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  • Cell Phone Reward and Risk By James R. “Sonny” Chastain, Jr. In a recent Supreme Court decision involving the Fourth Amendment, Justice Roberts noted that there are 396 million cell phones accounts in the United States for a nation of only 326 million people.  The cell phone provides numerous functions including access to contacts, data, information and the internet.  Some... Continue Reading... ....
  • International Trade Update: Is NAFTA Being Revised or Replaced? By Stephen C. Hanemann “A big day for trade!” was President Donald Trump’s enthusiastic announcement concerning the bilateral negotiations recently reached between the United States and Mexico on August 27, 2018, merely three months away from the North American Free Trade Agreement’s 25th birthday. While ratified by the Legislatures of Canada, Mexico, and the United... Continue Reading... ....
  • The City of New Orleans Overhauls Its Liquor Licensing Process By Jill A. Gautreaux Some exciting news for liquor license holders in the City of New Orleans! Effective August 27, 2018, the City of New Orleans (“City”) has transferred the administration of liquor licenses from the Department of Revenue to the Department of Safety and Permits in an effort to streamline the permitting process.  Years... Continue Reading... ....
  • Louisiana First Circuit Declines to Supply Right of Publicity to Barry Seal Succession By James R. “Sonny” Chastain, Jr. On June 21, 2018, the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the right of publicity and right of privacy in connection with Barry Seal (“Seal”) and the movie titled “American Made”.  In 2014, Universal City Studios, LLC (“Universal”) entered an agreement to purchase the life story of Barry... Continue Reading... ....
  • Louisiana and Parishes Considering How to Realize Benefit from Scotus’ Wayfair Decision – Working to Change Effective Date of Enabling Legislation By Jaye Calhoun, Jason Brown, and Willie Kolarik The Louisiana Legislature is considering last minute legislation to change the effective date of legislation allowing the State to tax remote sellers but has not acted to make other centralized collection legislation operative.  It may not have to. Today, in a 5-4 decision with far-reaching implications, the Supreme... Continue Reading... ....
  • Suddenly Everything Has Changed: United States Supreme Court Adopts an Undefined Uniform Substantial Nexus Standard, Overturns Quill, and Fundamentally Alters the State Tax Landscape in Historic Wayfair Decision By the Kean Miller State and Local Tax Team On June 21, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its opinion in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., Dkt. No, 17-494, 585 U.S. __ (June 21, 2018).  In addition to overturning the physical presence substantial nexus standard applicable to use tax collection requirements articulated... Continue Reading... ....
  • Court Rules Restrictive Convenants Out of Bounds By James R. “Sonny” Chastain, Jr. La. R.S. 23:921(A) states that every contract by which anyone is restrained from exercising a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind, except as provided in this Section shall be null and void.  However, there are certain exceptions to this general rule including La. R.S. 921(L) which permits... Continue Reading... ....
  • The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and Its Impacts on Businesses and Individuals Overview On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law H.R.1, also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “TCJA”). The TCJA makes the most significant and sweeping changes to the federal taxation of business and individuals in more than a generation.  Due to the unusual speed with which the TCJA went through... Continue Reading... ....
  • Net Neutrality Repealed: What it Means for Business By Lauren J. Rucinski and R. Devin Ricci As of December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) repealed the so-called net neutrality regulations in a 3 to 2 vote along party lines. But what does this mean and how may this decision affect you or your business? To be honest, it is too early... Continue Reading... ....
  • Season’s Greetings from the IRS: Employer ACA Penalty Notices are in the Mail By Brian R. Carnie, David M. Whitaker, Robert C. Schmidt, and Angela W. Adolph The IRS is starting to notify employers of their potential liability under Obamacare’s employer mandate for the 2015 calendar year.  According to the IRS, the determinations are based on the employer’s 1094-C/1095-C informational returns filed for the 2015 tax year as... Continue Reading... ....