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Compliance
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January 17, 2025
Texas-Led States Join Challenge To EPA Methane Tax
A coalition of Texas-led states has joined a slew of industry groups challenging a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that imposes fees oil and gas companies must pay if their methane emissions exceed certain thresholds.
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January 17, 2025
DOL's Subminimum Wage Rule Draws Support, Scrutiny
The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule to end the program allowing employers to pay subminimum wages to workers with disabilities drew polarized opinions as the comment period ended Friday, with supporters arguing it is time to pay those workers fairly and critics saying the rule will limit workers' options.
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January 17, 2025
SEC Fines Transamerica $2.9M Over Retirement Biz Conflicts
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday fined registered investment adviser Transamerica Retirement Advisors LLC $2.9 million to settle claims it concealed conflicts of interest generated by Transamerica's incentive compensation payments to representatives.
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January 17, 2025
P&G Accused Of 'Greenwashing' And Making 'Frankenforests'
Procter & Gamble is greenwashing its Charmin toilet paper by misleading consumers into believing it is ethically sourced and that the multinational consumer goods company is following through with sustainable reforestation promises, a 48-count proposed class action filed Thursday in Washington federal court alleges.
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January 17, 2025
Up Next At High Court: Forum Shopping & TCPA Definitions
The U.S. Supreme Court will return to the bench Tuesday for a short argument session, during which the justices will consider the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's bid to limit forum shopping by manufacturers challenging agency decisions and how much deference district courts must give to Federal Communications Commission orders.
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January 17, 2025
FirstEnergy Execs Hit With RICO Charges Over Bribe Scandal
Two former executives of FirstEnergy Corp. have been hit with federal racketeering charges over their alleged scheme to bribe Ohio House of Representatives members for a billion-dollar bailout that has drawn scrutiny from government agencies and led to long prison sentences for others involved in the scandal.
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January 17, 2025
PE Firm Resolves FTC's Antitrust Anesthesia Roll-Up Case
Private equity firm Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe agreed to limit its involvement, entanglement and ownership rights with its portfolio company U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. to resolve allegations they engaged in a "roll-up" scheme to buy anesthesiology practices in Texas and drive up costs, the Federal Trade Commission said Friday.
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January 17, 2025
CFPB, Student Loan Co. Ink $2.25M Deal Over Debt Practices
The National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts agreed to pay $2.25 million to resolve the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's suit accusing it of harming borrowers through unfair collection tactics on private student loan debts, according to a joint motion to approve the stipulated judgment filed Thursday in Delaware federal court.
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January 17, 2025
Crypto Coder Sues Feds To Block 'Money Transmitter' Label
Crypto policy think tank Coin Center is supporting one of its fellows in suing the federal government over its allegedly "mistaken view" of how criminal money transition statutes apply to crypto software.
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January 17, 2025
SEC Says Food Tech Startup Overstated Revenue By $550M
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday fined venture-backed food technology startup GrubMarket $8 million for allegedly misleading investors by overstating revenue by more than $550 million, with faulty accounting that regulators say the company should have known was unreliable.
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January 17, 2025
Trade Group Sues To Stop Federal Mental Health Parity Regs
A benefits-focused employer trade group sued the U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies in D.C. federal court Friday, seeking to block recently finalized mental health parity regulations the group alleges are unconstitutional and violate administrative procedure laws.
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January 17, 2025
Hospice Compliance Program Uses Faulty Data, Providers Say
A Biden administration regulation that resulted in a list of hospice providers who fail to meet certain standards erroneously includes high-performing facilities because of its flawed algorithm, a group of hospice facilities in multiple states alleges.
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January 17, 2025
Ga. Judge Shoots Down Bias Deal Between Feds, Fire Dept.
A Georgia federal judge has shot down a deal that would have resolved allegations of racial bias in hiring against a metro Atlanta county's fire department, ruling that the proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice lacked a basis to justify prioritizing future Black applicants.
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January 17, 2025
Honda Credit Arm To Pay $12.8M Over Reporting Failures
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday ordered American Honda Finance Corp. to pay $12.8 million to resolve claims that it reported inaccurate information that affected the credit reports of 300,000 people who drive Honda and Acura vehicles.
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January 17, 2025
LPL Fined $18M Over Lax Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday fined LPL Financial LLC $18 million to settle claims that the firm's anti-money laundering program suffered from significant shortcomings, including the failure to close high-risk accounts such as cannabis-related and international accounts.
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January 17, 2025
CFPB Fines Equifax $15M Over Consumer Dispute Issues
Equifax Inc. and Equifax Information Services LLC must pay a $15 fine over its failure to investigate consumer disputes properly, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday.
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January 17, 2025
Nasdaq Pulls Board Diversity Rules After 5th Circ. Loss
Nasdaq has moved to formally undo its rules requiring that companies listed on the exchange disclose board diversity data, following a narrow, en banc ruling from the Fifth Circuit last month finding that the rules ran afoul of federal securities law.
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January 17, 2025
Ex-Conn. State Employee Accused In $1.9M Medicaid Scam
A former employee of Connecticut's Office of Policy and Management is one of two people charged by federal authorities with defrauding the state Medicaid program out of nearly $1.9 million by submitting false claims for services for children with autism, the U.S. attorney's office said Friday.
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January 17, 2025
Feds Urge 9th Circ. To Restore Threatened Seals' Habitat
The federal government has asked the Ninth Circuit to overturn an Alaska federal district court judge who vacated the National Marine Fisheries Service's designation of critical habitat for Pacific bearded seals and Arctic ringed seals.
