Mass. Federal Court Invalidates Eight Patents Asserted Against Wayfair

On August 16, 2023, U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton of the District of Massachusetts issued an order granting the vast majority of a motion to dismiss filed by Brann & Isaacson on behalf of its client, Wayfair. The plaintiff, a non-practicing entity called Alto Dynamics, asserted nine now expired patents against Wayfair in a...

Mass. SJC Affirms U.S. Auto Parts’ Victory in Closely Watched State Tax Dispute

On December 22, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in a unanimous opinion written by Justice Wendlandt, held that the Massachusetts Department of Revenue cannot apply the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in South Dakota v. Wayfair retroactively against Brann & Isaacson client, U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. The Court held that the Department’s Internet Vendor...

B&I-Authored Article Featured on the Cover of Tax Notes State

An article by Brann & Isaacson managing partner Martin Eisenstein, partner David Swetnam-Burland, and summer associate Matthew Pick, who will join the firm as an associate in September 2022, entitled “Post-Wayfair, Franchise Taxes Still Fail Complete Auto Inspection” (subscription required), is featured on the cover of the October 18, 2021, issue of Tax Notes State....

Martin Eisenstein and David Swetnam-Burland Present to National Association of Presort Mailers on Tax and Privacy Issues

On February 17, 2021, managing partner Martin Eisenstein and partner David Swetnam-Burland presented a webinar at the Virtual Annual Conference of the National Association of Presort Mailers (NAPM), moderated by Hamilton Davison of the American Catalog Mailers Association. In the Sales Tax and Data Privacy Update, Eisenstein talked about key issues in state sales tax...

Brann & Isaacson Wins Summary Judgment for U.S. Auto Parts in Massachusetts Tax Dispute

On January 28, 2021, the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board granted summary judgment in favor of Brann & Isaacson client, U.S. Auto Parts, and abated a sales tax assessment dating to October 1, 2017. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue had assessed U.S. Auto Parts, which did not have a physical presence in Massachusetts, under its Internet Vendor...

B&I Attorneys Present Webinar on the Chaos in State Tax Law, Post-Wayfair

On April 30, 2020, Brann & Isaacson senior partner George Isaacson, partner Nathaniel Bessey, and associate Jamie Szal, were featured presenters at a webinar on “Confronting the Chaos of State Taxes in the Post-Wayfair Environment,” offered by the Institute of Finance & Management. Isaacson, who represented Wayfair in the Supreme Court in South Dakota v....

George Isaacson, Martin Eisenstein, and David Bertoni Published in State Tax Notes and Law360

This week has seen a flurry of publications by Brann & Isaacson partners on key issues in state tax law as we near the end of 2019. On December 13, 2019, Law360 published an article by managing partner Martin I. Eisensteinand partner David W. Bertoni entitled, “Beware Eroding Tax Protections for Website Operators” (subscription required)....

Eisenstein and Schaefer Critique Alaska Municipal Tax Agreement in Law360

In their article published by Law360 on November 27, 2019, “Alaska Tax Agreement Only Burdens Remote Retailers” (subscription required), managing partner Martin I. Eisenstein and partner Matthew P. Schaefer discuss the formation by 15 Alaska municipalities of the Alaska Remote Seller Tax Commission and the potential impact of the Alaska Intergovernmental Remote Seller Sales Tax...

B&I Wins Arbitration Application for Wayfair in Missouri Tax Case

In an order issued on November 18, 2019, Judge Richard M. Stewart of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Missouri, granted the application to compel arbitration filed by Brann & Isaacson client, Wayfair. The plaintiff brought a case against Wayfair, claiming that Wayfair collected too much tax from her, and sought class action status...

Martin Eisenstein Addresses the Institute for Professionals in Taxation

On November 13, 2019, managing partner Martin Eisenstein presented on the challenges and opportunities of the Supreme Court’s South Dakota v. Wayfair decision at the Credits & Incentives Symposium of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation (IPT) in Seattle. He discussed the potential state tax issues for all companies as a result of Wayfair, including...