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October 31, 2024
Latham Hit With Sanctions In Banc Of California Securities Suit
A California federal judge found Latham & Watkins LLP and its ex-client, former Banc of California CEO Steven A. Sugarman, in civil contempt for "flagrant violations" of a protective order covering discovery produced by investment firm Muddy Waters Capital in a securities fraud class action, according to an order unsealed this week.
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October 31, 2024
Feds: No 'Willfulness' Needed In Texas AG-Tied Investor Case
Federal prosecutors asked a Texas federal judge to reject an attempt by an investor at the center of the failed impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to toss the fraud case, saying Wednesday that "willfulness" isn't needed for a conspiracy to commit wire fraud conviction.
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October 31, 2024
10 Firms Vie To Lead, Consolidate Super Micro Investor Suits
Ten firms have submitted competing bids to lead and consolidate proposed class actions alleging that artificial intelligence server manufacturer Super Micro Computer Inc.'s shares fell roughly 20% after a short seller report accused it of violating its previous settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over accounting improprieties.
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October 31, 2024
IP Forecast: Another Apple Watch Trial Kicks Off In California
Apple and Masimo will face off next week in their long-running feud over whether the tech giant misappropriated Masimo's trade secrets for some of the health-monitoring features used in newer versions of the Apple Watch. Here's a spotlight on that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.
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October 31, 2024
CVS Unit Exec's Ex-Partner Charged With Insider Trading
The former domestic partner of a top executive at Oak Street Health Inc., a primary care provider network owned by CVS Health Corp., was charged in Philadelphia federal court Thursday with insider trading on advance information about CVS' $10.6 billion deal to buy Oak Street in 2023.
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October 31, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Revive 'Ghost Cattle' Contract Fight With Tyson
The Ninth Circuit said Thursday a rancher who admitted to invoicing Tyson Foods Inc. for nonexistent cattle cannot sue the meat company for allegedly using his name and photograph in marketing materials without giving him a cut of the profits, rejecting the rancher's argument that Tyson had agreed orally to the deal.
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October 31, 2024
Rebar Giant's Economist Rips Rival's 'Narrow' Antitrust Market
Commercial Metals Co.'s expert economist testified in a federal antitrust jury trial Thursday that Pacific Steel Group's theory of the rebar market is "too narrow" by only focusing on California, although he conceded under cross-examination that CMC sold most of its rebar within 500 miles of its since-shuttered California mill.
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October 31, 2024
Masimo Sues Ex-CEO Over 'Unprecedented' $450M Demand
Masimo Corp. has sued its founder in Delaware Chancery Court, seeking a declaration that a $450 million payout triggered in part by the founder's loss of control or his ouster as CEO and chairman is unenforceable, saying the amount is "unprecedented" and shouldn't be paid by shareholders who were simply exercising their voting rights.
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October 31, 2024
Ex-Conn. Utility Execs Must Report To Prison, Judge Orders
The former CEO of the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative and two ex-board members must report to prison by Dec. 4, a federal judge has ordered, after the Second Circuit upheld their convictions over their roles in the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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October 31, 2024
Instructure Sued In Del. For Books On $4.8B Take-Private Deal
A stockholder of educational technology venture Instructure Holdings LLC has sued the company for records on its $4.8 billion take-private sale to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP, citing concern that Instructure's controller, Thoma Bravo, abandoned another prospect for its own benefit.
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October 31, 2024
Dallas Judge Kicks 2022 Energy Case Out Of Biz Court
A Dallas business court judge sent a multimillion-dollar energy dispute back to state district court this week, marking the first time a Texas Business Court judge has weighed in on whether cases in existence before the court's opening could be litigated in the new venue.
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October 31, 2024
Madigan Ally Set Up Work For Speaker's Fired Aide, Jury Told
An ex-lobbyist on trial alongside former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan made arrangements for a political operative that Madigan fired to receive monthly payments while he was unemployed, suggesting he enter into contracts with loyal lobbyists and write up reports on legislators "in case the IRS checks this out," a federal jury heard Thursday.
