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Compliance
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September 06, 2024
Enviro Groups Challenge FERC Approval Of La. LNG Terminal
Environmental groups and fishermen have called on the D.C. Circuit to slash the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of a massive liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana, saying the move violates federal law and illustrates the agency's "failure to consider and approve projects that are truly in the public interest."
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September 06, 2024
Three Defendants Settle SEC's $14M Pot Co. Securities Suit
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reached settlements with three defendants who allegedly misappropriated $14 million in investment funds intended for a cannabis enterprise, with the three agreeing to pay back a total of more than $4 million in disgorgements and interest and $3 million in civil penalties.
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September 06, 2024
Morgan Stanley Fined $2M Over First Republic Exec's Trades
Massachusetts' top securities cop on Friday imposed a fine of $2 million on Morgan Stanley for failing to ensure that a New Republic Bank chairman hadn't relied on insider information when he dumped millions of dollars of the bank's stock in the days and months before its collapse.
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September 06, 2024
Lowenstein Sandler Atty To Lead Rutgers Gymnastics Probe
Rutgers University has selected the leader of Lowenstein Sandler LLP's white collar defense team and chair of the firm's corporate investigations and integrity group to head an investigation into the university's women's gymnastics program amid widely publicized allegations of bullying by the team's head coach.
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September 06, 2024
GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week
A contracting company has launched a $59 million malpractice suit against Troutman Pepper, alleging the firm and a partner in its construction practice failed to provide adequate representation in two underlying cases, while artificial intelligence was atop the list of new technologies law firms have used this year. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.
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September 06, 2024
As Biden Looks To Block US Steel Deal, Rival Co. Weighs In
Cleveland-Cliffs is lauding President Joe Biden's reported decision to block U.S. Steel's $14.9 billion planned merger with Nippon Steel and says it is ready to scoop up U.S. Steel's union assets, as the rival steelmaker weighed in on the matter following a flurry of quick developments this week indicating that the Nippon deal is all but dead.
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September 06, 2024
China Complains To WTO About Canada EV Surtaxes
China is looking for the World Trade Organization to step in to address proposed Canadian surtaxes on imported Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum, taxes that a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said Friday violate the organization's rules.
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September 06, 2024
SEC Accuses Esmark Of Lying About US Steel Bid
A failed bid to acquire U.S. Steel has landed Pittsburgh-based Esmark Inc. in hot water with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which announced Friday that it had fined the company and its founder for falsely claiming they had the money to buy the manufacturing giant.
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September 05, 2024
Coinbase, Execs Must Face Investor Suit Over Business Risks
A New Jersey federal judge on Thursday declined to dismiss a consolidated investor class action against Coinbase and its executives over disclosures the cryptocurrency exchange made about certain business risks it faced, although he trimmed certain allegations deemed to be, among other things, corporate puffery.
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September 05, 2024
Wash. Bar Backs Experiment For Nonlawyers To Practice
The Washington State Bar wants to relax the rules on who can practice law, in what it hopes will allow businesses not run by lawyers the chance to innovate how the industry provides legal services and expand who is able to afford them.
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September 05, 2024
Wash. Justices Won't Take Up BNSF Water Reg Dispute
Washington's highest court on Wednesday declined a request for review by BNSF Railway Co. and two Washington ports seeking to reverse a water quality watchdog's win in a dispute over the scope of state-issued industrial stormwater permit terms.
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September 05, 2024
CFTC Says Ex-Commish's Signature Was Forged For $1.5M Scam
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued the operator of an unlicensed commodity pool for allegedly targeting dozens of Spanish-speaking immigrants in a $1.5 million Ponzi-like scheme that used a fictitious license containing a counterfeit CFTC seal and a forged commissioner signature to falsely promise investors guaranteed monthly returns.
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September 05, 2024
Ex-SEC Enforcement Atty Joins Whistleblower Law Boutique
Kohn Kohn & Colapinto announced Thursday that a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement attorney will join the whistleblower law firm as senior special counsel.
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September 05, 2024
NC County Says Hospital 'Monopoly' Led To ER Understaffing
A North Carolina county has accused an Asheville hospital of driving up taxpayer-funded ambulance expenses by understaffing its emergency department and forcing paramedics to step into the roles of emergency physicians.
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September 05, 2024
Judge Rewrites 'Unfair' Missouri Abortion Ballot Language
A Missouri judge on Thursday found that the Republican secretary of state's language used to describe an abortion amendment set to appear on the state's November ballot is "inaccurate" and "unfair," and he must replace the language with the new statement from the court.
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September 05, 2024
Conn. Dentist Admits To Reaping $2.2M Through Kickbacks
A Connecticut dentist has pled guilty to paying $360,000 in kickbacks to recruiters who corralled Medicaid patients into her practice, pocketing $2.2 million in government payments in the process, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced Thursday.
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September 05, 2024
Judge Orders Jury Trial Over Arbitration Bid In TCPA Fight
An Ohio federal judge declined to rule on whether a proposed Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action against a Maryland-based healthcare company should go to arbitration, ordering that a jury should decide whether the plaintiff had an applicable arbitration agreement.
