Author: elsierl2@illinois.edu

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Unsecure Health: What the BIOSECURE Act Could Mean for the Biopharmaceutical Industry

A Note by Megna Raghuraman

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On January 19, 2025, TikTok, a social media platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance which provides short form video content to over 170 million users, shut down in the United States. The bill to block TikTok was passed in April 2024 with an overwhelming majority in both the House and the Senate due to growing bipartisan fears of national security risks. The Supreme Court upheld the TikTok ban, sharing Congress’s national security concerns of TikTok’s collection of data privacy. However, the ban lasted a mere eighteen hours. The first day of President Trump’s term, his administration effectively stalled the ban and brought TikTok back to the U.S. via executive order. However, while the Trump administration appears supportive of TikTok in the U.S., the executive order only delays the ban: TikTok must eventually sever its ByteDance—and essentially Chinese—connection to maintain … Read the rest

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Comity, Chapter 15’s Public Policy Exception, and the Absolute Priority Rule

A Note by Christopher Stella

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Since chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code was enacted in 2006, there have been debates about when the public policy exception found in 11 U.S.C. § 1506 should apply to deny recognition of a foreign proceeding, law, or court order. Although some critics have made strong arguments in favor of a broad application of section 1506, the general rule among courts is to sparingly apply section 1506 and presume that recognition is proper. Despite the general rule in favor of recognition, courts have found some situations where section 1506 does apply. For instance, courts have applied section 1506’s public policy exception when core bankruptcy principles have been violated, or where statutory rights have been impinged. But courts have not fully addressed whether it would be proper to apply the public policy exception in a case where a foreign debtor’s … Read the rest

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Weighty Consequences: How GLP-1 Agonist Litigation Highlights the Need for Greater FDA Off-Label Prescription Oversight

A Note by Carson Poupore

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With 42.4 percent of United States adults suffering from clinical obesity and 9.2 percent of adults suffering from it severely, the following archetypical story is far too familiar in recent years. Seeking dietary control and weight loss, a patient consults their physician. The physician, comporting with their standard of care, prescribes Ozempic, which is popularly understood to resolve the patient’s issue. Based on information communicated by Novo Nordisk, Ozempic’s manufacturer, the physician fully informs their patient of Ozempic’s side effect risks. The patient starts the prescription and feels a newfound sense of hopeful control. But this feeling is short-lived. Soon after, the patient constantly feels nauseous, vomits after eating, and suffers from abdominal pain. The patient never expected this. After correlating these unforeseen symptoms with Ozempic prescription, the patient concludes that they would never have taken … Read the rest

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Deception by Delivery Fees: Demanding Consumer Protections and Transparency in the Face of Deceptive Fee Practices

A Note by Deanna Nila

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The use of online food delivery platforms has seen a rampant increase in recent years, with the global food delivery market being valued at a whopping $242.09 billion in 2023. With the rise and fall of the COVID-19 pandemic, bustling consumer lifestyles, and the increased digitalization of everyday interactions, the ability to order food delivery from over thousands of different restaurant options has never been more convenient. Every day, thousands of busy consumers utilize apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, or GrubHub to have food or groceries delivered right to their door step. Many have even become reliant on these services, such as those with mobility issues or those who do not own vehicles. While the necessity and convenience of having food delivery at our fingertips has made it a booming business, consumers have found that this convenience can sometimes … Read the rest

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Mobley v. Workday: An Evolving AI Compliance Landscape

A Note by Ashley Morris

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Mobley v. Workday is a groundbreaking legal dispute that sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and employment law. The key issues in Mobley are whether the use of algorithmic screening tools in hiring decisions, as implemented by Workday, result in unlawful disparate impact discrimination under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (“Title VII”), under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), or under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Another key issue in Mobley centers around whether Workday can be held liable as employer’s agent for unlawful disparate impact discrimination under these three acts. While this case is still pending, it is among the first major cases to challenge algorithmic hiring under antidiscriminatory statutes. It could set precedent for how AI hiring systems are regulated in the U.S. While Mobley was filed in … Read the rest

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Which Side Are You On: Cemex, Mandatory Bargaining, and the Future of Organized Labor

A Note by Jarrett Krouss

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Under President Joe Biden, the frequency of union elections exploded– election petitions increased by roughly a quarter in 2024 compared to 2022 and 2023, and were double those filed in 2021. While many factors have likely contributed to the rise in union elections, the August 2023 National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC plays a major role. A three-to-one ruling of the NLRB Board, Cemex lowered requirements for the issuance of mandatory bargaining orders. . . .… Read the rest

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Racing Toward Reform: Limiting NASCAR’s Monopsony Power Through Structural Change

A Note by Lauren Hadley

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Since its inception in 1948, the France family has ruled NASCAR with an iron fist. As other American professional sports leagues became increasingly democratic through athlete unionization and joint venture structures, NASCAR remained a dictatorship. In 2016, NASCAR granted teams non-permanent charters, similar to franchises, to build equity and encourage investment. Theoretically, the charter agreement gave teams formal power in NASCAR governance by negotiating and bargaining for better terms every few years. However, during last fall’s charter renewal negotiations, it became clear this was
not true in practice. . . .… Read the rest

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Scarcity Does Not Create Value: H-1B Visa Reform that Protects American Workers Without Reducing Immigration

A Note by Justin Fernando

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Amidst rising tensions surrounding immigration, the H-1B visa program has found itself under fire from all sides of the political spectrum. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, two businessmen who were tapped to lead the proposed Department of Governmental Efficiency, made headlines towards the end of last year for arguing in favor of the H-1B visa system as a way to bring talented workers to the United States. Senator Bernie Sanders directly opposed these comments, criticizing companies for replacing American workers with lower-paid immigrant workers, going as far as to call these workers “indentured servants.” This debate, while not new, presents a false dichotomy. . . .
… Read the rest

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An “Unmanageable” Task: Breach of Warranty Claims in Multi-State Class Action Litigation

An Article by William Beatty

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The crossroads of warranty law and class action litigation pose substantial hurdles for claimants asserting a multi-state class action for breach of express or implied warranty. Not only do they have to satisfy the rigorous Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 23(a) requirements of numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequacy of representation, but also have to fit the cases into one of the three categories outlined in Rule 23(b). Plaintiffs must also deal with widely varying state rules regarding such issues as reliance, pre-suit notice and privity of contract which might destroy the required elements of commonality or typicality. These variables have resulted in several courts deeming multi-state warranty class actions to be “unmanageable,” rendering them unsuitable for class-wide resolution.… Read the rest