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October 31, 2024
Judge Says White Worker's Seattle DEI Suit Lacks 'Specifics'
A Washington federal judge hinted Thursday a former municipal employee's suit claiming Seattle's workplace diversity training discriminated against him as a white man might not have enough detail to survive, as the city's attorneys accused the plaintiff of trying to dismantle its racial justice initiative.
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October 31, 2024
2nd Circ. Backs GE's Win In Ex-Exec's Benefits Denial Suit
The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal Thursday of a former General Electric executive's suit claiming the company should have awarded her pension and stock benefits when it moved her into an independent contractor role, ruling that her claims were filed too late.
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October 31, 2024
Valero To Pay 'Historic' $82M Fine For Bay Area Air Pollution
Valero Refining Co. will pay a record $82 million penalty to settle claims that it failed to report cancer-causing emissions from its Northern California petroleum refinery for nearly two decades, state and Bay Area air pollution regulators announced Thursday, saying nearly all of the fine will fund local community projects.
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October 31, 2024
Meta Users Fight Uphill For Cert., But Advertisers Have A Shot
A California federal judge who was asked to certify two classes in litigation alleging that Facebook parent Meta Platforms monopolized the social media advertising market and misused users' data said Thursday that the users' damage theory wasn't "plausible," but appeared open to the advertisers' claim they suffered the same alleged injury.
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October 31, 2024
What DOJ's New National Security Obsession Means For Attys
The Justice Department’s emerging criminal crackdown on corporate national security violations is putting increased pressure on white collar lawyers to be conversant, if not experts, on opaque, complex and swiftly evolving regulations.
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October 31, 2024
Exxon Entitled To Interest Deduction On Qatar Deal
Exxon Mobil is entitled to an interest expense deduction on payments to Qatar under a natural gas deal, a Texas federal judge ruled, rejecting the U.S. government's classification of an underlying transaction as a royalty rather than a loan.
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October 31, 2024
Abbott, Mead Cleared In Baby Formula Trial
A St. Louis jury cleared Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson of liability Thursday in the companies' first joint trial over claims their baby formula causes a serious gut condition in preterm infants.
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October 31, 2024
Monthly Merger Review Snapshot
Kroger and Albertsons endured overlapping trials in cases challenging their planned grocery store megamerger, as the Federal Trade Commission got a major fashion industry deal paused and pushed its bid to block the $4 billion merger of Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm.
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October 31, 2024
AI Co. Fires CEO As BigLaw Counsel Probe Revenue Issues
Security tech company Evolv Technology, which last week announced it had brought on Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP as part of an internal investigation into possible revenue inflation, said Wednesday it has ousted its CEO.
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October 31, 2024
6th Circ. Split Over NLRB Remedy In Starbucks Firing Case
The Sixth Circuit was divided Thursday over Starbucks' challenge to a National Labor Relations Board order finding the coffee giant unlawfully fired a worker at a Michigan cafe, with the judges probing the limits of the board's power to remedy unfair labor practices.
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October 31, 2024
SBA Cries Foul On Globetrotters' $10M COVID Grant Suit
The U.S. Small Business Administration has defended its denial of a $10 million COVID-19 relief grant to the Harlem Globetrotters, telling a D.C. federal judge that it had no legal obligation to hand over the money to the basketball entertainment organization.
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October 31, 2024
Lowenstein Sandler Snags Another VC Pro From Boutique
Lowenstein Sandler LLP has added a New York City lawyer from prominent boutique corporate law firm Buhler Duggal & Henry LLP to its emerging companies and venture capital group, the firm announced.
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October 31, 2024
Chancery Upholds Low Appraisal Of Online Bookstore Co.
Contract educational institution bookstore operator Akademos Inc. was fairly sold in December 2020 under terms that left common stockholders wiped out, a Delaware vice chancellor has ruled after a four-day trial that both appraised the company's stock and judged the deal's fairness.
