The Second Circuit affirmed its previous decision in Harrison v. Republic of Sudan that service of process on the Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs by registered mail to the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, DC complied with the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) requirement that service be sent to the head of the ministry of foreign affairs (838 F.3d 86 (2d Cir. 2016)).

See Legal Update, Service on Minister of Foreign Affairs via Embassy Is Sufficient Under FSIA: Second Circuit for more on this decision.

See Practice Note, A Primer on Foreign Sovereign Immunity for information on the history of US foreign sovereign immunity law, the FSIA, and state immunity approaches recognized by other jurisdictions and multilateral treaties.

In Gibson v. Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc., the Eighth Circuit held that in a class action, the 30-day removal period set by 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(3) does not begin to run until the defendant receives a paper from which it can unambiguously ascertain that the class satisfies the requirements of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) (840 F.3d 515 (8th Cir. 2016)).

See Legal Update, Thirty-Day Removal Period Does Not Run Until Plaintiff Unambiguously Sets Out CAFA Jurisdiction: Eighth Circuit for more on this decision.

See Practice Note, Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA): Overview for information on CAFA’s requirements for federal diversity jurisdiction over class and mass actions, the enumerated exceptions to federal jurisdiction, removal, and class action settlements.

In de Fontbrune v. Wofsy, the Ninth Circuit held that under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 44.1, a court may consider relevant foreign legal materials beyond the pleadings in deciding a motion to dismiss under FRCP 12(b)(6) when the claim depends on a determination of foreign law. The court warned that in some cases summary judgment might be a more appropriate method of resolving a matter under foreign law. (838 F.3d 992 (9th Cir. 2016).)

See Legal Update, Court May Consider Foreign Material Outside the Pleadings when Deciding Motion to Dismiss: Ninth Circuit for more on this decision.

See Practice Note, International Litigation: Applying Foreign Law in US Litigation for information on introducing questions of foreign law in US litigation and proving the elements of the relevant foreign law to the court.

In Move, Inc. v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., the Ninth Circuit held that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) is subject to equitable tolling ( (9th Cir. Nov. 4, 2016)).

See Legal Update, FAA Is Subject to Equitable Tolling: Ninth Circuit for more on this decision.

See Enforcing or Challenging Arbitration Awards in the US Toolkit for a collection of resources to help counsel enforce or challenge arbitration awards in federal and state courts.

The Second Circuit in In re Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation vacated a $147 million judgment against Chinese defendants for illegally fixing the price of vitamin C sold to US companies, reasoning that under the principles of international comity, the district court should have abstained from exercising jurisdiction in the case at the motion-to-dismiss stage. (837 F.3d 175 (2d Cir. 2016)).

See Legal Update, Second Circuit, Citing Comity, Vacates $147 Million Vitamin C Price-Fixing Award for more on this decision.

See Practice Note, Antitrust Affirmative Defenses: Overview for information on antitrust defenses involving foreign conduct.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) separately announced that Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, a New York-based hedge fund, and its African subsidiary will pay more than $412 million to settle charges that the companies violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). This is the first time a hedge fund has been held liable for violating the FCPA and represents one of the largest FCPA settlements of 2016.

See Legal Update, Hedge Fund Reaches $412 Million FCPA Settlement with DOJ and SEC for more on this investigation and settlement.

See Bribery and Corruption Toolkit for a collection of resources to help in-house counsel comply with anti-bribery and corruption laws and regulations, including the FCPA.

The SEC recently announced the settlement of an enforcement action against International Game Technology for retaliating against a whistleblower under the anti-retaliation provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. It is the first SEC action to assert stand-alone charges for whistleblower retaliation, without also including charges for, or a settlement of, a violation of securities laws.

See Legal Update, SEC Brings First Stand-Alone Whistleblower Retaliation Action Under Dodd-Frank for more on this enforcement action and settlement.

See Practice Note, Whistleblower Protections Under Sarbanes-Oxley and the Dodd-Frank Act for information on corporate whistleblowing and retaliation.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that a religious-affiliated health care system will pay $2.14 million to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) involving, among other issues, the disclosure of electronic protected health information (ePHI). In addition to the payment, the health care system must satisfy numerous requirements under a related corrective action plan.

See Legal Update, ePHI on the Internet Results in $2.14 Million HIPAA Settlement for more on this investigation and settlement.

See Practice Note, HIPAA Enforcement: Penalties and Investigations for information on the procedures HHS uses to enforce the privacy, security, and breach notification rules under HIPAA.

In a dispute under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the DC Circuit held in PHH Corp. v. CFPB that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was unconstitutionally structured. To remedy the constitutional violation, the court struck down the provision of the Dodd-Frank Act that limited the President to removing the single director of the CFPB for cause. (839 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2016).) The CFPB has filed a petition for rehearing en banc.

See Legal Update, Federal Court Rules CFPB Structure Unconstitutional for more on this decision.

