Lawyers USA Online » Kimberly Atkins

HHS proposes tougher child care safety measures

Kimberly Atkins — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:29:57 +0000

WASHINGTON – New proposed regulations would impose stricter safety requirements on child care providers who receive federal funding.

Under the proposed Department of Health and Human Services rules, child care providers who accept Child Care and Development Fund funding — about 500,000 providers serving an estimated 1.6 million children —
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Supreme Court treads carefully in patent ruling

Kimberly Atkins — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:09:49 +0000

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court’s surgically narrow ruling prohibiting a farmer from using seeds harvested from patented herbicide-resistant soybeans has left lawyers with more questions than answers about the extent of patent owners’ rights in other emerging, self-replicating technologies.

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INDIGENT DEFENSE

Kimberly Atkins — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:56:36 +0000

Did the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals err in holding that the in forma pauperis statute prohibits indigent plaintiffs from amending their complaints?

Burnside v. Walters, No. 12-7892.Certiorari granted: May 13, 2013. Ruling below: Unpublished, 2012.

FEDERAL PREEMPTION

Kimberly Atkins — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:48:29 +0000

The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 does not preempt state-law claims stemming from the storage and disposal of a towed vehicle.

U.S. Supreme Court. Dan’s City Used Cars, Inc. v. Pelkey, No. 12-52. May 13, 2013. Lawyers USA No. 993-3993.

Report: Patent pools may stifle competition

Kimberly Atkins — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:36:12 +0000

WASHINGTON – Patent pools, designed to spur innovation and reduce the cost of litigation, may actually be having anticompetitive effects according to a report released by the former competition policy director for the Federal Trade Commission.

According to the report, “Barriers to Competition on the Innovation Superhighway: How
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Circuit court strikes down NLRB notice posting rule

Kimberly Atkins — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:12:19 +0000

WASHINGTON – A federal appellate court has struck down the National Labor Relations Board’s controversial notice posting rule, the latest in a series of blows to the agency that has been mired in legal controversy.

The ruling, attorneys say, could lead to challenges of similar workplace posting rules from other
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NLRB advice on confidential investigations has lawyers reading tea leaves

Kimberly Atkins — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:16:39 +0000

WASHINGTON – The employment bar was roiled last year when the National Labor Relations Board ruled that a company policy requiring employees to keep interviews related to internal investigations confidential violated federal labor law.

But since then, the agency has been informally placing limits on that holding by issuing advice
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Businesses sue IRS in challenge to employer health insurance mandate rule

Kimberly Atkins — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:56:32 +0000

WASHINGTON – A group of small businesses have filed a lawsuit challenging a rule imposed by the Internal Revenue Service under the federal health care law, alleging that the agency exceeded its authority by expanding the law’s employer mandate.

The plaintiffs, business owners in six states including Missouri and Virginia,
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Warrantless blood test ruling gives defense bar new ammo

Kimberly Atkins — Thu, 02 May 2013 01:41:16 +0000

WASHINGTON – The effect of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling rejecting a per se rule allowing warrantless blood testing in suspected drunken driving cases will be felt far beyond DUI cases, defense attorneys said.

Text from the opinion authored by Justice Sonia M. Sotomayor in Missouri v.
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Supreme Court passes on Alabama immigration case

Kimberly Atkins — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:56:17 +0000

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a federal appeals court ruling striking down portions of Alabama’s immigration law, one of the most restrictive in the nation.

In a one-line order, the justices denied certiorari in Alabama v. U.S., the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of
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