New England Biz Law Update

Federal and state courts in Massachusetts issued a number of important product liability decisions in 2020. Highlighted here are some of the key cases. 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals • Imamura v. General Electric Company 957 F.3d 98 (1st Cir. ...

Now that the COVID-19 vaccines are available, the question for employers is whether they can require employees to take the vaccine as a condition of employment. A mandatory vaccination policy would help employers create a safe and healthy workplace, as ...

As is our custom this time of year, the following are the top 10 IP cases of the prior year. 1. Tampa Brady Tom Brady is once again seeking to acquire more federal trademark registrations. Last year I told you ...

This article is in recognition of Ombuds Day, declared by the International Ombuds Association and the American Bar Association and celebrated on the second Thursday of each October (Oct. 8 this year). Ombuds Day recognizes a centuries-old yet little known ...

A little over two years ago I started a company with a co-founder, gave notice at my then- job, and jumped into being an entrepreneur with both feet. However, eight months into the venture, for a variety of reasons — ...

The U.S. Department of Labor issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on Sept. 22 revising current interpretive regulations for determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The new test will make it easier ...

Fights over trade dress are legendary, costly and complicated but sometimes very necessary. The entire point of the product’s trade “dress” is to identify its source, i.e., the manufacturer, etc., in the eyes of the public. In this way, an ...

In the recent decision Bell v. O’Reilly Auto Enterprises, LLC, Civ. Action No. 18-2164 (1st Cir. Aug. 21, 2020), the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the showing an employee must make to claim a right to a reasonable ...

As legal counsel to a public registrant, imagine your client asking for your advice on the following questions: Can we help fund the startup of a new distribution customer that will buy more of our products? We really want to ...

Current financial turmoil may be expected to foster derivative actions seeking to hold corporate management responsible for financial loss. We see deals involving potential claims of self-interest initiated by major stockholders in an effort to buttress their companies. I suspect ...