Category Archives: News
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Client Alert: Dennis Hamilton v. Murray Rottenberg
The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland recently resolved a matter of first impression as to whether a judgment lien attaches on property during that brief period after a contract for sale has been executed but prior to legal title passing at closing. As this was the first level of appeal, it is likely that the losing party will seek ... Read More
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Client Alert: Employers Liable for Deferred Payroll Taxes
The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance for employers who, in response to the President’s Executive Memorandum dated August 8, 2020, choose to defer payroll taxes for employees from September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. In Notice 2020-65, issued August 28, 2020, the IRS specified that the deferred payroll taxes are due to the IRS prior to ... Read More
TAGGED: irs, Tax Law, Payroll Taxes, Notice 2020-65
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Client Alert: Payment Protection Program Grants May Result in Unexpected Taxable Income
The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) enacted through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136) is the government relief program that provided loans to small businesses to cover payroll, rent or mortgage payments and utilities. The loan may be forgiven under certain prescribed circumstances. The issue for recipients now is how to account for the funds. There ... Read More
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Virginia Supreme Court Suspends All Evictions For Rent Nonpayment Until September 7, 2020
A narrowly divided Court, in an order signed by Justice Mims, suspended all writs of eviction pursuant to unlawful detainer actions in Virginia, effective August 10, 2020, and continuing through September 7, 2020. The four-justice majority noted that the ongoing public health emergency limited the ability of tenants to avail themselves of the court system, and the Governor’s request for ... Read More
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National Survey of COVID-19 Medical Malpractice Immunity Legislation
(as of July 17, 2020) [1] The below survey of federal and state legislation, guidance, and executive action provides information regarding enacted and proposed legislation and executive orders issued to provide immunity protections for liability, in certain respects, to health care professionals, facilities, and volunteers in the course of their treatment of individuals during the course of the COVID-19 ... Read More
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Client Alert: Sweeping Changes to Virginia’s Employment Laws
The Virginia legislature enacted a series of sweeping employment laws, all but one of which went into effect July 1. These changes affect employers and employees in many sectors of the economy, bringing about reforms that have long been sought by progressive activists and labor interests. A primer for Virginia employers is below: Non-Competes Following the lead of its more progressive sister ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Court Narrows Eligibility of Lawful Permanent Immigrants to Avoid Removal
Andre Barton was a green-card holder who was convicted of several crimes, including a firearms offense and certain drug offenses. The government decided that it wanted to remove Barton based on those convictions. Barton applied for cancellation of removal, which has certain strict requirements including an initial seven years of continuous residence. The residency requirement would be cancelled, however, if ... Read More
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No Visitors Allowed: Potential Legal Ramifications of Restricted Visitors Policies In the Midst of COVID-19
The novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, has wreaked havoc on the nation and has had far-reaching effects across the globe. The trail of destruction left in its wake will no doubt have lasting implications on multiple industries for the foreseeable future and none has felt the impact more than the healthcare industry. Doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals, and non-medical related staff remain on ... Read More
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National Survey of COVID-19 Medical Malpractice Immunity Legislation (as of April 15, 2020)
The below survey of federal and state legislation, guidance, and executive action provides information regarding enacted and proposed legislation and executive orders issued to provide immunity protections for liability, in certain respects, to health care professionals, facilities, and volunteers in the course of their treatment of individuals during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and the declared national and state ... Read More
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Client Alert: New CDC Guidance for Essential Employees Exposed to COVID-19
In an effort to ensure the continuity of essential operations while maintaining a safe work environment, the Centers for Disease Control issued guidance for when critical infrastructure employees may be permitted to work following a potential exposure to COVID-19. A potential exposure means household contact or non-household contact of six feet or less with a person with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, ... Read More
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Client Alert: OSHA Guidance on COVID-19 in the Workplace
As businesses deemed essential continue to operate during the coronavirus outbreak and other businesses make plans to reopen when conditions allow, it is important for employers to keep in mind the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s recently issued Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, available here or at www.osha.gov. The guidance is not a standard or regulation. It creates ... Read More
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Client Alert: Internal Revenue Service Suspends Certain Collection Actions
On March 25, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) introduced its “People First Initiative” in which it will suspend certain tax collection activities currently ongoing and limit the number of new collection actions. These limitations will run initially from April 1, 2020, through July 15, 2020. The implication from the IRS is that the July 15th end date ... Read More
TAGGED: irs, People First Amendment
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Client Alert: Order of the Governor of the State of Maryland, Number 20-03-23-01
Governor Hogan issued an order on March 23 updating his office’s order of March 19 prohibiting large gatherings and closing certain facilities and non-essential businesses. The amended order urges Marylanders to stay home and asks employers to adopt work-from-home policies. It is not, however, a shelter-in-place order. The amended order provides a non-exhaustive list of essential businesses that are not required ... Read More
TAGGED: maryland, Employment Law, COVID-19, Governor Larry Hogan
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SCOTUS Opinion: Courts May Consider Whether Deadline To Contest A Removal Order Has Been Equitably Tolled
When the Government has ordered that an immigrant be removed from the country for committing certain crimes, the Immigration and Nationality Act allows judicial review only on “constitutional claims or questions of law.” In Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr, two such immigrants sought appellate review of their removal orders based on whether their motions to reopen their removal proceedings were untimely or ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Civil Rights Plaintiffs Must Prove But-For Causation
