In order to prevail in an action against an insurer for violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act (CPA), a plaintiff must prove an unfair or deceptive act which “causes injury to the plaintiff’s business or property.”

One might quip that the season of giving is in full swing in Albany and New York City based on their year-end enactments of new laws protecting employees, but the reality is that we have seen similar significant changes throughout 2019 at both the State and City levels.

The Kings County and Bronx County Supreme Courts have recently implemented formalized early alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for civil cases. This alert reviews the upcoming changes in Kings Supreme, and the changes in Bronx Supreme from this past September.

On October 31, 2019, the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), published a memorandum (the OIRA memo) instructing the regulatory agencies on how to implement an October 9, 2019 Executive Order, EO 13891, “Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents.”

Data mining allows government investigators to review a healthcare provider over time and relative to healthcare providers across the local, state, and regional levels. Though not necessarily indicative of fraud, a healthcare provider whose billing practice suggests one of the following trends is very likely to be investigated.

Multiple federal agencies have recently taken steps to assess and regulate per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), based on evolving science and concerns about potential human health and environmental impacts from historic or future releases of PFAS chemicals.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy recently announced that her office has reached a “landmark settlement” with a Boston-based “gig” economy company.

The 2019 California legislative session was another busy year with numerous employment-related bill signed into law. Notably, the legislature enacted many statutes to combat sexual harassment in both the public and private sectors.