The AI Reckoning Has Arrived: The Case that Will Rewrite AI Laws in Products Liability
In February 2026 a San Francisco Superior Court order consolidated twelve product‑liability lawsuits against OpenAI’s ChatGPT, shifting AI litigation from isolated complaints to a coordinated mass‑tort. Plaintiffs allege the chatbot caused severe psychological harm by reinforcing delusional beliefs, encouraging self‑harm, and reflecting a “sycophantic” design that prioritizes user approval over safety. The cases pose untested legal questions about whether a chatbot is a product, the reach of Section 230, First‑Amendment protections for AI output, and the applicability of traditional design‑defect analysis. The outcome could reshape liability exposure for the entire AI industry.
Acceptability of Naked Break Fees in Australian Schemes of Arrangements
Australian M&A practice continues to grapple with "naked" break fees, where a target must pay the bidder if shareholders reject a deal. The Takeovers Panel treats such fees as potentially unacceptable even when they fall below the 1% of target...
Discount Or Deception? Coles Found to Have Misled Consumers in "Down Down" Promotions
On 14 May 2026 the Federal Court of Australia ruled that Coles Supermarkets misled shoppers with its “Down Down” promotions, where “was” prices were only held for about four weeks before a discount was advertised. The court held that a genuine discount requires...
Protecting Purchased Goodwill: Sale-of-Business Restrictive Covenants Under National Scrutiny
Recent court rulings in Delaware and California sharpen the standards for sale‑of‑business restrictive covenants. In Delaware, the Arxada case upheld a five‑year noncompete tied to a $450 million goodwill purchase, while BluSky rejected a worldwide restriction for a regional acquisition. California’s...
HHS’s AERO Initiative - What Hospitals Need to Do Right Now
On May 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched the Audit Enforcement and Risk Oversight (AERO) initiative, using artificial intelligence to re‑score at least five years of Single Audit Act data for any entity receiving $1 million...
Texas Supreme Court Rejects the “Gist” Doctrine and Clarifies When Parties May File Texas Lawsuits Regarding Out-of-State Property Interests
The Texas Supreme Court in Braxton Minerals III, LLC v. Bauer rejected the long‑standing “gist” doctrine, allowing Texas courts to exercise jurisdiction over in‑personam suits that involve out‑of‑state real‑estate or mineral‑rights disputes. The Court reaffirmed the distinction between in‑personam actions,...
FERC Just Rewrote the Rules for Natural Gas Infrastructure. Here’s What It Means.
On May 21, 2026 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unanimously approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would overhaul its natural‑gas blanket‑certificate program, the first major change since 2006. The proposal doubles the automatic‑authorization limit to $30 million and raises the prior‑notice threshold...
SCOTUS Sides With Pension Fund in Withdrawal Liability Calculation Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that actuaries of multi‑employer pension plans may use assumptions adopted after the measurement date, provided those assumptions rely on data that existed on or before that date. The decision arose from M&K Employee Solutions’ challenge...
BIFURCATION MEANS BIFURCATION: Utah Federal Court Shuts Down Plaintiff’s Attempt to Backdoor Class Discovery in TCPA Suit
The U.S. District Court in Utah upheld a bifurcation order in the TCPA case Jordan Cameron v. CHW Group, preventing the plaintiff from pursuing class‑wide discovery. The court limited Phase 1 to issues directly tied to Cameron’s individual claim, rejecting broad...
DOE Issues Revised Title 17 Loan Program Guidance
On May 13 2026 the DOE Office of Energy Dominance Financing issued revised guidance for the Title 17 loan‑guarantee program. The update, driven by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Trump administration’s priorities, pivots the program toward high‑impact energy and manufacturing projects, especially Energy...
When a Deal Goes Wrong: A Practical Guide to Breach of Contract in Oilfield Services
Contract disputes are a chronic issue in oilfield services, but Texas’s new Business Court is reshaping how they are resolved. Effective September 2025 the court’s jurisdiction lowered to $5 million, moving many cases from overloaded district courts to a specialized forum that...
Trends of Pay Transparency Laws and Salary History Bans Continue to Grow — New Laws Enacted in Virginia, Maine, and...
