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Compliance
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September 18, 2024
First Horizon To Pay SEC $325K Over Reg BI Violations
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that First Horizon Advisors Inc. will pay a $325,000 penalty to settle claims the broker-dealer violated Regulation Best Interest in the wake of its parent company's 2020 merger with IberiaBank Corp.
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September 18, 2024
'Bling Empire' Star Owes $900K To Ex-Partner For Show Idea
A California jury has concluded that the executive producer and star of Netflix's series "Bling Empire," Kelly Mi Li, owes a former business partner nearly $700,000 for breach of contract and fiduciary duties, along with $200,000 in punitive damages.
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September 18, 2024
SEC Must Clarify Murky Crypto Rules, Ex-Officials Tell House
Two former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials who now represent crypto businesses told House lawmakers Wednesday that the agency's insistence on analyzing the economic realities of every crypto transaction in lieu of clear rulemaking has put the sector and its attorneys in unworkable situations.
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September 18, 2024
FTX Auditor Prager Metis Settles SEC Charges For Negligence
The former auditor of Sam Bankman-Fried's defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX agreed Tuesday to pay $1.95 million to resolve allegations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of misconduct in FTX audits and, in a separate case, violations of auditor independence rules.
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September 18, 2024
Loper Bright Undercuts SEC Climate Rule, Fracking Cos. Say
Two fracking companies suing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its climate disclosure rules have again urged the Eighth Circuit to vacate the measures, offering a diverging interpretation of how the U.S. Supreme Court's decision axing Chevron deference should apply.
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September 18, 2024
Elon Musk Says He'll Sue FAA Over 'Political' SpaceX Fines
Tech billionaire Elon Musk says he'll be suing the Federal Aviation Administration after learning that the agency plans to slap his space company with $633,000 in fines for not following licensing requirements during two launches, calling the proposed penalties "politically-motivated."
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September 18, 2024
5th Circ. Favors Excess Insurer In Marina Coverage Dispute
The Fifth Circuit upheld a ruling in an inter-insurer dispute over coverage responsibilities of a $13.7 million judgment entered against their mutual client, holding Wednesday that while the excess insurer breached its duties, the primary insurer bears the larger financial burden because it failed to properly settle the underlying dispute.
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September 18, 2024
Fed's Powell Sees Final Basel Rule Less Than 1 Year Away
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that a revamped version of the Basel III endgame capital rules for big banks could be finalized before next summer, adding that the federal banking agencies will be "moving together" as the controversial rulemaking project enters its next phase.
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September 18, 2024
Tax Chiefs Eye Crypto Payment Cos., OTC Traders, IRS Says
Tax investigators in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and the Netherlands are preparing guidance on red flags for cryptocurrency payment providers and over-the-counter trading desks following a joint operation this week, a special agent with the Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday.
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September 18, 2024
Gov't Lifeline Gives Nippon A Fighting Chance On US Steel
The Biden administration has indicated it's poised to block Nippon Steel from proceeding with a controversial $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, but the government is reportedly giving the Japanese steelmaker an additional 90 days to prove its case, a development that should give Nippon hope it can get the deal done, attorneys say.
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September 18, 2024
Feds Oppose Bid To Block EPA Mercury Rule At High Court
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, several blue states and a coalition of green groups on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an effort to reverse the D.C. Circuit's decision allowing the EPA to implement a mercury air pollution rule.
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September 18, 2024
Vista Rejects MNC's Latest Offer, Recommends Czech Co. Bid
Vista Outdoor Inc. on Wednesday again rejected Dallas-based private equity firm MNC Capital Partners LP's bid to take over the company and instead recommended that its shareholders approve its already-inked deal with Czech defense company Czechoslovak Group AS.
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September 18, 2024
SEC Settles Latest Covington Info Theft Case For $33K
A New Jersey man will pay a $33,000 civil penalty to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for insider trading on confidential merger tips that his cousin stole from a Covington & Burling LLP lawyer, according to a settlement filed in New York federal court on Wednesday.
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September 18, 2024
Altria's Vape As Popular As Kale Juice, Elf Bar Tells Calif. Court
Blocking the Chinese companies behind Elf Bar from importing their flavored vapes won't increase the market share of Altria Group subsidiary NJOY's nicotine e-cigarettes, the foreign companies argued, saying it's just as unlikely as consumers going from grape juice to kale juice.
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September 18, 2024
NJ Steel Co. Says OSHA Review Agency Is Unconstitutional
A New Jersey steel fabrication company has told a New Jersey federal court that an independent federal commission shouldn't decide whether it has to pay nearly $350,000 in proposed penalties from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, arguing the commission's structure violates the separation of powers clause of the U.S. Constitution.
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September 18, 2024
Groups Seek To Sway FCC's Campaign Ad AI Disclosure Plan
Consumer advocates want the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen its planned rules to require broadcasters to disclose the use of artificial intelligence in political ads, while the effort continues to draw strong conservative opposition.
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September 18, 2024
No Rehearing For 10th Circ. Methane Rule Challenge
A Tenth Circuit panel rejected a request to reconsider its decision to throw out a ruling that partially invalidated an Obama-era rule limiting venting, flaring and leaks from oil and gas wells on federal land.
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September 18, 2024
SEC's Equity Trading Reforms Allow Half-Penny Stock Pricing
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday unanimously agreed to allow exchanges to quote stock prices in half-penny increments, part of a wider overhaul purportedly aimed at improving transparency and lowering trading costs.
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September 18, 2024
WillScot, McGrath RentCorp Nix $3.8B Deal Over FTC Scrutiny
Temporary space solutions provider WillScot Holdings Corp. and business-to-business rental company McGrath RentCorp on Wednesday unveiled that they have agreed to nix their $3.8 billion merger because there was "no commercially reasonable path" to clear the regulatory hurdles the deal has bumped into since it was announced.
