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Corporate
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September 20, 2024
2 SEC Commissioners Object To Whistleblower Award Secrecy
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioners Mark Uyeda and Hester Peirce have objected to the agency's recent decision to hand out a total of $122 million in two awards to four whistleblowers and issued a statement taking issue with the regulator's policy of saying little to nothing about why the rewards are issued.
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September 20, 2024
Silvergate Wants Activist Investor's Board Seat Play Blocked
The parent company of Silvergate Bank, a defunct bank that catered to the cryptocurrency industry, has asked the judge in its Delaware bankruptcy case to help head off what it described as an activist investor's effort to score a seat on the debtor's board so he can try to secure a payout for shareholders who are set to receive nothing under a Chapter 11 plan.
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September 20, 2024
J&J Makes Third Try At Handling Talc Claims In Bankruptcy
A Johnson & Johnson talc unit filed for Chapter 11 protection in Texas bankruptcy court Friday, marking the third time the company has tried to deal with liability from alleged asbestos-contaminated talc with a bankruptcy filing.
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September 20, 2024
Microsoft Accused Of Racial Bias By Ex-Diversity Professional
A former Microsoft employee tasked with helping advance diversity and inclusion efforts has filed a discrimination suit in Washington state court accusing the tech giant of an "ongoing campaign of intimidation, discrimination, and retaliation" against its Black female employees.
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September 20, 2024
Panera Can't Delay Trial Over Shook Hardy Attys' Schedule
A Pennsylvania federal judge denied Panera Bread's repeated requests to delay a wrongful death trial, finding the restaurant chain will not be prejudiced if its desired Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP counsel cannot attend, as "plenty" of Shook Hardy lawyers can stand in, the judge said.
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September 20, 2024
Meruelo Group CLO Returns To Ballard Spahr As Partner
A longtime Ballard Spahr attorney who spent the past three years as chief legal officer at the Meruelo Group this week began his second stint as a partner at the law firm.
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September 20, 2024
Ex-Stradley Ronon Securities Leader Joins Chapman In DC
An attorney with more than two decades of experience in investment securities has moved his practice to Chapman and Cutler LLP's Washington, D.C., office after 22 years with Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP.
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September 20, 2024
GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week
The SEC will likely need to clear up confusion about fiduciary investment advice standards after two judges halted new retirement security regulations from the Labor Department. Meanwhile, the changing cyberinsurance market heads for what could be a seismic shift, as more insurers scale back standard IT breach policies. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.
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September 20, 2024
Steel Biz Investors Sue Atty Over 'Father-Son'-Like Conflict
A Pennsylvania couple have filed a malpractice suit accusing a lawyer of helping a steel distribution company induce them into investing about $800,000 and defrauding them, saying the attorney didn't disclose his relationship with the company's owners and "father-son"-like bond with one of them.
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September 20, 2024
FTC Accuses Drug Middlemen Of Raising Insulin Prices
The Federal Trade Commission on Friday accused the three largest pharmacy benefits managers, Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx, of artificially inflating insulin prices by relying on unfair rebate schemes that hurt competition.
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September 19, 2024
Publishers 'Did Not Trust Google,' Former Ad Tech Exec Says
A former Google executive acknowledged Thursday that at least some website publishers sought a workaround to the search giant's advertising placement technology because they didn't trust the company's consolidated control, which the Justice Department has challenged in a Virginia federal courtroom.
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September 19, 2024
Republicans Air Grievances At House Hearing on FTC Practices
The Federal Trade Commission ought to stick to combating consumer scams and leave the competition regulation alone — that was the general tenor of Republicans on Wednesday morning at a House hearing about the agency's past and present practices.
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September 19, 2024
Chancery Fast-Tracks Suit Over Renewable Energy Co. Buyout
Delaware's Court of Chancery on Thursday expedited a lawsuit accusing a Repsol SA subsidiary of breaching an agreement requiring it to buy out the remaining shares in a Chicago-based renewable energy venture the Repsol unit co-owns.
