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Supreme Court

Court opts for plain meaning in dispute over procedural rules for relief from erroneous judgments

The Supreme Court on Monday clarified the meaning of “mistake” in the federal procedural rule that allows litigants to seek relief from erroneous final judgments. In an 8-1 opinion in Kemp v. United States, the court ruled that “all mistakes of law made by a judge” constitute “mistakes” under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1).

The case involved the various subsections of Rule 60(b), which establishes different deadlines for motions designed to correct various errors that courts … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Courts may not “make up” new procedural rules to favor arbitration

In a series of decisions, the Supreme Court has insisted that the Federal Arbitration Act requires courts to put arbitration contracts on “equal footing” with other kinds of contracts. These decisions have often favored companies seeking to enforce arbitration agreements, rejecting rules that give employees or consumers a way out from contract clauses requiring them to arbitrate their disputes on an individual basis. But Monday’s unanimous decision in Morgan v. Sundance clarifies that the equal-footing rule works both ways. … Read the rest

Civil Law

FERC Approves Civil Penalties for Alleged Violations of CAISO and PJM Market Rules

On March 28, 2022 and March 29, 2022, FERC issued two orders approving stipulation and consent agreements between FERC’s Office of Enforcement and Dynergy Marketing and Trade, LLC (“Dynergy”) and Constellation NewEnergy Inc. (“Constellation”), respectively. Among other things, Dynergy agreed to pay a $ 450,000 civil penalty for alleged violations of PJM Interconnection LLC (“PJM”) capacity tariff requirements and Constellation agreed to pay a $ 2.4 million civil penalty for alleged violations of California Independent System Operator (“CAISO”) resource adequacy … Read the rest

Civil Law

EU Supervisory Authorities Led by the Belgian DPA Find IAB Europe’s TCF Infringes EU Data Protection Rules

On February 2, 2022, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (the ‘Belgian DPA’) imposed a number of sanctions against Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe (‘IAB Europe’), for alleged violations of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the ‘GDPR’) by its Transparency and Consent Framework (the ‘TCF’).

TCF is developed by IAB Europe, in partnership with IAB Tech Lab. It aims to help companies collect and transmit users’ preferences, including as to whether they agree to have their data processed for the purpose … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Trademark infringement and procedural rules

This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether the holder of a U.S. trademark can win damages for trademark infringements in foreign sales, and whether the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure or Civil Procedure govern a wrongful-death case.

Trademark infringements in foreign sales

Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc. addresses the international reach of the Lanham Act, which provides remedies for infringement of U.S. trademarks. After a dispute over … Read the rest