See Practice Note, CFPB Examinations and Investigations: Defense Strategies and Best Practices for information on the CFPB’s examination and investigation processes, including its scope of authority, enforcement methods, and recent enforcement activity across different industries.

Joining other courts within the Southern District of New York, in United States v. Murgio, a district court held that the digital currency bitcoin qualifies as “funds,” and therefore money, under federal law. The case is linked to a federal investigation of the hacking of certain financial firms, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. ( (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 19, 2016).)

See Legal Update, New York Federal Court Rules Bitcoin Is Money for more on this decision.

See Practice Note, Virtual Currency Regulation: Overview for information on federal and state regulation of virtual currency activities.

In SunEarth, Inc. v. Sun Earth Solar Power Co., the Ninth Circuit held that a district court analyzing a request for attorneys’ fees under the Lanham Act should examine the totality of the circumstances to determine if the case is exceptional in light of the nonexclusive factors identified in Octane Fitness and Fogerty, using a preponderance of the evidence standard (839 F.3d 1179 (9th Cir. 2016)).

See Legal Update, Ninth Circuit Updates Attorney Fee Standard in Lanham Act Cases for more on this decision.

See Legal Update, Octane Fitness Standard Applies to Awards of Attorneys’ Fees in Lanham Act Cases: Fifth Circuit for more on the Octane Fitness and Fogerty standards for fee awards under the Lanham Act.

In EMI Christian Music Group, Inc. v. MP3tunes, LLC, the Second Circuit vacated a district court’s order holding that the defendant qualified for safe harbor protection under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) based on its definition of “repeat infringers.” The Second Circuit ruled that this definition does not require knowledge that the content is infringing. (840 F.3d 69 (2d Cir. 2016).)

See Legal Update, Knowledge Not Required to Be Repeat Infringer Under DMCA: Second Circuit for more on this decision.

See Practice Note, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA): Safe Harbors for Online Service Providers for an overview of the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA, including information on the eligibility requirements for each safe harbor, and the DMCA’s notice, takedown, and counter-notice framework.

In Lyda v. CBS Corp., the Federal Circuit ruled that Form 18 of the Appendix to the FRCP is insufficient to plead joint patent infringement claims, which are instead governed by the Iqbal and Twombly pleading standards (838 F.3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2016)).

See Legal Update, Form 18 Insufficient for Joint Patent Infringement Pleadings: Federal Circuit for more on this decision.

Search Standard Document, Patent Litigation: Complaint for a sample complaint alleging patent infringement under the Patent Act, with explanatory notes and drafting tips.

In Green v. Brennan, the US Supreme Court held that the limitations period for a public employee’s discrimination claim involving constructive discharge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) does not begin running until after the employee resigns (136 S. Ct. 1769 (2016)).

See Legal Update, SCOTUS: Clock for Constructive Discharge Begins Running After Employee Resigns for more on this decision.

See Practice Note, Discrimination Under Title VII: Basics for information on Title VII’s prohibition against race, color, national origin, religion, and sex discrimination, as it applies to private employers.

In Richardson v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., the Fifth Circuit held that an overtime action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) brought in district court by home mortgage consultants was precluded by a previously settled action brought in California state court. This decision provides inroads to employers to obtain summary judgment on class-wide FLSA claims that were brought and released in a prior state court action. (839 F.3d 442 (5th Cir. 2016).)

See Legal Update, FLSA Claims Barred by Settlement of Opt-Out Class Action in California State Court: Fifth Circuit for more on this decision.

See Wage and Hour Claims Toolkit for a collection of resources to help counsel reduce the risk of wage and hour claims, and defend wage and hour class and collective actions.

In Villarreal v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the Eleventh Circuit held that the plain text of Section 4(a)(2) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) makes clear that an applicant for employment cannot sue an employer for disparate impact because the applicant has no “status as an employee” (839 F.3d 958 (11th Cir. 2016)).

See Legal Update, Applicant Cannot Sue For Disparate Impact Under ADEA: Eleventh Circuit for more on this decision.

See Practice Note, Age Discrimination for information on federal laws prohibiting discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against applicants and employees age 40 and older.

The Non-Residential Tenant Harassment law recently took effect in New York City. The law imposes civil penalties on landlords who engage in commercial tenant harassment and, if a commercial tenant can prove a violation, permits the tenant to make a harassment claim against its landlord. (N.Y.C. Admin. Code §§ 22-901 to 22-904.)

See Legal Update, Law Prohibiting Commercial Tenant Harassment Takes Effect in New York City for more on the elements of a claim under this law, and the defenses to it.

See Practice Notes, Landlord’s Rights and Remedies (Commercial Lease) (NY) and Tenant’s Rights and Remedies (Commercial Lease) (NY) for practical guidance on negotiating and enforcing a party’s rights under a commercial lease agreement in New York.