Two years after the “bounty” provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act on financial reforms took effect, whistleblower matters remain a sizzling growth area for lawyers in employment or finance and securities practice areas — or, as is increasingly common, on a ...

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

Individual borrowers alleging that Bank of America mismanaged their loan modification requests under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program were not entitled to certification as a class, a U.S. District Court judge has found. As a HAMP servicer, the bank ...

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

“And the king said, ‘Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.’”— 1 Kings 3:24-3:25 On Sept. 18, the SEC at long last proposed an “amendment” to Regulation SK to institute ...

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

Statistics and anecdotal information continue to show that discrimination and retaliation claims are on the rise. Verdicts are larger than ever as juries lose patience with companies unable to reign in managers who engage in questionable conduct. Legal costs rise, ...

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

The U.S. Department of Labor issued new regulations under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which went into effect earlier this year.

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

The recent spate of weather-related casualties has caused many business owners to re-examine their business interruption insurance coverage, and now even the most bottom-line-focused entrepreneurs are thinking inclusion of this type of coverage may be money well-spent. 

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

A Massachusetts Superior Court judge’s finding that real estate agents are governed by the commonwealth’s real estate statute, G.L. c.112, §87RR, and not the state’s independent contractor law, is headed to the Appeals Court, according to lawyers on both sides ...

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

Corporate plaintiffs that prevailed in an administrative proceeding involving pollution charges could recover counsel fees without first establishing a net worth under $500,000, a Rhode Island Superior Court judge has ruled.

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

An insurance company’s denial of an application for long-term disability benefits could not be upheld even though video surveillance showed the applicant engaged in activities inconsistent with her claimed disability, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue

A pharmaceutical company should not have been awarded summary judgment on an employee’s claim that he was denied a promotion upon returning from military duty in Iraq, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

Tagged with: Nov. 1 2013 issue