Federal Rule of Evidence 702 admits expert opinion where the witness is qualified by knowledge, skill, experience, training or education, and where the proponent shows that the testimony rests on sufficient facts or data, is the product of reliable principles and methods, and reflects a reliable application of those principles to the facts. Daubert assigns the trial court a gatekeeping role, and Kumho Tire extends it to technical and experience-based expertise as well as scientific testimony.
Sanctions programs prohibit United States persons from approving, financing, facilitating or guaranteeing a transaction by a foreign person where that transaction would be prohibited if performed by a United States person. Some programs go further and apply directly to foreign entities owned or controlled by United States persons. A separate theory reaches any person, of any nationality, who causes a United States person to violate a prohibition.
Under 36 CFR 800.16(y) an undertaking is a project, activity or program funded in whole or in part under the direct or indirect jurisdiction of a federal agency, carried out by or on behalf of an agency, carried out with federal financial assistance, or requiring a federal permit, license or approval. Section 800.3 requires the agency to decide first whether an undertaking exists and then whether it is the type of activity with potential to cause effects on historic properties.
Under 31 U.S.C. 3730(b) a private relator may sue in the name of the United States. The complaint is filed in camera, remains under seal for at least sixty days, and is not served on the defendant until the court orders it. A copy of the complaint and a written disclosure of substantially all material evidence and information the relator possesses must be served on the government. The United States is the real party in interest throughout.
Adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act lets an investor already inside the United States become a permanent resident without a consular appointment. The fifth preference statute permits the residence application to be filed together with the petition where an immigrant visa number is immediately available. A pending application supports employment authorization and advance parole, but departure without advance parole abandons it.
Under 28 U.S.C. 1291 the courts of appeals have jurisdiction over appeals from all final decisions of the district courts. A decision is final when it ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment. Section 1292 supplies interlocutory jurisdiction over injunctions, receiverships and certain admiralty orders, and permits a certified question with the consent of both courts. Rule 54(b) allows entry of judgment on fewer than all claims or parties.
A person engaged in the business of effecting transactions in securities for the account of others is a broker and must be registered. Transaction-based compensation is the factor that most reliably places a person inside the definition. A narrow safe harbor allows certain associated persons of an issuer to sell without registration, but it forbids commissions. The immigration statute adds a separate registration for promoters, and unregistered activity can render contracts voidable.
Formula approval is required before production of specified products: certain wines under 27 CFR 24.80, fermented products made by non-traditional processes or with added flavors, colors or food materials under 27 CFR 25.55, and distilled spirits specialty products under Part 5. Standards of identity in 27 CFR 4.21 and 27 CFR Part 5 subpart I define the classes and types a label may claim, and a product that does not meet a standard may not carry that designation.
Forum non conveniens permits a court with jurisdiction to dismiss where an adequate alternative forum exists and the balance of private and public interest factors strongly favors trial there. An alternative forum is adequate where the defendant is amenable to process and the remedy is not so unsatisfactory as to be no remedy at all. A foreign plaintiff's choice of forum receives less deference than a domestic plaintiff's.
A general license is an authorization published in the regulations that permits described conduct without an application. It operates automatically for transactions meeting its terms and not at all for anything outside them. Standard exclusions provide that a general license does not authorize dealings with blocked persons, debits to blocked accounts, or exports requiring authorization from another agency. Anyone relying on one must keep records sufficient to show that every condition was met.
Gifted and borrowed funds may count toward the required investment only if gifted or lent in good faith and not to circumvent the limits on permissible sources of capital. Where funds are gifted or lent by anyone other than a bank, the donor or lender must supply the same business, tax and judgment records the investor supplies. A loan funding the investment must leave the investor personally and primarily liable, secured by assets the investor owns, with no security over the enterprise.
Where a regional center is terminated or an enterprise or job-creating entity is debarred, an otherwise qualified petition remains valid and conditional residence continues, subject to a cure within one hundred and eighty days of notification. The cure is reassociation with an approved center, a qualifying investment elsewhere, or association with an enterprise in good standing plus capital to meet remaining job creation. The priority date is retained.