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September 18, 2024
Treasury Floats Tax Credit Regs For EV Charging Property
The U.S. Treasury Department proposed regulations Wednesday to define which electric vehicle charging ports, hydrogen fueling stations and other infrastructure that businesses, people and tax-exempt entities can build in underserved communities to qualify for a tax credit of up to 30% of installation costs.
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September 18, 2024
Cardinal Health's GC Earns Nearly $4.7M For FY '24
Cardinal Health Inc.'s chief legal and compliance officer earned nearly $4.7 million in total compensation for fiscal year 2024, up from about $4.6 million the year prior, according to a public filing.
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September 18, 2024
Chicago Slams Airline Group's Suit Against Sick Leave Law
Chicago's recently enacted paid sick leave law doesn't clash with federal law because it doesn't affect airlines' prices or routes, the city said, urging an Illinois federal judge to toss a trade group's challenge to the ordinance.
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September 18, 2024
Ga. Justices Rebuke Local GOP For Delays In Ballot Challenge
The Supreme Court of Georgia on Tuesday shot down a county Republican Party's bid to keep several candidates for local office off the ballot for an election that was already held this year, scorning the GOP chapter for its "failure to litigate this appeal with dispatch."
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September 18, 2024
GameStop CEO Pays $1M For Failure To Flag Bank Stock Buy
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle U.S. Department of Justice claims that the Canadian entrepreneur violated the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act when he bought more than $20 million worth of Wells Fargo shares in 2018.
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September 18, 2024
NJ Bank Agrees To $14M Subsidy Fund In DOJ Redlining Deal
A New Jersey regional bank has agreed to provide at least $14 million in loan subsidies as part of a proposed consent order unveiled Wednesday to settle U.S. government claims that it engaged in redlining, a form of illegal lending discrimination, in certain central parts of the state.
Expert Analysis
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How Gov't AI Protections May Affect Contractors' Data Rights
The U.S. Senate’s proposed National Defense Authorization Act for 2025, which includes provisions to maintain the government's data rights when contracting for artificial intelligence, should prompt contractors to examine how to protect their own rights when the current data rights framework is applied to AI, say Tyler Evans and Caitlin Conroy at Steptoe.
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Jarkesy May Thwart Consumer Agencies' Civil Penalty Power
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy not only implicates future SEC administrative adjudications, but those of other agencies that operate similarly — and may stymie regulators' efforts to levy civil monetary penalties in a range of consumer protection enforcement actions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Considerations As State AGs Step Up Privacy Enforcement
As new state privacy laws take effect, businesses are facing an increasingly complex patchwork of compliance obligations and risk of scrutiny by attorneys general, but companies can gain a competitive edge by building consumer trust and staying ahead of regulatory trends, say Ann-Marie Luciano and Meghan Stoppel at Cozen O’Connor.
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Lessons From Recent SEC Cyber Enforcement Actions
The recent guidance by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance is helpful to any company facing a cybersecurity threat, but just as instructive are the warnings raised by the SEC's recent enforcement actions against SolarWinds, R.R. Donnelley and Intercontinental Exchange, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
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2nd Circ. Ruling Reaffirms Short-Swing Claims Have Standing
The Second Circuit's recent ruling in Packer v. Raging Capital reversing the dismissal of a shareholder's Section 16(b) derivative suit seeking to recover short-swing profits for lack of constitutional standing settles the uncertainty of the district court's decision, which could have undercut Congress' intent in crafting Section 16(b) in the first place, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Viral Layoffs: How Cos. Can Avoid Bad Social Media Exposure
A recent trend of employees using social media to document their experiences with layoffs and disciplinary actions in the workplace should prompt employers to take additional precautions to avoid former workers' negative viral reviews when deciding how, when and what to communicate to employees, say Scott McIntyre and Chrissy Kennedy at BakerHostetler.
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Inside OCC's Retail Nondeposit Investment Products Refresh
In addition to clarifying safe and sound risk management practices generally, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's revised booklet on retail nondeposit investment products updates its guidance around certain sales practices in light of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's adoption of Regulation Best Interest, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Loper Fuels Debate Over Merchant Cash Advances As Credit
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of the Chevron doctrine in Loper Bright may escalate a Florida federal court dispute between the Revenue Based Finance Coalition and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over whether merchant cash advances should be considered credit under the Dodd-Frank Act, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Bank M&A Continues To Lag Amid Regulatory Ambiguity
Bank M&A activity in the first half of 2024 continued to be lower than in prior years, as the industry is recovering from the 2023 bank failures, and regulatory and macroeconomic conditions have not otherwise been prime for deals, say Robert Azarow and Amber Hay at Arnold & Porter.
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FTC's Drug Middlemen Probe Highlights Ongoing Scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission's interim staff report on its inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers suggests that the industry will remain under an enforcement microscope for the foreseeable future due to concerns about how PBMs affect drug costs and accessibility, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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Nuclear Power Can Help Industrial Plants Get To Net-Zero
In the race to fight climate change and achieve net-zero emissions, the industrial sector currently faces immense challenges — but the integration of nuclear energy is a promising solution, so companies should consider the financial and regulatory issues, opportunities, and risk-mitigating factors, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Why The SEC Is Targeting Short-And-Distort Schemes
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent crackdown on the illegal practice of short-and-distort trades highlights the urgent need for public companies to adopt proactive measures, including pursuing private rights of action, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
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DOJ Paths To Limit FARA Fallout From Wynn's DC Circ. Win
After the D.C. Circuit’s recent Attorney General v. Wynn ruling, holding that the government cannot compel retroactive registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the U.S. Department of Justice has a few options to limit the decision’s impact on enforcement, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.