A wave of state pay‑transparency legislation continues with Virginia, Maine and Delaware joining the ranks. Virginia’s law, effective July 1, 2026, bans salary‑history questions and forces employers to disclose wage ranges for every posting. Maine, effective July 29, 2026, requires pay ranges on all...
Off the Clock, Out of Compliance? Managing Wage-and-Hour Risk in Remote Workforces
Employers with remote or hybrid staff face heightened wage‑and‑hour exposure under the FLSA. Untracked off‑the‑clock work, incorrect overtime calculations, and employee misclassification can generate significant liability. Adding to the risk, remote workers often span multiple states, each with its own...
Institutional Ownership of Single-Family Housing and Build-to-Rent Communities: Emerging Regulatory Trends and What Developers Need to Know
Institutional investors are facing heightened scrutiny over bulk purchases of existing single‑family homes, spurred by a 2026 White House executive order and pending federal legislation that could impose ownership caps and a seven‑year forced‑sale rule. State lawmakers in Georgia, Arizona,...
June 2026 Visa Bulletin – Déjà Vu All Over Again: Retrogression Starts with India; May Affect China and Philippines
The U.S. State Department’s June 2026 Visa Bulletin introduces retrogression for high‑demand categories, marking the first such move this fiscal year. EB‑1 and EB‑2 categories for India fall back five and ten months respectively, while EB‑2 China and EB‑3 Philippines...
Private Equity’s AI Bet: Strategic Hedge or Structural Conflict?
Private‑equity firms are pouring billions into AI joint ventures, highlighted by OpenAI’s $10 billion DeployCo partnership and Anthropic’s $1.5 billion deal with major sponsors. These JVs grant buyout firms first‑look operational rights to cutting‑edge models while exposing legacy SaaS holdings to pricing...
Florida’s New DEI Ban for Local Governments: What Contractors and Vendors Need to Know
Florida enacted Senate Bill 1134, banning counties and municipalities from funding, promoting, or taking any official action related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The law, effective Jan. 1 2027, requires prospective contractors and grant recipients to certify they will not use...
Federal Scrutiny of State Medicaid Programs and Medicaid Providers Intensifies
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and congressional leaders are tightening oversight of state Medicaid programs, issuing off‑cycle provider revalidation mandates and threatening to defer federal Medicaid funds. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz sent letters to all governors demanding...
Tennessee’s New Solicitation Oversight Law
Tennessee’s General Assembly unanimously passed HB 2408/SB 2659, adding a statutory requirement for the Public Utility Commission to issue an annual compliance report on telemarketing and text‑message solicitations. The law, effective July 1 2026 if signed, does not alter existing solicitation rules but creates...
Understanding the President’s FY 2027 Budget Request for the Department of War
The White House’s FY 2027 defense budget request totals $1.5 trillion, a 44 percent increase over FY 2026 and the largest peacetime rise since the Korean War. It combines $1.15 trillion in discretionary authority with $350 billion of mandatory funding routed through a reconciliation bill. Major...
Texas Obtains Smart TV Privacy Settlement With LG — Here’s What Changes
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a settlement with LG Electronics that forces the company to disclose and give users an opt‑out for Automated Content Recognition (ACR) data collection on its smart TVs. The agreement requires a pop‑up notice, a...
USDA Announces Organizational Changes that Move Personnel Outside of DC Region
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a series of organizational shifts that will move thousands of employees out of the Washington, DC region. The Food Safety and Inspection Service will open a new National Food Safety Center in Urbandale, Iowa,...
The Invisible Disability: An Employer’s Guide to Mental Health and the ADA
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) explicitly covers mental health conditions such as major depression, PTSD, anxiety, ADHD, and autism, treating them as disabilities when they substantially limit major life activities. Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations that enable...
Super Micro’s Export Control Issues: Compliance and Financial Reporting Implications
The U.S. Department of Justice indicted three individuals linked to Super Micro Computer on March 19, 2026 for allegedly diverting advanced AI servers to China, though the company itself was not charged. In the wake of the indictment, Super Micro appointed DeAnna Luna as...
Federal Court Blocks Arizona From Enforcing Gambling Laws Against Prediction Markets
A federal district court in Arizona issued a preliminary injunction that bars the state from enforcing its gambling statutes against prediction‑market platforms, siding with the CFTC and DOJ. The court held that event contracts traded on CFTC‑registered designated contract markets...
