On November 16, 2021, with broad bipartisan support, the U.S. Senate confirmed Jonathan Kanter as the new Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) by a vote of 68-29. Mr. Kanter’s confirmation marks another step in the Biden Administration’s commitment to more vigorous enforcement of U.S. antitrust laws.

On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package into law, providing significant funding for renewable energy and electric vehicle infrastructure, including lithium-ion battery storage and recycling technology, along with funding for transportation, electric grid, broadband, and water infrastructure upgrades.

On September 22, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law several employment-related bills, which are set to go into effect January 1, 2022. This alert contains a summary of those new laws, which impact abitration fees, warehouse distribution centers, farmworkers, optometrists, and more.

This alert will provide a “cheat sheet” for general liability laws and regulations in the State of Oregon. Issues addressed include statutes of limitations, assignment of fault and damages, attorney fees, arbitration requirements, and unique discovery practices.

As the winter season nears, defendant property owners are reminded that New York law imposes liability for sidewalk accidents resulting from slip and falls on snow and ice. Within the City of New York, Administrative Code § 7-210 imposes liability on the owners of real property (other than single-family dwellings) to maintain an abutting sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition, which includes the removal of snow and ice.

Employers nationwide have waited anxiously following the Biden Administration’s September 9 announcement that a new set of rules would be forthcoming governing vaccination for employers with large workforces. On November 4, 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration ended the suspense by issuing an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), requiring all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated to the extent possible, and requiring regular testing and other safeguards for those employees who are not vaccinated.

The Colorado Supreme Court recently determined that an insurer defending under a reservation of rights has the right to intervene in the litigation after its insured assigns its rights to bad faith claims against the insurer. Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Bolt Factory Lofts Owners Ass’n, 2021 CO 32, 487 P.3d 276.