For years, Entertainment Studios Network, an African-American owned company, sought to have Comcast Corp. carry its channels. Comcast refused and ESN sued, alleging racial discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. ESN alleged that Comcast’s legitimate business reasons for refusing to carry ESN channels were pretextual. The district court dismissed the complaint, holding that ESN had failed to allege but-for causation ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: States Need Not Have Insanity Defense Based on Moral Understanding
Kansas permits defendants to raise an insanity defense based on whether the defendant “lacked the culpable mental state required as an element of the offense charged.” James Kahler, who was charged with capital murder for killing four family members, argued that he should have been able to raise an insanity defense based on whether he had a mental illness that ... Read More
TAGGED: scotus, SCOTUS opinion, Due Process, Kahler v. Kansas
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SCOTUS Opinion: States Immune from Copyright Claims
When North Carolina published a photographer’s copyrighted work recording operations to recover a shipwreck off of its coast, the photographer sued under the Copyright Remedy and Classification Act of 1990. The district court held that the Act abrogated State sovereign immunity from such claims, but the Fourth Circuit reversed, holding that the decision in Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Ed. Expense Bd ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Appellate Courts Must Review Late-Raised Arguments For Plain Error
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 52(b) provides that where a criminal defendant fails to raise an argument in the district court, the appellate court can review the issue for plain error. The Fifth Circuit, as opposed to other circuits, had the practice of refusing to review factual matters not raised before the district court. In Davis v. United States, a ... Read More
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Families First Coronavirus Response Act
On March 18, 2020, the 118th Congress of the United States signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which will go into effect on April 2, 2020. The primary details of this newly enacted law are as follows: EMERGENCY FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE EXPANSION ACT (Section 3101) Applies to employers with fewer than 500 employees, but more than 25 ... Read More
Jackson & Campbell Coronavirus/COVID-19 Updates
At Jackson & Campbell, P.C. dependability is the cornerstone of our successful attorney-client relationships. Underlying our dependability is the care we have for our clients and their legal needs. We are sharing this message to assure you that we are keeping up with the rapidly changing news regarding the health and safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 virus. One of the biggest ... Read More
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The Council of the District of Columbia Approves Emergency Bill Expanding Foreclosure Protections
On March 3, 2020, the Council of the District of Columbia approved an emergency bill amending certain portions of the Housing Finance Agency Act to extend the Agency’s Reverse Mortgage Insurance and Tax Payment Program (ReMIT). ReMIT is a pilot program crafted to address seniors facing foreclosure on a reverse mortgage by providing subsidy payments (up to $25,000) to help ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: No Pre-emption for States to Use Federal Immigration Information to Enforce State Identity Theft Law
Under federal law, employers must verify, through an I-9 form, that they have “verified” that each new employee “is not an unauthorized alien.” In Kansas v. Garcia, three persons who were living in the United States illegally used the same false Social Security number on their I-9 forms, as well as their tax withholding forms, and were prosecuted under ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Court Strictly Interprets “Actual Knowledge” For ERISA Limitations Period
Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, a person with “actual knowledge” of an alleged fiduciary breach by the administrator of a pension plan must file suit within three years of gaining such knowledge—otherwise, a six-year limitations period applies. In Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma, Intel argued that its former employee filed such a claim ... Read More
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February Real Estate Update | Gan v. Van Buren Street Methodist Church
On February 13, 2020, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals issued an opinion which expressly declined to follow a troubling earlier decision regarding tacking in the context of adverse possession. The decision is significant because the Court clarified the confusing and contradictory prior decision, which muddied the adverse possession waters in Washington, D.C. In Gan v. Van Buren Street Methodist ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Court Strikes Down The “Bob Richards Rule”
The IRS allows affiliated corporations to file a group tax return. When the IRS issues a tax return to the group as a whole, federal law does not describe how to allocate the funds. The Ninth Circuit created a rule for that when it decided In re Bob Richards Chrysler-Plymouth Corp., 473 F.2d 262 (1973). The "Bob Richards Rule" mandated ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Court Declines To Extend Bivens To Allow Suit Against Border Agent For Shooting
U.S. Border Patrol agent Jesus Mesa, Jr. shot 15 year-old Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca while Mesa was on U.S. land, and Hernandez had run back across onto Mexican soil. Hernandez's family sued Mesa under Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), which permits damages claims against federal agents even though no federal statute authorized the claim ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Infant’s “Habitual Residence” Not Determined by Agreement of the Parents
The Hague Convention requires that a child wrongfully removed from her country of "habitual residence" must be returned to that country. In Monasky v. Taglieri, an infant was born in Italy to an American mother and Italian father. The relationship was abusive, and the mother soon relocated to America, taking the child with her. The father moved to have ... Read More
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SCOTUS Opinion: Court Enforces Removal Jurisdiction In Vacating Orders Against The Catholic Church
The case of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Yuan, Puerto Rico v. Feliciano concerned complaints filed by employees of Catholic schools in Puerto Rico alleging wrongful termination of their pension plan. Initially, the Puerto Rico trial court determined that the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church in Puerto Rico was the proper entity that owed obligations to the plan, and ... Read More
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Davis v. Echo Valley Condominium Association, 945 F.3d 483 (6th Circuit Court, December 19, 2019)
In a recent case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the court heard a matter involving the intersection between fair housing law and community association governance. In this case, Phyllis Davis purchased a second-floor unit in a four-unit condominium building within the Echo Valley Condominium Association in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Davis suffers from asthma and chemical ... Read More
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Employers Receive Additional Guidance with the New Department of Labor Rule, Making It Easier to Avoid Classification as a Joint-Employer
The Department of Labor issued a final rule on January 12, 2020 regarding the interpretation of joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires employers to pay employees the federal minimum wage for every hour worked and to pay overtime for every additional hour worked over 40 during a workweek. Liability for making such payments falls ... Read More