DOJ Lawsuit Against Cloudera Alleges Discrimination Tied to PERM‑Related Hiring Practices
The U.S. Department of Justice has sued cloud‑data firm Cloudera, accusing it of discriminating against U.S. workers by manipulating its PERM labor‑certification recruitment process. The complaint alleges that from March 2024 to January 2025 the company diverted PERM‑related openings to a non‑functional...
The Korea Defense Market Is Open – Here’s What U.S. Companies Need to Know Before They Walk In
South Korea’s defense market surged to $15.4 billion in 2025, a 60% year‑on‑year rise driven by high‑profile contracts such as the KF‑21 fighter and export deals with NATO allies. U.S. firms now face a structural, not cyclical, opportunity to supply components,...
No Standing in the Parking Lot: Court Dismisses DPPA Suit
The Southern District of Florida dismissed a class‑action lawsuit alleging violations of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) by a parking‑management firm. The plaintiff claimed the company used license‑plate readers to match plates with DMV records and mailed fee notices...
Texas Supreme Court Holds That Expert Testimony On Informal Marriage Was Inadmissible and Reverses Lower Courts’ Judgments
The Texas Supreme Court reversed a lower‑court verdict that found a common‑law marriage after ruling that expert testimony from former family‑court judge Alicia York was inadmissible. The Court held that the elements of an informal marriage—agreement, cohabitation, and representation—are within the...
Stress, Burnout, and Safety: OSHA’s Modern Approach to Worker Well-Being
OSHA is integrating mental wellness into its safety framework, using the General Duty Clause to address psychological hazards such as stress, burnout, and harassment. The agency’s 2024 fact sheet urges employers to embed worker input, employee assistance programs, leave policies,...
Rising Wholesale Power Prices: What Energy Buyers, Developers, and Lenders Need to Know About PPA Risk in 2026
U.S. wholesale electricity prices surged in 2025, with year‑on‑year gains of 62% in New York, 60% in New England, and 45% in PJM, driven by higher natural‑gas costs and tightening capacity markets. Despite a record 54 GW of new utility‑scale generation...
Investing in AI Infrastructure: Beyond Data Centers
Private‑equity firms are expanding beyond data‑center investments to fund the full AI infrastructure stack, a market Brookfield projects will exceed $7 trillion over the next ten years. The spending split includes $2 trillion for new data‑center capacity, $4 trillion for GPU and chip...
EU Court of Justice Clarifies Jurisdiction Rules for Competition Damages Claims
On 16 April 2026 the EU Court of Justice issued a preliminary ruling in the Power Cables and Smurfit Kappa cases, refining the Sumal doctrine under Article 8(1) of the Brussels I bis Regulation. The judgment lowers the jurisdictional threshold for competition‑damages claims, allowing non‑addressee...
Maine Revises Workplace Drug Testing Law
Maine Governor Janet Mills signed legislation that overhauls the state’s drug‑testing regime, banning arbitrary testing and limiting tests to random selection, reasonable‑suspicion, or criteria‑based triggers. The law introduces a contestability process for non‑negative results and requires employers to offer a...
Massachusetts Court Addresses Limits of Chapter 93A Claims in Vacation Rental Injury Case
On March 24, 2026, the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts granted summary judgment to the owners of a vacation‑rental property and to the listing platform WeNeedAVacation.com in a Chapter 93A suit brought by Isabel Arana after she fell through a pool...
Prenups Aren't Just For the Wealthy: Why Couples Are Signing
Prenuptial agreements are shedding their wealthy‑only image as younger couples adopt them for practical financial planning. Rising student‑loan debt, freelance entrepreneurship, and future earning potential motivate partners to allocate assets, liabilities, and spousal support before marriage. In Rhode Island and...
Who Bears the Risk in Healthcare M&A? Impacts of AI and the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Healthcare M&A risk allocation is shifting as the phased rollout of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and heightened scrutiny of AI tools limit the effectiveness of traditional representations and warranties (R&W) insurance. Insurers are carving out exclusions for...