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September 19, 2024
Birkin Bag Lovers Must Rework Antitrust Suit, Judge Says
A California federal judge said Thursday that consumers behind a proposed antitrust class action accusing Hermes of unlawfully tying the sale of its iconic Birkin handbag to other expensive items should amend their complaint, since the current version doesn't show how the luxury fashion retailer has foreclosed competition.
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September 19, 2024
Publishers Back Music Companies' Bid To Restore $1B Win
Organizations that represent music publishers and songwriters urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to review a Fourth Circuit ruling that scrapped a $1 billion jury verdict against Cox Communications Inc. for ignoring online piracy, saying the three-judge appeal panel's conclusion "effectively immunizes internet service providers" from vicarious liability.
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September 19, 2024
Apple's $490M Deal Over China Sales OK'ed, Attys Get $110M
A California federal judge approved Apple Inc.'s $490 million securities fraud settlement under which class counsel will receive $110.45 million in fees and costs plus interest, resolving years-old litigation alleging Apple and its top brass misled investors about iPhone sales in China.
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September 19, 2024
Potomac Law Group Adds Morgan Lewis Partner
A former Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP real estate attorney has joined Potomac Law Group, framing the move as a strategic shift out of BigLaw amid a "sluggish" transactional environment.
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September 19, 2024
NC Justice Dept. Resolves Atty's Sex, Race Bias Suit
The North Carolina Department of Justice agreed to settle a Black attorney's lawsuit alleging she was passed over for promotion in favor of a less qualified white man, according to court filings, just weeks after a federal judge refused to toss the case.
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September 19, 2024
Senate Panel Holds Steward CEO In Contempt After No-Show
A U.S. Senate committee voted unanimously Thursday to hold Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre in civil and criminal contempt after he defied a subpoena to testify about the bankrupt health system's downfall.
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September 19, 2024
Insurance Mogul Takes $166M Arbitration Loss To 4th Circ.
Convicted insurance mogul Greg Lindberg is looking to overturn a $166 million arbitral award favoring defunct Dutch life insurer Conservatrix after a North Carolina federal judge found the proceedings were conducted fairly.
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September 19, 2024
'Biblical Values' Firm To Pay $300K For Misleading Investors
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday order Idaho-based investment adviser Inspire Investing LLC to pay a $300,000 fine on allegations it made misleading statements and failed to institute compliance measures related to the firm's execution of its "biblically responsible investing" strategy.
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September 19, 2024
Hormel Foods Can't Beat Retirement Fund Management Suit
Hormel Foods Corp. can't avoid a proposed class action claiming it failed to remove high-cost investment options with poor return rates from its $1.2 billion retirement plans, with a Minnesota federal judge ruling the worker leading the suit identified suitably comparable funds that performed better.
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September 19, 2024
Ex-Williams Sonoma Worker Bilked $11M In Scam, Feds Say
A former Williams Sonoma employee was indicted in California federal court over a yearslong scheme in which he allegedly defrauded the company out of $11 million after submitting fraudulent invoices for work that was never performed by a fictitious staffing business he secretly owned, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
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September 19, 2024
Live Nation Looks To Trim Gov't Antitrust Case
Live Nation has asked a New York federal court to toss claims seeking damages in the government's antitrust case, arguing that consumers were not harmed by its dealings with concert venues and promoters, and also asked to nix a tying claim from the case.
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September 19, 2024
Tyson Foods Hit With Greenwashing Suit For 'Net-Zero' Claim
Tyson Foods Inc. has been slapped with a complaint by the Environmental Working Group in D.C. Superior Court, accusing the country's second-largest meat company of falsely claiming it will be net-zero by 2050 and misrepresenting its industrial beef products as "climate-smart."