Expert Analysis
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What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Alice Step 2 Trends Show Courts' Extrinsic Evidence Reliance
A look at recent trends in how district courts are applying Step 2 of the Alice framework shows that courts have increasingly relied on extrinsic evidence to help determine whether a claimed invention is "well-understood, routine, and conventional," says Jonathan Tuminaro at Sterne Kessler.
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Examining Chancery's Relaxed New Confidential Filing Rules
The Delaware Court of Chancery’s overhauled Rule 5.1, which governs confidential filings, risks permitting nonconfidential information to be shielded from public review unless and until a challenge notice is filed — but several potential solutions could help to override this issue, says Delaware attorney Daniel J. McBride.
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Takeaways From Tossed Deal In Visa, Mastercard Class Action
Given the rejection of a proposed deal in the long-running merchant antitrust class action against Visa and Mastercard in New York federal court, sweetening the proposed settlement pot likely will not be an option, leaving few possible outcomes including splitting the class and allowing opt-outs, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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DOJ Innovasis Settlement Offers Lessons On Self-Disclosure
The recent $12 million settlement with Innovasis and two of its executives demonstrates the U.S. Department of Justice's continued prioritization of Anti-Kickback Statute enforcement amid the growing circuit split over causation, and illustrates important nuances surrounding self-disclosure, say Denise Barnes and Scott Gallisdorfer at Bass Berry.
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Opinion
OFAC Sanctions Deserve To Be Challenged Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision opens the door to challenges against the Office of Foreign Assets Control's sanctions regime, the unintended consequences of which raise serious questions about the wisdom of what appears to be a scorched-earth approach, says Solomon Shinerock at Lewis Baach.
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Behind The Delay Of Final HSR Premerger Filing Rules
Erin Toomey at Epiq discusses the wait for the final version of the revised Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger filing requirements that were first introduced in June 2023, the factors that might be behind the delay, and how to plan for the potential data-focused rule change
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How Calif. Ruling Alters Worker Arb. Agreement Enforcement
The California Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ramirez v. Charter Communications should caution employers that while workers’ arbitration agreements will no longer be deemed unenforceable based on their number of unconscionable provisions, they must still be fair and balanced, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor.
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Opinion
After Jarkesy, IRS Must Course-Correct On Captive Insurance
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision has profound implications for other agencies, including the IRS, which must stop ignoring due process and curtailing congressional intent in its policing of captive insurance arrangements, says Peter Dawson at the 831(b) Institute.
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Congress Quietly Amends FEPA: What Cos. Should Do Now
Last week, Congress revised the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act — passed last year to criminalize demand-side foreign bribery — to address inconsistencies and better harmonize the law with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and companies should review their compliance programs accordingly, say Mark Mendelsohn and Benjamin Klein at Paul Weiss.
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Why FDIC Banks May Want To Consider Fed Membership
With the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recently ratcheting up bank supervision and proposing idiosyncratic new policies, state-chartered nonmember banks may want to explore the benefits of becoming Federal Reserve members and consider practical steps to make the switch, say Max Bonici and Connor Webb at Venable.
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Del. 3M Ruling Risks Upending Corporate Insurance Programs
A Delaware court's findings last week in the 3M earplug insurance litigation that a parent company's defense fee payments don't count toward a subsidiary's self-insured retention and that an insurer's duty to pay defense costs doesn't attach to multidistrict litigation merit closer scrutiny in light of the modern corporate form and the fundamental objectives of MDLs, say Julie Hammerman and Gary Thompson at Thompson HD.
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NYSE Delisting May Be The Cost Of FCPA Compliance
ABB’s recent decision to delist its U.S. depository receipts from the New York Stock Exchange, coupled with having settled three Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions, begs the question of whether the cost of FCPA compliance should factor into a company's decision to remain listed in the U.S., says John Joy at FTI Law.
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Opinion
The FTC Needs To Challenge The Novo-Catalent Deal
Novo's acquisition of Catalent threatens to substantially lessen competition in the manufacturing and marketing of GLP-1 diabetes and obesity drugs, and the Federal Trade Commission should challenge it under a vertical theory of harm, as it aligns with last year's merger guidelines and the Fifth Circuit decision in Illumina, says attorney David Balto.