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CannaLawBlog — Legalizing Cannabis Cash

June 5th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

On May 20, 2019 banking associations from all 50 states and 1 territory sent a letter to Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee urging them to conduct hearings on the merits of providing cannabis-related business access to banking services. CannaLawBlog highlighted the primary concerns of the letter in a recent post: "Again, the primary concern expressed was that current law forces state-legal businesses to operate on a cash basis, which poses a safety risk, complicates enforcement efforts, and could damage local economies." The banking associations wanted to emphasize their neutrality on the legality of cannabis, rather they wanted to show strength as a national community and validate, support, and respect those communities that have voted for legalized recreational marijuana. Read the complete post by HarrisBricken attorney Jihee Ahn on The CannaLawBlog.

Dr. Babyl: Artificial Intelligence Could Save Lives, Time and Money — TheDailyBeast.com

May 27th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

  Itchy throat? Headache? Upset stomach? There's an app for that. There is a new AI healthcare system called Babylon UK’s National Health Service which features an AI-driven app that is reportedly able to separate “run-of-the-mill” illnesses from more life-threatening ones, while saving time, money, and anxiety for patients and doctors alike. Babylon offers more than diagnostic assistance; it is accessible to people in remote areas. "For example, Babyl, the Rwandan version of Babylon, offers remote appointments with clinicians, fills prescriptions, orders lab tests, and issues referrals.” Babyl enables affordable, personalized healthcare, combined with “the brains of thousands of doctors at once” to reach patients who cannot get to a doctor’s officer. In addition to assisting doctors with everyday check-ups and treating the common cold, the AI’s abilities extend to clinical trials. “In 2018 the Mayo Clinic partnered with IBM’s Watson to match patients with breast cancer to [...]

The Wrong-Headedness of Hindsight Standards — Michelle Yeary | Drug & Device Law Blog

May 27th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Dechert LLP attorney Michelle Yeary cautions against applying perfect hindsight to drug liability. "We all know hindsight is 20/20.  And, it’s easy.  There are dozens of television and radio programs that thrive on Monday morning quarterbacking.  There’s no risk in saying the coach should have called for a pass when you already know the run didn’t work.  It’s also dangerous because it’s easy.  People are often too quick to point out that you should have taken path B after everyone learns path A is full of potholes.  Pointing it out is one thing, holding you liable for it is another." Yeary takes a look at what happened in Holley v. Gilead Science, Inc., 2019 WL 2077845 (N.D. Cal. May 10, 2019). The case involves two of the main active ingredients in AIDS drugs: TDF and TAF. The plaintiff alleges that the defendant should be responsible for allegedly [...]

J&J Hit with $120 Million Verdict at Mesh Trial

May 13th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|Tags: , , |

A Philadelphia jury returned a $120 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson after finding that a negligently designed pelvic mesh implant caused chronic pain and suffering, which left plaintiff Susan McFarland incontinent and unable to have sex for the last 10 years. McFarland alleged the implant she received in 2008 caused the product to saw through the soft tissue in her pelvis and become exposed in her vagina. She had to undergo a second surgery to remove a portion of the implant (Susan McFarland,et al. v. Ethicon Inc., et al., No. 130701577, Phila. Comm. Pls. Ct.). This is the second of two trials. The jury in the first trial was deadlocked, unable to agree on the extent of negligence of the design of the Ethicon product. Tracie Palmer, McFarland’s attorney, added in the second trial that the vaginal mesh was on market prior to clinical studies determining [...]

Suits Allege Apple Concealed Knowledge of iPhone 7 Defect

May 10th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Apple Inc. has been sued in federal courts in Illinois and California for allegedly knowingly selling iPhone 7 and 7 plus models with an audio chip defect, called the “Audio IC Defect” or “Loop Disease” by consumers, which causes an array of operational issues. The bug gums up handset audio functions, grays out speaker buttons during calls, and degrades microphone fidelity.  And if that's not enough it can kill Siri's voice command capabilities. The plaintiffs accuse Apple of actively concealing the Audio IC Defect while advertising the iPhone 7 as “the best iPhone we ever made.” The plaintiffs claim that when they first experienced operational problems Apple didn't offer complimentary repairs. The suits allege breach of warranty and violation of California and Illinois consumer protection laws. Plaintiffs seek class certification, damages, attorneys' fees, and injunctive relief. In Illinois, the plaintiffs may also try to force Apple to [...]

Artificial Intelligence: DeepMind on Debugging Learned Predictive Models

May 9th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|

DeepMind, an artificial intelligence research company, in a recent blog post discusses three ways to eliminate bugs in learned predictive models. The company was founded in London in 2010. Google acquired it in 2014. In addition to London they have research centers in Edmonton and Montreal, Canada, and a DeepMind Applied team in Mountain View, California. "Bugs and software have gone hand in hand since the beginning of computer programming," the post reads. "Over time, software developers have established a set of best practices for testing and debugging before deployment, but these practices are not suited for modern deep learning systems. Today, the prevailing practice in machine learning is to train a system on a training data set, and then test it on another set. While this reveals the average-case performance of models, it is also crucial to ensure robustness, or acceptably high performance even in the [...]