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September 05, 2024
NM AG Sues Snapchat Over Child 'Sextortion' And Abuse
New Mexico's attorney general on Thursday announced he has sued Snap Inc., alleging the social media company's policies and algorithm promote child sexual exploitation and the spread of child sexual abuse material.
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September 05, 2024
FTC Staff Opposes Indiana Hospital Merger
Federal Trade Commission staff on Thursday urged Indiana's health department to reject Union Health's planned purchase of Terre Haute Regional Hospital LP from HCA Healthcare Inc.
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September 05, 2024
Unconstitutionality Of Transparency Act Clear, 11th Circ. Told
A small business group and one of its members have told the Eleventh Circuit that an Alabama federal judge correctly ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act is unconstitutional, so there was no need for them to demonstrate that the law fails to pass constitutional muster.
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September 05, 2024
Advisory Opinion Backs Italian Case Against Android Auto
Italian antitrust authorities got a boost Thursday defending a more than €100 million fine ($113.3 million at current exchange rates) against Google and an order requiring the company to further open up its Android Auto app that integrates with car infotainment systems, thanks to an advisory opinion submitted to Europe's highest court.
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September 05, 2024
Lumen Sued Over $1.4B Pension Swap With 'Risky' Provider
Two retired employees of Lumen Technologies are suing the internet service provider and an investment adviser over the transfer of $1.4 billion in pension obligations to a "highly risky private equity-controlled" insurance company, arguing in a Colorado class action that the move puts their retirement benefits at risk despite safer options available.
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September 05, 2024
FCC Says Telecom Needn't Cover Already Funded Tribes
A pair of tribes in Oklahoma and Arizona already have plans to use federal funding to get broadband to their people, so the FCC has agreed to remove the tribal lands from the area one telecom was required by its federal grant commitments to provide service to.
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September 05, 2024
PE Firm Argues Tossing of FTC Case Also Ends Workers' Suit
The dismissal of a government antitrust action against Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe warrants the dismissal of a second lawsuit brought by a Houston workers' benefit fund since the complaint is "unapologetically based" on the parallel Federal Trade Commission action, the private equity firm told a Houston federal judge in a hearing Thursday.
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September 05, 2024
Feds Seek To Nix EB-1 Visa Suit After Reopening Application
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told a Pennsylvania federal court on Thursday that an Irish steeplechase jockey's lawsuit challenging a denied application for an EB-1 extraordinary ability visa should be dismissed, as it was reconsidering the request.
Expert Analysis
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Navigating FDA Supply Rule Leeway For Small Dispensers
As the November compliance deadline for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new pharmaceutical distribution supply chain rules draws closer, small dispensers should understand the narrow flexibilities that are available, and the questions to consider before taking advantage of them, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
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Best Text Practices In Light Of Terraform's $4.5B Fraud Deal
Text messages were extremely important in a recent civil trial against Terraform Labs, leading to a $4.5 billion settlement, so litigants in securities fraud cases need to have robust mobile data policies that address the content and retention of messages, and the obligations of employees to allow for collection, say Josh Sohn and Alicia Clausen at Crowell & Moring.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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CFPB's New Registration Rule Will Intensify Nonbank Scrutiny
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently finalized nonbank registration rule aimed at cracking down on repeat offenders poses significant compliance challenges and enforcement risks for nonbank financial firms, and may be particularly onerous for smaller firms, say Ketan Bhirud and Emily Yu at Cozen O'Connor.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated
In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.
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6 Lessons From DOJ's 1st Controlled Drug Case In Telehealth
Following the U.S. Department of Justice’s first-ever criminal prosecution over telehealth-prescribed controlled substances in U.S. v. Ruthia He, healthcare providers should be mindful of the risks associated with restricting the physician-patient relationship when crafting new business models, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Realtor Settlement May Create New Antitrust Pitfalls
Following a recent antitrust settlement between the National Association of Realtors and home sellers, practices are set to change and the increased competition may benefit both brokers and homebuyers, but the loss of the customary method of buyer broker compensation could lead to new antitrust concerns, says Colin Ahler at Snell & Wilmer.
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Electrifying Transportation With Public-Private Partnerships
Many clean energy goals remain public policy abstractions that face a challenging road to realization — but public-private partnership models could be a valuable tool to electrify the transportation sector, says Michael Blackwell at Husch Blackwell.
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Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation
As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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Preparing For CFPB 'Junk Fee' Push Into Mortgage Industry
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau considers expanding its "junk fee" initiative into mortgage closing costs, mortgage lenders and third parties must develop plans now that anticipate potential rulemaking or enforcement activity in this space, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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First-Of-Its-Kind Chancery Ruling Will Aid SPAC Defendants
The Delaware Chancery Court's first full dismissal of claims challenging a special purpose acquisition company transaction under the entire fairness doctrine in the recent Hennessy Capital Acquisition Stockholder Litigation establishes useful precedent to abate the flood of SPAC litigation, say Lisa Bugni and Benjamin Lee at King & Spalding.
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Series
After Chevron: FTC's 'Unfair Competition' Actions In Jeopardy
While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference will have limited effect on the Federal Trade Commission's merger guidelines, administrative enforcement actions and commission decisions on appeal, it could restrict the agency's expansive take on its rulemaking authority and threaten the noncompete ban, say attorneys at Baker Botts.