Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect on December 1, 2018. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65.1 (FRCP 65.1), which governs proceedings against security providers, was among the rules amended. The Rule formerly provided for proceedings against sureties, but the new Rule recognizes that a party may wish to provide security by some method other than a bond and allows direct proceedings against any "security provider." The amended rule additionally provides for service on security providers by means other than the U.S. Mail. Let's explore the potential effect of Rule 65.1 amendment on entities involved in federal court litigation.

On occasion, police are faced with pursuing a fleeing vehicle. When the pursuit results in an injury or, worse yet, a death, you can bet that the officer, the law enforcement agency, and the local government could be sued for reckless disregard for the safety of others. In Endicott v. City of Oak Hill, No. 17-0765 (W. Va. Nov. 2, 2018), the appellate court reviewed the analysis required to establish reckless disregard and found no question of fact: that the facts presented did not demonstrate reckless disregard.

A non-US citizen desiring to study as a nonimmigrant at a US educational institution must obtain a student visa. The F-1 visa is the most common US student visa because it is an academic visa used to attend a college, university, or other learning institution that is accredited by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), part of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). There are other student visas, including the M-1 visa for vocational programs and the J-1 visa for other exchange programs, but this article discusses the F-1 visa.

A class action may well strike fear into the heart of a corporate defendant. Instead of one lawsuit, the class action may encompass hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of persons making a claim. Lawyers on both sides of a class action also know that the stakes are high and that they must be at the top of their game. That's why both lawyers and potential class action parties need to be aware of class action rule amendments that went into effect December 1, 2018.

A recent Jenkins Fenstermaker article provided a summary of several bills pending in the West Virginia (WV) Legislature that could have significant impacts on employers, workers' compensation insurers, and claim administrators if enacted. Most of the 2019 WV workers' compensation bills died in the legislature, so there are not many changes to report, but following is an update of the bills and their potential effect in the Mountain State.