Top Five Things to Know if You’re Building Your Cannabis Empire Through M&A — CannaLawBlog

May 7th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Cannabis is associated with calm. Joining the industry is anything but.   Hilary Bricken already has nearly a decade of experience in the field of cannabis law. She founded the Canna Law Blog in 2010, which now has several contributors from the Harris Bricken firm and is easily one of the best out there. Her latest post offers insights on companies who wish to build their cannabis business through mergers and acquisitions. In her May 6 post, titled "Top Five Things to Know if You're Building Your Cannabis Empire Through M&A," she writes:  "It’s no secret that multiple state-by-state operators are building their cannabis empires through aggressive mergers and acquisitions. Last year, our cannabis business attorneys closed more than $100 million in cannabis company acquisitions, and that shows no signs of stopping in 2019. Cannabis M&A is not your run-of-the-mill business dealing though, and working from boilerplate, rote M&A documents is [...]

Moving Your Corporate Data to the Cloud: Top 13 Things to Think About as you Review Your Hosting Agreement — Judy Selby Consulting

May 6th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Some data migration risks can be mitigated at the cloud contract stage, Allison Bird, Judy Selby’s partner at Clearview Privacy Consulting LLC, explains. Regarding indemnification, Bird says, "If data is lost or exposed by the hosting company, your company as well as any affiliates who use the services will be subject to suits from clients and individuals whose data was impacted.  You may also be subject to regulatory scrutiny which could result in legal costs and regulatory penalties.  To the extent possible, negotiate a full indemnification of third party claims arising out of the hosting services." She says the limitation of liability section of your hosting agreement "may be the single most important" part.  "Your hosting company may make a lot of promises in the agreement.  However, if their liability under the agreement is significantly capped, you won’t receive the monetary compensation necessary to make up for hosting [...]

The Cloud: Selected Benefits, Risks, and Insurance Coverage Issues (Part 1) — Barnes & Thornburg

May 6th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

  Cloud Risk: Do You Transfer Liability Along with Data? Many of us were using data clouds before we even knew what they were. Now, while most of us are comfortable with the concept, we may not be comfortable knowing who is liable when data is lost, damaged or breached. It's not a given that your cloud provider absorbs any liabilities, and it's not a given they can even afford the liability should it arise. Below are quotes from an article by Scott Godes, Kara Cleary, and Heidi Fessler of Barnes & Thornburg LLP on the subject, and a link to their complete article.  Godes, Cleary, and Fessler list several cloud-related risks: data breaches, data loss, interruption of access, compromised credentials and broken authentication, and denial of service.  But two other categories for concern are:  #1. BYOC, or Bring Your Own Cloud. Employees may be innocently using [...]

Anderson Kill’s 5th Annual Cyber Insurance Recovery Conference

May 6th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Recent news of "Collection 1", a cache of sensitive data now appearing for sale on the dark web and comprised of an astonishing 773 million records, is a grim reminder of the scope of cyber perils for most.  Last year's staggering tally of serious data breaches and theft coupled with a spate of new legislation for companies gathering, hosting and selling consumer data means policyholders must rise to the challenge.  New state legislation compounds an already daunting federal and international regulatory landscape, and regulatory compliance will be a must to deal with the attendant fines, penalties and consumer claims that non-compliance can trigger.  New technology also continues to drive the evolving conversation about the legal relationships between parties transacting business electronically.  Risks range from anonymity that raises jurisdictional and collection issues to “immutable” record keeping that creates a permanent, public record of transactions. --Anderson Kill [...]

Spotify Tells EU Apple is Hampering Competitors as Apple Music Surpasses Spotify in U.S. — MoginRubin

April 30th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|

  "Apple Music recently surpassed Spotify in the U.S. market, according to the Wall Street Journal, signing up 28 million subscribers compared to Spotify’s 26 million. Spotify continues to have more total subscribers, however. "Spotify Founder and CEO Daniel Elk took to the company blog to make his case, saying, “Apple operates a platform that, for over a billion people around the world, is the gateway to the internet. Apple is both the owner of the iOS platform and the App Store—and a competitor to services like Spotify. In theory, this is fine. But in Apple’s case, they continue to give themselves an unfair advantage at every turn.” "In a recent statement, Apple says it revolutionized the distribution of music with iTunes, and did the same thing with the App Store, something that has created “many millions of jobs” and, it says, [...]

Top Class Actions: Vaccine Litigation Case Roundup

April 19th, 2019|Categories: HB Risk Notes|

There have been numerous lawsuits filed alleging injuries caused by the shingles vaccine Zostavax. Cases have stated they were not warned of the adverse side effects of the vaccine alleging it caused the diseases it is meant to prevent, among other things. Here is what the CDC says to consumers: “Your risk of shingles and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) increases as you get older. CDC recommends that people 60 years old and older get shingles vaccine (Zostavax®) to prevent shingles and PHN. Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine) is the preferred vaccine, over Zostavax® (zoster vaccine live), a shingles vaccine in use since 2006. Zostavax may still be used to prevent shingles in healthy adults 60 years and older. For example, you could use Zostavax if a person is allergic to Shingrix, prefers Zostavax, or requests immediate vaccination and Shingrix is unavailable. Zostavax (zoster vaccine live) was licensed by the FDA in 2006. [...]

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