Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert Blog

On December 5, 2016

November 16, 2016 marked the six-month anniversary of Title III of the JOBS Act of 2012 being fully implemented. Title III and the rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) allow businesses to raise capital through “equity crowdfunding.” This is the act of raising capital from others via the internet, by seeking small investments from a large number of potential investors through the use of licensed broker-dealers or internet funding portals. These investments are exempt from the traditional security registration requirements. People are generally familiar with existing “crowdfunding” platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe which have been in existence since at least 2008. These platforms practice rewards-based crowdfunding. Backers give a “campaign” money, and the backer gets back a “reward,” i.e., a thank you note or the first edition of a product. Title III, however, allows for “equity crowdfunding,” which is the ability to buy ownership in an early-stage company and hopefully reap a monetary return on that investment. Instead of getting that thank you note or new product, the investor is getting a piece of equity in the company he or she just invested in. Many industry professionals and commentators expected “equity crowdfunding” to be a “slow burn” due to regulatory hurdles, a lack...

Third Circuit Holds That Challenges to the Validity of a Contract Containing an Arbitration Provision Can Only Be Adjudicated by the Arbitrator

by Caroline E. Oks

Posted in General Litigation

On November 30, 2016

In a recent precedential decision, South Jersey Sanitation Co., Inc. v. Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Co., Inc., the Third Circuit held that although arbitration agreements may be invalidated by generally applicable contract defenses, like fraud, in order for the court to decide the issue, the challenge “must focus exclusively on the arbitration provision, rather than on the contract as a whole.” “If the challenge encompasses the contract as a whole, the validity of that contract, like all other disputes arising under the contract, is a matter for the arbitrator to decide.”

Federal Court Preliminarily Enjoins DOL From Enforcing Overtime Exemption Rules

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Wage and Hour

On November 28, 2016

On November 22, 2016, in Nevada v. United States Department of Labor, et al., a judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) from implementing and enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act (“the FLSA”) final overtime rule that would otherwise become effective on December 1, 2016.

Russell Bershad Named to the NJBIZ Real Estate Power List

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Transactional Real Estate and Leasing

On November 28, 2016

Russell B. Bershad, Co-Chair of the Gibbons Real Property & Environmental Department, has been named to the NJBIZ Real Estate Power 75, a list of the most powerful people in New Jersey real estate. Mr. Bershad appeared for the first time this year, ranking 55th on the list. NJBIZ notes, “Russ Bershad is a newcomer to the list. But, according to one fan, he’s been in the mix for quite some time. ‘He was involved in the Roche deal, he represents David Barry in Jersey City. He’s doing a lot of good things there.’ Said another: ‘You know every detail is going to be pored over when you hire Russ.’ Said another: ‘If you’re going to add more lawyers to the list, and that’s a good idea, Russ is one of the people you need to have.’”

USDOL New Persuader Rule Permanently Enjoined

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Labor

On November 23, 2016

We are pleased to report that a federal court in Nat’l Fed’n of Indep. Bus. v. Perez issued a nationwide injunction permanently enjoining the United States Department of Labor’s new persuader rule last week. The decision is a major victory for the business community because the new rule placed employers’ abilities to freely seek labor counsel in jeopardy by expanding their obligations to publicly disclose arrangements into which they entered with the labor consultants, including their attorneys.

New Jersey Federal Court Relies on Spokeo to Dismiss FACTA Class Action For Failure to Allege Concrete Harm

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Class Action Defense

On November 22, 2016

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey recently relied on the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Spokeo v. Robins to grant a Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss a statutory violation-based class action complaint for failure to allege a concrete injury. In Kamal v. J. Crew Group Inc., et al. the Court concluded that the plaintiff lacked standing to sue under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”) because, as in Spokeo, the claims were based on a purely statutory injury, i.e., the plaintiff did not allege a “concrete and particularized” injury.

11th Circuit’s Stay Suggests that the FTC’s Final Order Against LabMD May Itself be “Unfair” and “Unreasonable”

by John T. Wolak

Posted in Appellate / General Litigation

On November 16, 2016

As reported on this blog on September 27, 2016, the FTC issued a Final Order holding that LabMD’s data security practices were “unreasonable” and constituted an “unfair” business practice in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”), 15 U.S.C. §45(a) and (n). The findings were a clear signal of the FTC’s expanding efforts to regulate data security and to incentivize companies handling sensitive data to implement and maintain strong data security practices. On Thursday, November 10, 2016, the 11th Circuit stayed enforcement of the FTC’s Final Order pending a full hearing and final decision on LabMD’s appeal, and called into question the validity of the FTC’s conclusions as to what may constitute an actionable “privacy harm” following a data security breach.

Believe It or Not: Computer Fraud Coverage May Not Cover Fraud Involving a Computer

by John T. Wolak

Posted in Insurance

On November 14, 2016

Is a commercial policyholder able to get insurance under the terms of its computer fraud coverage (typically offered as part of a crime policy) for a fraud based upon information transmitted by email? Not according to the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in Apache Corporation v. Great American Insurance Company, which vacated the trial court’s judgment and left the policyholder with a $2.4 million uninsured loss. While the opinion is unpublished and therefore should have limited precedential value, it highlights the importance of reviewing your company’s coverage profile in an effort to close potential gaps in insurance coverage for security breaches and other losses involving computer use.

NYC Council Passes “Freelance Isn’t Free” Act

by Elizabeth Cowit

Posted in Wage and Hour

On November 14, 2016

On October 27, 2016, The New York City Council unanimously passed a local law, the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, aimed to enhance protections for freelancers and purportedly to prevent wage theft. Under the law, freelancers include individuals (and organizations having no more than one person) retained as an independent contractor to provide services in exchange for payment. The law, however, excludes from coverage sales representatives (as defined in section 191 of the New York Labor Law), persons engaged in the practice of law under the contract at issue (and who are members in good standing of a bar and not under any restrictions with respect to the practice of law), and licensed medical professionals. The law does not apply to the United States government, New York City, and New York State (and their respective offices, departments, agencies, authorities, etc.) any local government, municipality, or county, along with any foreign government.

N.J.’s Proposed Changes to Low Income Housing Tax Credit Qualified Allocation Plan Limit Projects per Developer and Encourage Development in Smart Growth Areas

by Cameron W. MacLeod

Posted in Development/Redevelopment / Economic Development

On November 14, 2016

The N.J. Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (“HMFA”) recently proposed changes to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (“LIHTC”) Qualified Allocation Plan (“QAP”). State housing credit agencies, like HMFA, are required to create plans which outline the selection criteria for awarding tax credits for the development of low- and moderate-income housing. The proposed amendments update the QAP to reflect procedural changes to the way in which affordable housing is constructed, but also include some substantive changes to both the allocation of tax credits among developers and the scoring system for awarding tax credits.