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January 17, 2025
Wells Fargo, BofA Units Pay SEC $60M Over Cash Sweeps
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday announced that Merrill Lynch and two units of Wells Fargo will pay a combined $60 million to settle claims they failed to implement preventative procedures concerning their cash sweep programs.
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January 17, 2025
FCC Mandates More Efforts To Combat Telecom Cyber Threats
The Federal Communications Commission has provided details of new requirements on telecom providers to counter cybersecurity threats, a late-hour move criticized several days ago by the agency's incoming Republican leadership before the new rules were formally released.
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January 17, 2025
Drink Maker Celsius Settles SEC's Accounting Claims For $3M
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday fined beverage company Celsius Holdings Inc. $3 million to settle claims that it issued financial statements that were materially inaccurate and misleading due to misreported stock award information.
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January 17, 2025
Energy Co. To Pay $19M SEC Fine Over Ohio Bribery Scandal
American Electric Power Inc. on Friday agreed to pay $19 million to resolve claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the utility company violated federal securities laws in connection with a bribery scandal embroiling the Ohio Legislature.
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January 17, 2025
DC Circ. Sends LNG-By-Rail Rule Back To Drawing Board
The D.C. Circuit on Friday wiped out a Trump-era rule allowing liquefied natural gas to be transported by rail and said any replacement rule must contain an extensive environmental review given the catastrophic risks of an accident or spill.
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January 17, 2025
Ex-Mozambique Finance Head Gets 8½ Years In $2B Bond Rap
A Brooklyn federal judge sentenced Mozambique's former finance minister to 8½ years in prison Friday for facilitating a corrupt $2 billion loans-for-bribes deal, ordering him to forfeit $7 million and imposing time beyond the six years the defendant has been incarcerated.
Expert Analysis
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Student Loan Entities In Hot Seat After CFPB Goes To College
While the direction of student loan servicer oversight in the new presidential administration is unclear, recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau actions still signal heightened regulatory scrutiny at both the federal and state levels of college institutional loan programs, along with their service providers, says attorney Jonathan Joshua.
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Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win
Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
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Takeaways From SEC's Registered Investment Cos. Risk Alert
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Examinations' recent risk alert pertaining to registered investment companies provides a high-level overview of its risk-based approach to selecting RICs for examination — a potential hint that the division is investigating some of the covered topics, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Public Corruption Enforcement In 2024 Has Clues For 2025
If 2024 activity is any indication, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely continue to rein in expansive prosecutorial theories of fraud in the year to come, but it’s harder to predict what the new administration will mean for public corruption prosecutions in 2025, says Cathy Fleming at Offit Kurman.
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Nixing NRC Oversight Of Small Reactors Could Cut Both Ways
A lawsuit in a Texas federal court aims to abolish the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's authority over small modular reactors, which the plaintiffs contend will unleash new and innovative technology — but the resulting patchwork of state regulations could increase costs for the nuclear industry, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark
All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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2024 Was A Significant Year For HIPAA Compliance
The Office of Civil Rights' high level of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act activity in 2024 and press releases about its specific focus on certain cybersecurity issues make it abundantly clear that the OCR is not going to tolerate widespread compliance complacency, says Nathan Kottkamp at Williams Mullen.
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Small Biz Caught In Corporate Transparency Act Crossfire
Despite compliance being put on hold due to a nationwide preliminary injunction, small businesses have been caught in the middle of the legal battle over the Corporate Transparency Act — and confusion over the law's requirements could result in major penalties, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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Examining DOJ Corporate Whistleblower Pilot's First 100 Days
Though the U.S. Department of Justice’s corporate whistleblower awards pilot program has successfully elicited numerous tips since its August launch, stakeholder feedback leaves questions about how the scheme compares to other whistleblower awards and protections — and how it will fare in the incoming Trump administration, say attorneys at Joseph Greenwald.
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Proactively Managing Tariff Impacts On Megaprojects
President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs may compound the complexity, duration and risks associated with financing and building large-scale infrastructure projects — so owners and contractors should plan to take possible tariff-related cost and schedule overruns into account when drafting contracts, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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New York Climate Superfund Law May Face Preemption Fight
New York state's new climate superfund law highlights a growing trend of states supplementing their climate litigation efforts with legislative initiatives — but it will likely encounter the same federal preemption questions raised about state and local lawsuits seeking redress for climate harms, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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5 Notable Information Security Events In 2024
B. Stephanie Siegmann at Hinckley Allen discusses 2024's largest and most destructive data breaches seen yet, ranging from ransomware disrupting U.S. healthcare systems on a massive scale, to tensions increasing between the U.S. and China over cyberespionage and the control of U.S. data.
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US-China Deal Considerations Amid Cross-Border Uncertainty
With China seemingly set to respond to the incoming U.S. administration's call for strategic decoupling and tariffs, companies on both sides of the Pacific should explore deals and internal changes to mitigate risks and overcome hurdles to their strategic plans, say attorneys at Covington.
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Series
Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.
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How 2025 NDAA May Affect DOD Procurement Protests
A bid protest pilot program included in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act shifts litigation costs onto unsuccessful bid protesters and raises claim-filing thresholds, which could increase risks to U.S. Department of Defense contractors who file protests, and reduce oversight of DOD procurement awards, say attorneys at Venable.