The lame-duck session of the 118th Congress managed to be an active one for the higher education community, with two bipartisan education bills moving through Congress over the last four weeks. The first, the FAFSA Deadline Act (Public Law 118-145), was signed by President Biden on December 11 after passing the House of Representatives and
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Recess Appointments
Recess Appointments A temporary designation made by the President to fill a vacancy while the Senate is in recess.Yesterday Recess appointments trace their origins to Article II, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution. This allows the President to temporarily fill vacancies when the Senate is not scheduled to be in session for a specific period of…
Preservative Problems: Judge Greenlights Class Action Lawsuit Brought by Mac & Cheese Consumers
By Kim Bousquet
On November 13, 2024, Judge Mary M. Rowland of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a significant ruling in a putative nationwide class-action lawsuit against The Kraft Heinz Company and Kraft Heinz Ingredients Corp. The lawsuit alleges that the company falsely advertised its Macaroni & Cheese products as containing “no…
The Recent Massachusetts Court Holding in Vita is a Win for Businesses and a Look at Trends in Novel U.S. Wiretapping Litigation
The Vita cases The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently addressed whether the term “communications” in Massachusetts’ 1968 Wiretap Act (MWA) includes when a patient interacts with a hospital’s website and determined that such interactions did not qualify for protection under the statute. This is a significant decision for businesses that have been fending off…
Higher Education: The Road to Nonprofit Status Just Got a Little More Paved
Last Friday, the Ninth Circuit reversed a District Court’s decision upholding the U.S. Department of Education’s determination that Grand Canyon University did not meet nonprofit status under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (“HEA”). In Grand Canyon University v. Miguel A. Cardona, et al., No. 23-15124 (9th Cir. November 8, 2024), a Ninth Circuit three-judge…
Berkheimer v. REKM Decision Says that Customers Should Reasonably Expect Bones in Boneless Wings
The Ohio Supreme Court recently issued a favorable decision for Ohio restaurants, food suppliers, and farmers regarding potentially injurious substances in food products. In Berkheimer v. REKM, L.L.C., slip opinion No. 2024-Ohio-2787, the court weighed in on whether a consumer should have reasonably expected and guarded against a one-inch bone in a “boneless” wing. In…
Presidential Certification Process
A series of actions that must occur between Election Day and Inauguration Day to codify the results of the election for president and vice president. Jump AroundArticle II, Section 1 established the Executive Branch and process by which the president and vice president are elected using the Electoral College. Since the 1830s, states have allocated…
Supreme Court Will Again Consider Agency Authority in a TCPA Case
On October 8, 2024, the Supreme Court granted certiorari inMcLaughlin Chiropractic Associates, Inc. v. McKesson Corporation and McKesson Technologies, Inc., (No. 23-1226) to address whether the Hobbs Act requires district courts to follow the FCC’s interpretation that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) does not prohibit faxes received via “online fax services.”Getting to…
False Claims Act Ruling Offers New Grounds for Defending Whistleblower Claims
In a recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle declared the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act (FCA) unconstitutional, raising significant questions about the future of whistleblower litigation. The case, United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates LLC, challenges whether private…
California's Journey to Regulate Technology: September 2024 Legislative Update
Veto for the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018: opt-out preference signalOn September 20, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a proposed law (Assembly Bill 3048) that would have strengthened protections under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) by requiring internet browsers and mobile operating systems to offer consumers the ability to exercise their privacy…