Substantial Nexus Under Siege: Industry Fights Back!

Martin Eisenstein and David Bertoni have published their latest blog for members of the American Catalog Mailers Association:  The Industry Is Fighting Back.   The blog goes over each of the major battlefronts in the states’ multi-pronged effort to overturn the long-settled Commerce Clause rule of “substantial nexus,” which requires that companies have a physical presence...

Quill: Rumors of Its Death Are Greatly Exaggerated

In their latest Legal Corner blog for the American Catalog Marketing Association, partners Martin Eisenstein and David Bertoni report on the multi-front efforts by states to convince the public that Quill’s physical presence requirement is no longer good law or to attack it through burdensome notice and reporting obligations.  The blog updates direct marketers on...

Oregon Following in Ohio’s Footsteps?

Its being reported that the State of Oregon is considering enacting a tax modeled on Ohio’s infamous Commercial Activity Tax (the “Ohio CAT”).  “The plan,” according to reports, “would scrap Oregon’s corporate income tax system in favor of a 0.39 percent Commercial Activity Tax, or CAT, modeled after Ohio’s system. It would also cut taxes...

Trans Pacific Partnership: No More “Made In the USA”?

An essay in the Washington Times claims that that the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement (the “TPP”), if ratified by Congress, would ban labeling products with their country of origin.  According to writer Judson Phillips: Do you want to buy American? Forget about it. Under this deal, there can be no labeling to tell you a product is made in America....

Arbitration Redux: Supreme Court Speaks Again

Just seven days after my last blog post on arbitration clauses, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia finding, yet again, that a class action waiver provision was enforceable against a consumer.  Although the decision turned on a rather nuanced question of contract interpretation, it serves as a powerful reminder of...

Arbitration Clauses Under Attack, Again

David W. Bertoni: On November 7, 2014, I wrote about the implications for direct marketers of the FTC’s case against AT&T for unfair and misleading trade practices.  (To bring you up to speed, since that time, the federal court rejected AT&T’s motion to dismiss claims based upon so-called “data throttling” on the grounds of its...

B&I Lawyers Write About the Latest Developments in State Taxes For ACMA Members

On December 1, 2015, Martin I. Eisenstein and David W. Bertoni published “Inside the See-Saw Of State Taxes,” the latest entry for their Legal Corner blog available only to members of the American Catalog Mailers Association.  In their blog post, the authors review the status of federal legislative efforts, including the Marketplace Fairness Act, the Remote Transactions Parity...

Direct Marketing Association Oral Argument Update

Oral argument in the case of Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl occurred on December 8, 2014.   For  readers who are following the case, we thought it would be useful not only to recap some of the high points of the argument, but also to provide a list of resources and press reactions.  Both a...

Colorado’s Amazon Law: US Supreme Court Weighs In

On Monday, December 8, 2014, the United States Supreme Court will take up an important case for multichannel retailers.  It will hear argument in Direct Marketing Association, Inc. v. Brohl, a case brought to challenge a Colorado law that sought to impose notice and reporting obligations on out-of-state retailers only, including the annual filing of...

ROSCA: The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act

As we head into the holiday and then the most intense shopping days of the year, we want to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving.  It’s a last chance to rest and indulge before the “all hands on deck” holiday retailing season. But, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take this time — just...