Civil Law

Settlement Portends Broad Failure in Attempts to Ban Natural Gas

The City of Berkeley is going to repeal its regulation that prohibits the installation of natural gas piping within newly constructed buildings.

Last week the California Restaurant Association announced that the group and the City of Berkeley entered into a settlement agreement immediately halting enforcement of the City’s ‘first in the nation’ ban on natural gas piping as the City Council takes steps to repeal the 2019 ordinance after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit refused to … Read the rest

Civil Law

NYC Council Proposes Broad Non-Compete Ban

Seyfarth Synopsis: While New York State failed to pass a non-compete ban last year, a new bill in the New York City Council would eliminate non-compete agreements entirely, presenting new challenges and considerations for employers in the Big Apple.

On December 12, 2023, the New York State Legislature delivered a bill for the Governor’s signature that would have banned “any agreement, or clause contained in any agreement, between an employer and a covered individual that prohibits or restricts such covered individual from … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court gives government broad authority to dismiss whistleblower lawsuits

Supreme Court gives government broad authority to dismiss whistleblower lawsuits

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The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Department of Justice has broad, but not unfettered, authority to dismiss whistleblower lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provision even when the government initially elected to allow the whistleblower to proceed with the action.

The FCA’s qui tam (an abbreviation for a Latin phrase meaning “who sues on behalf of the King as well as for himself”) provision encourages whistleblowers to file suit on behalf of the government. … Read the rest