NRC Amends and Expands NEPA Categorical Exclusions for Routine Licensing Actions
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a final rule amending 10 CFR Part 51 to broaden and reorganize NEPA categorical exclusions for routine licensing, regulatory and administrative actions, effective April 29, 2026. The rule adds new exclusion categories—including spent‑fuel storage cask certifications, fire‑protection, cybersecurity,...
QSBS Stacking: Leveraging Gifts and Trusts for Additional Section 1202 Exclusions
Section 1202 lets each taxpayer exclude up to $10 million (or $15 million for post‑July 4 2025 issuances) of QSBS gains. Because the exclusion is per‑taxpayer per‑issuer, shareholders can “stack” exclusions by gifting shares to other individuals or placing them in separate trusts. Outright...
Oklahoma Amends Medical Marijuana Law: Employers Lose Discretion to Designate ‘Safety-Sensitive’ Positions
Oklahoma’s medical‑marijuana statute has been amended by House Bill 3127 to impose a zero‑tolerance drug and alcohol standard for employees in designated “safety‑sensitive” positions. The amendment removes employer discretion in defining those roles, limiting the definition to nine specific duties...
DOJ Moves Certain Marijuana Products to Schedule III, Sets June Rescheduling Hearing
The U.S. Department of Justice issued an order on April 22, 2026 moving FDA‑approved and state‑licensed medical marijuana products into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. A separate order sets a June 29, 2026 hearing to consider broader rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to...
$3.425 Billion. One Year. A Wake-Up Call for Every Business Operating in the United States.
Gartner reports U.S. states imposed $3.425 billion in privacy‑related fines in 2025, eclipsing the total of the previous five years. Enforcement has shifted from guidance to hefty penalties, with California alone fining Disney $2.75 million for opt‑out violations. Twenty‑two states already have...
United States: Private Equity Sunshine Act (SB 1319)
California legislators are moving forward with SB 1319, the Private Equity Sunshine Act, which would amend the state’s Public Records Act to force detailed disclosures from public‑pension funds and their private‑equity managers. The bill expands reporting to include every general partner,...
Environmental Highlights From Virginia's 2026 Legislative Session
Virginia’s 2026 General Assembly pushed an aggressive environmental agenda, passing over 200 bills and signing nearly 30 into law. Key measures target data‑center siting, waste‑heat reuse, water‑use disclosure, and expanded PFAS monitoring for industrial wastewater and biosolids. The state also...
The Cyber Brief | CISA Issues Advisory on Increase in Iranian-Affiliated Cyber Attacks Across U.S. Critical Infrastructure
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an urgent advisory warning that Iranian‑linked cyber actors are targeting U.S. critical infrastructure, especially water, energy and government systems, by exploiting internet‑exposed industrial control equipment such as Rockwell/Allen‑Bradley controllers. Recent incidents—including a...
Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Public Information Act Deadlines—And Signals Higher Stakes for Defending Against Release of Confidential Information at TCEQ
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) met the Texas Public Information Act’s ten‑business‑day deadline, shielding more than 6,000 confidential documents from disclosure. The opinion clarified three timing questions, including that a request for...
EB-2 NIW Case Study: Doctor From Uruguay Approved to Improve Healthcare Access Through Telemedicine
Colombo & Hurd secured an EB‑2 National Interest Waiver for a Uruguayan physician whose AI‑driven telemedicine platform aims to close care gaps in underserved U.S. regions. USCIS initially issued an RFE questioning the national impact, but the attorney reorganized existing evidence to...
OCR Announces HIPAA Enforcement Action Against Self-Funded Group Health Plan
The Office for Civil Rights announced a HIPAA enforcement action against a self‑funded group health plan, imposing a $245,000 civil penalty and a two‑year corrective action plan. The violation stemmed from a deficient risk analysis, a core requirement of the...
FERC Imposes $1.1 Billion Penalty for Alleged ‘Brazen’ Capacity Market Fraud
On April 15, 2026, FERC issued a unanimous order penalizing six affiliates of American Efficient with a total of roughly $1.1 billion for alleged capacity‑market fraud. The companies must return about $410 million in unjust profits and pay a $722 million civil penalty...
Cut, Clarity… and Compliance: How the CPSC Regulates Jewelry and Accessories
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) now enforces a broad set of safety standards for jewelry, watches and accessories, covering everything from lead limits to battery hazards. Recent data show that more than half of the 14 recalls since...