Troutman Sanders LLP (LexBlog Mexico)

World Acceptance Corp., a Greenville, South Carolina-based consumer lender, recently announced it has set aside $21.7 million in anticipation of resolving a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) investigation into the company’s Mexico-based subsidiary by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice. The investigation has focused on the legality of certain...

Massachusetts is proposing a bill to regulate student loan servicers and bring the Commonwealth in line with other states, including Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington, all of which have passed new legislation to regulate the student loan industry. Similar legislation recently has been introduced, but not...

In a nearly 250-page Memorandum Opinion and Order, the Honorable James O. Browning of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico has granted in part and denied in part a Motion to Dismiss filed by Defendants Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., Reynolds American, Inc., and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. The case is...

On November 27, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas joined the ranks of amici curiae in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Golden Valley Lending, Inc., et al. (No. 2:17-cv-02521, pending in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas) filing a brief supporting the efforts of four tribal entities (“Tribal Defendants”) to dismiss claims...

On April 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the Navajo Nation filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico seeking monetary penalties against a tax-preparation franchise and its ownership for allegedly running an illegal tax refund scheme. The plaintiffs specifically claim that this franchise violated the Consumer Financial Protection...

On July 7, 2014, FERC approved a Stipulation and Consent Agreement between its Office of Enforcement (“Enforcement”), the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”), and Arizona Public Service Company (“APS”) relating to the September 2011 Southwest power outage that affected approximately 2.7 million customers in Southern California, Arizona and Northern Baja Mexico.  Under the...

On January 30, 2014, President Barrack Obama announced his plan to nominate Norman Bay as FERC Commissioner, replacing departed FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff.  Upon his appointment, President Obama will designate Mr. Bay to serve as FERC Chairman. Mr. Bay currently serves as FERC’s Director of the Office of Enforcement, a position he has held since...

As mentioned in a previous blog post, on September 11, 2013, a three-member federal arbitration panel decided the on-going dispute among three participating manufacturers (“PMs”) and 15 states involving the 2003 payment obligations under the Master Settlement Agreement (“MSA”). New Mexico is one of the states in which the arbitrators ruled in favor of the...

In response to EPA enforcement actions pursued under provisions of the Clean Air Act, Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. and Shell Offshore Inc. agreed to pay civil penalties associated with alleged violations of air permits at two of its drilling operations on the Arctic Shelf. EPA had issued two Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)/Prevention of Significant...

In a recent “Notice to Cigarette Distributors Selling in New Mexico,” the New Mexico Attorney General announced that “effective immediately” all distributors must stop selling any product marked as a “small” or “little” cigar unless the product listed is in the state cigarette directory. Since no little cigars are currently listed in the Attorney General’s...

On July 27, 2012, the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) and the Department of Energy (“DOE”) announced the availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (“PEIS”) for solar energy development in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah in the Federal Register.  The PEIS, which DOI refers to...

On July 27, 2012, the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) and the Department of Energy (“DOE”) announced the availability of the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (“PEIS”) for solar energy development in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah in the Federal Register.  The PEIS, which DOI refers to...

Who in HR can say they have not been tempted to “spy” on an employee on Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave to make sure that they are not faking it?  Wouldn’t it be great to catch that employee you are sure is lying as he is playing golf when he should be home...

A bill has been introduced in the New Mexico legislature that would more than double the tax rate on OTP — tobacco products other than cigarettes, such as smokeless and cigars — from 25% of the product’s value to 57% of the product’s value. Perhaps more significant is the bill’s expanded definition of “tobacco products,”...

According to the Las Cruces Sun-News, the New Mexico legislature’s Tobacco Settlement Revenue Oversight Committee voted this week to endorse legislation that would require nonparticipating manufacturers to make escrow payments for sales on Native American reservations. The bill, which is expected to be introduced in January, has an unprecedented provision that would retroactively require escrow...

On October 5, 2011, the Obama Administration announced that it would “accelerate” permitting and construction of seven proposed electric transmission lines.  These projects will serve as pilot demonstrations of streamlined processes and increased cooperation among federal, state and tribal authorities. These streamlined projects are also intended to create jobs in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho,...

On April 5, 2011, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez vetoed a bill that would have imposed additional escrow requirements on nonparticipating manufacturers to the Master Settlement Agreement. Senate Bill 397, which was supported by New Mexico Attorney General Gary King, would have required nonparticipating manufacturers to make escrow payments for sales on Native American reservations...

On May 5, 2009, Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, pledged to create four Renewable Energy Coordination Offices, one each in California, Nevada, Wyoming and Arizona. In addition, Salazar proposed the creation of smaller renewable energy teams located in New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Colorado and Oregon. Such offices will expedite production of renewable energy on...