631(a) because its Cloud Contact Center AI software-as-a-service, a virtual customer service tool, wiretapped, eavesdropped on, and recorded his call to Verizon’s customer service center. The post ChatBot or Not: California Federal Courts Limit CIPA Applicability appeared first on Gibbons Law Alert ..read more

As we recently reported, on July 3, 2024, the Northern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction in Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission, staying the effective date of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rule banning non-competes (the “Rule”) and enjoining the FTC from enforcing the Rule. That injunction, however, was only applicable to the plaintiffs and intervenors in the case and did not address the FTC’s broader enforcement of the Rule. The post Litigation Update: Northern District of Texas Judge Blocks FTC’s Non-Compete Ban appeared first on Gibbons Law Alert ..read more

In JJD Electric, LLC v. SunPower Corporation, Systems, et al., the District Court of New Jersey dismissed multiple counts of plaintiff JJD Electric’s amended complaint, holding that the terms of the plaintiff’s subcontract control over its ancillary theories of liability. However, the court allowed the plaintiff’s fraudulent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment claims to proceed insofar as they challenged the very validity of the subcontract, as the Magistrate Judge held previously in granting the plaintiff leave to file the amended complaint. Defendant SunPower subcontracted JJD Electric t ..read more

As we recently reported on April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a final rule banning virtually all future and most existing non-compete clauses. The rule was immediately challenged by a global tax services firm and the United States Chamber of Commerce in the Northern District of Texas, and, soon thereafter, others within the business community took action by filing suit in additional federal courts. This post provides an update on the various ongoing legal challenges unfolding across the country. Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission (N.D. Tex. 2024) On April 24, 2024 ..read more

The New Jersey Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion on July 10, 2024, holding that class action waivers in consumer contracts are not per se contrary to public policy. While such waivers may be unenforceable if they are unconscionable or violate other tenets of state contract law, the opinion confirms that there is no blanket prohibition on them – a positive development for businesses in New Jersey. Pace v. Hamilton Cove concerned a putative class action filed by residential tenants of Hamilton Cove Apartments, a luxury apartment complex in a high crime area. In its advertisements, brochur ..read more

On July 15, the Third Circuit issued a precedential opinion in Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association v. Delaware Department of Safety & Homeland Security that has the potential to alter the standard district courts apply when evaluating motions for preliminary injunctions. In a lawsuit challenging Delaware’s ban on assault weapons and extended magazines, the court held that the group challenging the law had not met the requirements for issuing a preliminary injunction, emphasizing that injunctions “were and still are extraordinary relief” reserved for “exceptional cases.”  It no ..read more