Gibbons Law Alert Blog

How Useful is Facebook’s “Download Your Information” Feature in E-Discovery?

In October 2010, Facebook announced a new Download Your Information (“DYI”) feature, billed as “an easy way to quickly download to your computer everything you’ve ever posted on Facebook and all your correspondences with friends: your messages, wall posts, photos, status updates and profile information.” The Facebook announcement included a short video detailing how to use the feature. Cnet TV has a more in-depth video. Craig Ball also wrote an article about this feature in the February 23, 2011 issue of Law Technology News.

The Gibbons Institute Presents, “Cybersecurity Law and Policy: Changing Paradigms and New Challenges” – June 8, 2011

“Cybersecurity Law and Policy: Changing Paradigms and New Challenges” is an all-day conference featuring seven break-out sessions and over 35 speakers and panelists. This seminar is part of the Cybersecurity Law Project, a collaboration between the Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology at Seton Hall Law School, Rutgers School of Law-Newark, and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, which promotes specialized legal training in the emerging area of cybersecurity law to law students and practicing attorneys.

Recent District of New Jersey Decision Reinforces Need for Common Sense in Responding to Employee Requests for Family and Medical Leave

The recent District of New Jersey decision in Conteh v. Francis E. Parker Memorial Home, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41360 (D.N.J. April 15, 2011) serves as a valuable reminder for employers that the exercise of basic common sense in responding to employee requests for family and medical leave can go a long way toward preventing litigation.

New Jersey’s Time of Application Law Takes Effect Today to Lock in Zoning

The long-awaited “time of application” law, which locks in zoning under New Jersey’s Municipal Land Use Law at the time an application for development is filed, takes effect today. The law was intended to undo the “time of decision” rule under which the New Jersey Supreme Court, in Manalapan Realty v. Township Committee, 140 N.J. 366 (1995), decided that a municipality could change its zoning to negatively affect or even prohibit a project which was already under review by the municipal planning board. As a result, developers often were at peril if community opposition developed during the review and approval process and a change in regulations followed.

New York Wage Theft Prevention Act Effective April 9, 2011

We previously reported on a series of changes to New York Labor Law contained within the Wage Theft Prevention Act (“WTPA”) that are now applicable to all New York private-sector employers (including charter schools, private schools, and not-for-profit corporations). As discussed in our previous post, the WTPA requires New York employers to provide all employees with written pay notices at the time of hire and on or before February 1 of each year that include: the employee’s rate or rates of pay; the overtime rate of pay, if the employee is nonexempt; the basis of wage payment (e.g., per hour, per shift, per week, piece rate, commission, etc.); the allowances to be claimed against the minimum wage (e.g., tip, meal, and lodging allowances); the regular pay day; the employer’s name and any name under which the employer conducts business; the physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business (if different from the mailing address); and the employer’s telephone number.

Federal Circuit Provides New Rules for Post Injunction Contempt Proceedings in TiVo v. EchoStar

On April 20, 2011, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed down an en banc decision in TiVo, Inc. v. EchoStar Corp. that outlines new rules for contempt proceedings against a new or modified product when the original product has been barred subject to a permanent injunction. The decision is significant in that the new rules lower the burden faced by the patent owners to initiate such proceedings. The decision also illustrates the importance of clarifying the scope of injunctive orders at the time of entry.

The Importance of a Workplace Romance Policy

The adoption and enforcement of a policy regarding consensual workplace relationships is essential for all employers. With the American workforce spending at least one-third of their lives at work, it is inevitable that some employees will engage in romantic and sexual relationships with one another. A recent case in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Lucchesi v. Day & Zimmerman Group, reinforces that such relationships may have business and legal costs. While employers cannot prevent these relationships from forming or ending, they can take steps to manage their effect on the workplace and to reduce the potential liability stemming from them. A well-drafted policy is a critical first step.

Cost Recovery Under Superfund – The Eighth Circuit Fills the Void Created by the United States Supreme Court in the Atlantic Research Decision

The Eighth Circuit recently addressed an issue which the United States Supreme Court expressly side-stepped in 2007 when it decided United States v. Atlantic Research Corp., 551 U.S. 128 (2007). In Atlantic Research, the Court left open the question whether potentially responsible parties that incur response costs pursuant to an administrative consent order or a judicially approved consent decree may pursue a cost recovery claim under §107 of CERCLA, §113 of CERCLA or both sections.

DEP Launches Coastal E-Permitting Program

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) launched a new e-permitting program that will allow the public to apply on-line for certain coastal permits. The program is consistent with the Governor’s “Common Sense Principles” outlined in Executive Order No. 2 which focused on the need to reduce the high costs and regulatory burdens that are thought to impede growth and opportunity in the State of New Jersey.

Vapor Intrusion: Opportunity for Comment with EPA

Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency published a notice for “Public Comment on the Development of Final Guidance for Evaluating the Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway From Contaminated Groundwater and Soils (Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance)” in the Federal Register. The draft of the Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance was initially released for comment during 2002 and the EPA is planning on issuing final guidance by November 20, 2012.