News & Publications

On February 26, 2025, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision limiting the scope of an award of the "defendant's profits" in trademark infringement suits under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1117(a), to only those profits ascribable to the "defendant" itself.1 The Court vacated the opinion of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had upheld a $43 million award. The award was based on disgorging profits obtained by the named corporate defendant as well [...]

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA or the Act) is back in play. In an Order released on Feb. 17, 2025, a federal district court in the Eastern District of Texas stayed its Order from Jan. 7, 2025, which had enjoined enforcement of the Act. Smith v. U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, Case No. 6:24-cv-00336 (E.D. Tex. Feb. 17, 2025). The Smith court determined that the order issued by the U.S. Supreme Court in McHenry v. Texas Top Cop Shop, [...]

This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Combatting Auto Retail Scams (CARS) rule. Industry groups had challenged the rule, arguing that: The FTC violated Section 18(b) of the FTC Act by failing to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) before promulgating the CARS rule. The FTC arbitrarily and capriciously failed to articulate a reasoned basis for the rule. The FTC's cost-benefit analysis was arbitrary and [...]