A relatively unknown area of trademark law could potentially hold significant liability exposure for landlords. In a recent case, Luxottica Grp., S.P.A. v. Airport Minim Mall, LLC, 932F.3d 1303, 2019 U.S.P.Q.2d 292644 (11th Cir. 2019), landlords were found to have contributorily infringed Oakley and Ray Ban trademarks on counterfeit sunglasses being sold by their tenants. […]

AB 5 … Again! There is no doubt that the California Legislature has passed some sweeping legislation during their past session. Among the most disruptive is AB 5, which our colleague, Denis Kenny, writes about in detail above in this edition of Perspectives. What most people may not be aware of, however, is that AB […]

2019 has been a busy year in the employment law front. We update you on two substantial updates that impact employers and employees alike: (1) the legislative pronouncement of the reach of the ABC Test on independent contractor classification and (2) the brief extension for small employers to provide mandatory sexual harassment training. Independent Contractor […]

We have written previous articles over the past year discussing the groundbreaking April 30, 2018, California Supreme Court decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v Superior Court of Los Angeles which, in practice, significantly increases the liability risk and damages exposure to individuals or businesses seeking to classify workers as independent contractors. The Dynamex decision […]

On the heels of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), California is rolling out its own revamped privacy legislation in the form of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “Act”). The Act will go into effect on January 1, 2020. Much like GDPR, the Act gives California residents certain additional rights in relation […]

Directors and officers of corporations have, as most of you know, fiduciary duties to act in the best interest of the corporation. To meet these duties, officer and directors must exercise a high degree of care in the operation and management of the corporation, to avoid self-dealing, to be transparent and to generally act in […]

On December 28, 2018, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (the “DC Circuit”) issued its long-awaited opinion concerning the appeal of the National Labor Relation Board’s 2015 ruling on the “joint employer” test. (See, https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/A1D3A01EDFAB1B8A852583710055207A/$file/16-1028-1766137.pdf) “Joint employment” in essence occurs when two or more individuals or companies are involved […]

Two new California laws demonstrate the widespread impact of the #MeToo Movement and the focus on putting a stop to sexual harassment in the workplace. SB 820: Prohibiting “Hush Money” Settlements Many articles and investigative reports have been published about prominent public figures, politicians and other famous (or infamous) persons with an apparent history of […]

I. New Year, New EV Law Lawmakers recently passed Senate Bill 1016, which is a clear statement by the California Legislature that it wants more electric vehicles (“EVs”) on the road. The new law went into effect on January 1, 2019, prohibiting common interest developments (“CIDs”) – which include condo projects, planned developments, stock co-ops, […]

A recent California appellate court decision has ruled that reverse veil piercing is permitted in California in the context of limited liability companies. Practically speaking, this means that an LLC’s assets could potentially be at risk for an LLC member’s personal liability under the right circumstances. Most people are familiar with the concept of “piercing […]