Expert Analysis
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2nd Circ. Case Reinforces Need For Advance Notice Bylaws
The Second Circuit's recent decision in Nano Dimension v. Murchinson illustrates that Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act is a square peg for a round hole, and that advance notice bylaws are far better at protecting against undisclosed coordination among activist shareholders, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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What Cos. Should Note In DOJ's New Whistleblower Pilot
After the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a new whistleblower pilot program last week — continuing its efforts to incentivize individual reporting of misconduct — companies should review the eligibility criteria, update their compliance programs and consider the risks and benefits of making their own self-disclosures, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Series
After Chevron: New Lines Of Attack For FCA Defense Bar
Loper Bright has given defense counsel new avenues to overcome the False Claims Act elements of falsity and scienter, as any FCA claim based upon ambiguous statutory terms can no longer stand solely on agency regulations to establish the statute's meaning, which is itself necessary to satisfy the FCA's basic requirements, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.
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Autonomy Execs' Acquittal Highlights Good Faith Instruction
The recent acquittal of two former Autonomy executives demonstrates that a good faith jury instruction can be the cornerstone of an effective defense strategy in white collar criminal cases, in part because the concept of good faith is a human experience every juror can relate to, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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Navigating The Murky Waters Of Patent Infringement Damages
Recent cases show that there is no easy way to isolate an infringed patent’s value, and it would serve all sides well for courts to thoroughly examine expert opinions of this nature and provide consistent guidance for future cases, say Manny Caixeiro and Elizabeth Manno at Venable.
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SolarWinds Ruling Offers Cyber Incident Response Takeaways
The New York federal court's dismissal of all charges related to the 2019 Sunburst cyberattack is a devastating blow to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cybersecurity case against SolarWinds, but the well-reasoned opinion provides valuable lessons that may improve companies' defensive posture in the wake of a major cybersecurity incident, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Series
After Chevron: Delegation Of Authority And Tax Regulators
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service will face higher standards following Loper Bright’s finding that courts should determine whether agency rules meet the best possible interpretation of the tax code, as well as the scope of the authority delegated by Congress, says Edward Froelich at McDermott.
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3 Ways To Lower Insider Trading Risk After First 10b5-1 Case
In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's insider trading prosecution against the former CEO of Ontrack based on alleged abuse of a Rule 10b5-1 safe harbor plan — designed to allow executives to sell their companies' securities without liability — companies and individuals should take steps to avoid enacting similar plans in bad faith, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
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Series
After Chevron: What Loper Bright Portends For The NLRB
While the U.S. Supreme Court has a long history of deferring to the National Labor Relations Board's readings of federal labor law, the court's Loper Bright v. Raimondo decision forces courts to take a harder look at the judgment of an agency — and the NLRB will not be immune from such greater scrutiny, says Irving Geslewitz at Much Shelist.
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PE Firms Should Prepare For Increased False Claims Scrutiny
The impact private equity firms may have over medical decisions and care is increasingly attracting potential liability under the False Claims Act and attention from states and the federal government, so investors should follow best practices including conducting due diligence both before and after acquisitions, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Proposed NIL Deal Leaves NCAA Antitrust Liability Door Open
The proposed House v. NCAA settlement filed in California federal court creates the possibility of significant direct payments to student-athletes for the first time, but the resulting framework is unlikely to withstand future antitrust scrutiny because it still represents an agreement among competitors to limit labor cost, says Yaman Desai at Lynn Pinker.
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Series
A Day In The In-House Life: Block CLO Talks Problem-Solving
Amid the busy summer months, Block Inc. Chief Legal Officer Chrysty Esperanza chronicles a typical Wednesday where she conquered everything from unexpected fintech regulatory issues and team building to Bay Area commutes and school drop-off.
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Series
After Chevron: ERISA Challenges To Watch
The end of Chevron deference makes the outcome of Employee Retirement Income Security Act regulatory challenges more uncertain as courts become final arbiters of pending lawsuits about ESG investments, the definition of a fiduciary, unallocated pension forfeitures and discrimination in healthcare plans, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.