News

Changes Made to the Pennsylvania Mechanics’ Lien Law to Protect Holders of Open-End Mortgages and Residential Property Owners

By EsqSocial Corporation 30/07/14

Mechanics’ liens grant contractors and subcontractors an interest in improvements made to real property to secure the payment obligations of owners to contractors, and of contractors to subcontractors. While these liens protect the legitimate...

Online Payments in China: Recent and Regulatory Actions

By EsqSocial Corporation 30/07/14

On March 13, 2014, People’s Bank of China (“PBC”) issued an opinion letter halting immediately the use of QR codes for payments using mobile phones (as distinguished from using QR codes at POS terminals) well as the use of virtual credit cards...

Does housing count as health care?

By EsqSocial Corporation 30/07/14

Rocking ChairNPR aired a story Monday morning reporting that New York has allocated $260 million in State Medicaid funds for supportive housing and exploring the question of whether housing counts as health care. Right now, Medicaid and Medicare...

SEC Sends Wells Notice to S&P Concerning MBS Ratings

By EsqSocial Corporation 30/07/14

On July 23, S&P’s parent company, McGraw Hill Financial Inc., disclosed that it received a Wells notice indicating that the SEC’s enforcement staff had made a preliminary determination to recommend that the SEC institute an enforcement action against...

Motor Carriers Face Uphill Battle After California Supreme Court Decision

By EsqSocial Corporation 30/07/14

Harris v. Pac Anchor Transportation, Inc., No. S194388 (July 28, 2014): In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court has held that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) does not preempt an action brought under...

Rumsfeld, Morrison and the Discovery Rule in Texas

By EsqSocial Corporation 30/07/14

In August 1999, Brock and Tipton signed a Farm and Ranch Contract by which Tipton would acquire 519 acres in Montague County. (Lots of Brocks were parties to the contracts and the suit. I refer to them as one for convenience.) All mineral rights were...

U.S.-Mexico Agreement Update on the Transboundary Hydrocarbon Reservoirs

By EsqSocial Corporation 30/07/14

The current moratorium on oil exploration and production in the Western Gap portion of the Gulf of Mexico will end shortly. This development will help to kick start cooperative agreements between countries as well as spur business deals. Current oil...

You’re Getting Sued for What? An E & O Odyssey (Pt 12)

By EsqSocial Corporation 30/07/14

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter‘s entertainment law blog, Hollywood, Esq., the producers, distributors and broadcasters of the television series Southland are being sued by the family of a deceased individual whose autopsy photo is used in the...

No Revival Of Class Claims For Plaintiff Who Delayed Amending His Complaint In Bad Faith

By EsqSocial Corporation 30/07/14

An Illinois federal district court has ruled that a class plaintiff whose motion for class certification was denied may not avoid that outcome by amending his complaint to introduce a new legal theory and revised class definition if the complaint...

The Second Prong of The Inside Salesperson Test – Is the California Supreme Court Poised to Upend The Commissioned Employee Exemption?

By EsqSocial Corporation 30/07/14

In Peabody v. Time Warner Cable, Inc., the California Supreme Court clarified that, to satisfy the commissioned employee exemption, employees must be paid more than 1.5 times the minimum wage in the employee's actual pay period – e.g., in the given...

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