Mondaq Most Recent Articles-20 April 2014

IRS Issues Warnings About Email And Telephone Tax Scams BakerHostetler As the 2014 tax filing season progresses the Internal Revenue Service has issued warnings to taxpayers about convincing fraudulent email messages and telephone calls seeking payments or personal information that will enable the scammer to directly or indirectly steal from the victim.	Russell v. Citigroup Inc. – Language In Revised Arbitration Agreement Torpedoes Its Application To Pending Class Action BakerHostetler A Sixth Circuit panel found the text of an updated arbitration agreement indicated it did not apply to a wage and hour class action already pending when the agreement was signed.
Virtual Currency Regulation: Does A Legal Framework Already Exist? Fox Rothschild LLP There has been a lot in the media lately on the rise of virtual currencies (technical term is cryptocurrencies), most prominently Bitcoin.	Ten Myths Of Government Contracting: Myth No. 1 - We Should Never Protest Thompson Coburn LLP Bid protests are an intimidating aspect of Government contracting, not only because they usually mean hiring a lawyer, but also because most people don’t even like the thought of suing their customer.
Post HMRC Changes, How Many Employees Does An LLP Have? Wedlake Bell David Israel, partner and head of employment comments on "HMRC’s changes to the tax treatment of members could raise serious employment law issues."	State AG Enforcement Of Data Security Breaches Expected To Increase Following Recent Federal Court Decision Empowering The Federal Trade Commission To Bring Suit Dickstein Shapiro LLP Last week, a highly anticipated question in data privacy was finally answered, clarifying the power of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to oversee commercial data security practices and to sue businesses that fail to secure customer information adequately from data breaches.
Sixth Circuit Delivers Knockout To EEOC In Another Background Check Case BakerHostetler The EEOC suffered a major setback on April 9th when the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in the highly watched background check case of EEOC v. Kaplan Higher Education Corporation, et al.	Downloading From Unlawful Sources Is Copyright Infringement De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek N.V. The European Court of Justice has handed down its eagerly awaited decision in ACI Adam v Stichting De Thuiskopie.
PPI (Saville v Central Capital Limited ) Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP In Saville v Central Capital Limited [2014] EWCA Civ 337, the Court of Appeal upheld an appeal brought by a couple provided with insufficient payment protection insurance (PPI) sold in breach of the Insurance Conduct of Business Rules (the ICOB Rules).	Mind The Gap: Obama Takes New Executive Action On Pay Equity In The Workplace Orrick Last week President Obama continued his administration’s push to tackle pay equity issues by taking executive action to put federal contractors’ compensation practices under greater scrutiny.
Becoming FCA Authorised Or Registered As An E-Money Issuer Or A Payment Services Provider Field Fisher Waterhouse Issuing e-money and performing a payment service in the UK are both regulated activities which can only be undertaken by firms which are appropriately authorised, registered (as a small provider) or are exempt.	New York City Council Passes Law To Provide Employment Protections To Interns Day Pitney LLP On Tuesday, April 15, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a law to protect interns working in New York City from discrimination, harassment and retaliation by their employers. This new law takes effect on June 14.
SEC Staff Provides Guidance To Investment Advisers On The Use of Social Media Ropes & Gray LLP In response to the prevalence of social media sites featuring consumer reviews of various types of businesses, on March 28, 2014, the SEC’s Division of Investment Management published an IM Guidance Update to address concerns arising from the rating of investment advisers on such social media sites (the "Guidance Update").	Transaction Letters Of Intent Lerners If you are selling or purchasing a business, the first document that is likely to be involved is a letter of intent.
Governance In UK Financial Services - Challenges For Subsidiaries Of International Firms Deloitte The UK regulators are increasingly focusing on global financial services firms and the role non‑UK parent companies play in the governance and oversight of UK subsidiaries.	OTC Derivatives - The New Cost Of Trading Deloitte Over-the-counter derivative markets are subject to significant change as global regulatory commitments originating in 2009 take effect.
FCA AIFM Application Looms Bedell Group Alternative Investment Fund Managers relying on the one year transitional provisions under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive have been encouraged by the Financial Conduct Authority to submit their applications to manage Alternative Investment Funds before the 22 April 2014.	BIS LP, Inc. – New Jersey Director Must Pay Refund Morrison & Foerster LLP The New Jersey Superior Court rejected the Director’s appeal from the Tax Court’s ruling that ordered the Director to pay a refund of Corporation Business Tax.
When Standard Pollution Insurance Policies Aren’t Enough Anderson Kill Real estate development, construction, mining and energy development share a set of risks ranging from construction accidents, earth movement and collapse to environmental clean-up. While these risks may be anticipated in some measure, the fast-changing regulatory landscape exacerbates them.	Entry Into Force Of New Cyprus-Spain Double Tax Agreement Imminent Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC Article 27 of the new double tax agreement between Spain and Cyprus provides that the agreement will enter into force three months after the exchange of official notifications between the governments concerned.
Implications Of U.S. Sanctions Program On Intellectual Property Owners Lewis Roca Rothgerber To advance U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives, the U.S. maintains laws and regulations that impose economic sanctions against certain countries, individuals, and entities.	Property Owners: Don't Pay For The Same Work Twice. A Discharge From Liability To Subcontractors Under CERCLA Reed Smith On March 18, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided that under the federal environmental cleanup law known as the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act", a subcontractor cannot recover the value of unpaid work directly from a landowner if the landowner has already paid the general contractor for the subcontractor's work.
Nobunny Knows Trademarks Like Cadbury (Video Content) Stites & Harbison PLLC You may have noticed a "very unusual kind of egg" in your grocery store. It is only available between New Year’s Day and Easter. It is wrapped in colorful foil.	New Registration Requirements And Deadline For PRC Domestic PE Funds And Managers Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton Domestic Chinese private equity managers should take notice of new provisional regulations requiring registration of domestic Chinese private equity managers and filings with the Asset Management Association of China.
The Logistics Of Export Control Reform For The Aerospace Industry Thompson Coburn LLP In October 15, 2013, the first pair of final rules implementing the President’s Export Control Reform (ECR) initiative became effective.	US FATCA And Cayman Funds: Due Diligence Maples and Calder On 29 November 2013, the Cayman Islands government signed a Model 1B (i.e. non- reciprocal) intergovernmental agreement with the United States of America.
New York State's New Estate & Gift Tax Rules Moritt, Hock & Hamroff LLP The 2014‐2015 New York State budget was recently passed and changes to the New York estate and gift tax law became effective April 1, 2014.	Facebook Entering The Electronic Money Arena Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis Like my status, and send me money. Facebook is about to get even more involved in people’s lives and wallets.
Bright Line Rule: Collateral Estoppel Precludes Attacks On Quasi-Judicial Permit Decisions (But Stay Tuned: Rehearing Granted On The Court’s Own Motion) Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton "Collateral attack is not a substitute for an appeal" reasoned the Second Appellate District Court in "Bowman v. California Coastal Commission".	Filing Deadline/Primary Update: AG Races In California, Colorado, North Dakota, And Oklahoma Dickstein Shapiro LLP Over the past week, the filing period for candidates in state elections closed in North Dakota and Oklahoma.