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Securities
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September 03, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Last week in Delaware's court of equity, an iconic rock band got a new member, former President Donald Trump's social media company escaped a contempt ruling, and litigation grew over Illumina Inc.'s $8 billion reacquisition of cancer-testing company Grail Inc. New cases touched on intellectual property, mergers, share transfers and dump trucks. In case you missed it, here's the latest from Delaware's Court of Chancery.
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September 03, 2024
$2.2M Bowling Co. Investor Settlement Gets Initial Green Light
A Maryland federal judge has preliminarily approved a nearly $2.2 million settlement ending a class action that alleged Bowl America's board of directors acted in bad faith when approving a merger with Bowlero Corp.
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August 30, 2024
Chancery Prunes $2.1M From Atty Fee Bid In Sculptor Merger
Class attorneys who helped secure a 14.4%, or $80.8 million, improvement in proceeds from Sculptor Capital Management's sale to Rithm Capital Corp. — plus a $6.5 million common fund — saw their $5.75 million fee proposal cut to $3.6 million in Delaware's Court of Chancery Friday.
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August 30, 2024
Semiconductor Co. Beats Investor Suit Over Failed $8B Merger
A California federal judge has dismissed a proposed investor class action filed over semiconductor company MaxLinear Inc.'s decision to cancel a planned $8 billion merger with Silicon Motion Technology Corp., finding investors' claims against the former can't stand because they held shares in the latter.
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August 30, 2024
5th Circ. Rejects SEC Whistleblower Award Calculation Appeal
The Fifth Circuit on Friday rejected petitions by two whistleblowers who allege that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shortchanged them after they helped to uncover purportedly the largest fraud in Texas history, by a company that was driven into bankruptcy.
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August 30, 2024
CFTC Grants Clearing Status To Courtroom Foe Kalshi
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has given the all clear for a division of derivatives startup Kalshi to serve as an intermediary in the swaps market, even as the pair continue to duke it out in court over the trading platform's rebuffed request to participate in the stalled elections betting market.
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August 30, 2024
Del. Judge Finds Exception To Absolute Litigation Shield
An "absolute litigation privilege" barring lawsuits targeting defamation related to court action in Delaware doesn't block involuntary LLC share repurchase demands triggered by a terminated subsidiary officer's alleged defamatory statements, a Delaware judge has ruled.
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August 30, 2024
Door-Maker Demands $10M In Excess Insurance At 4th Circ.
A door manufacturer pressed the Fourth Circuit to force an insurer to hand over $10 million in excess coverage in connection with a $39.5 million shareholder settlement over alleged lies to investors, arguing Friday that the matter was unrelated to other litigation and counts as a separate claim.
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August 30, 2024
Gaming Co. Exec Gets 6 Years For Fake IPO Claims, Theft
An executive of Carlyle Entertainment Ltd. has been sentenced to 72 months in prison for advertising a phony initial public offering and fraudulently misappropriating $3 million in investor funds for his personal use in a scheme that spanned six years.
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August 30, 2024
3 Atty Takeaways On What's Ahead As ERISA Turns 50
As the Employee Retirement Income Security Act turns 50 years old this Labor Day, attorneys reflecting on five decades of development of the federal employee benefits law see a complex path ahead for both litigation and policy. Here are three key takeaways from top attorneys on what’s next for ERISA on its golden anniversary.
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August 30, 2024
FINRA Dings Raymond James $2M Over Customer Complaints
Two Raymond James units will pay nearly $2 million to settle allegations from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that they didn't properly handle customer complaints or supervise mutual fund purchases.
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August 30, 2024
Off The Bench: NFL Lets PE In, Ex-NBA Pro Denies Agent Deal
In this week’s Off The Bench, the NFL shakes up its ownership rules and joins the rest of the pro sports world, while a former NBA player says his agency is trying to cling to him after he moved on. In case you were sidelined this week, Law360 is here to catch you up on the sports and betting stories that had our readers talking.
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August 30, 2024
Fla. Judge Won't Block Sale Of 18M Truth Social Co. Shares
A Florida judge on Friday denied a request by Donald Trump's Truth Social to block the sale of 18 million shares by two of the company's co-founders, finding that the company would not be irreparably harmed by having to rely on a damages remedy if the sale goes through.
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August 30, 2024
Fla. Investment Firm Head Cops To Role In Broker Scheme
The president of a now-shuttered Florida investment firm has admitted to helping an unregistered broker sell securities in exchange for rich commissions that were not disclosed to buyers.
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August 30, 2024
FTX Exec Drops Bid To Undo Plea Amid Partner's Indictment
Former FTX executive Ryan Salame is no longer seeking to vacate his guilty plea that he says Manhattan federal prosecutors induced with a false promise to halt a campaign finance probe into his partner Michelle Bond, though his claims that they broke their word will still be litigated before two different judges.
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August 30, 2024
Crypto Exchanges Illegally Took Facial Scans, Suits Say
Two cryptocurrency exchanges have been hit with proposed class actions in Illinois federal court alleging they unlawfully collected, stored, and disclosed users' facial geometry scans by making new customers go through a mandatory verification process in violation of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act.
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August 29, 2024
Tesla, Elon Musk Beat Dogecoin Buyers' Fraud Suit, For Good
A New York federal judge on Thursday for the final time threw out a contentious lawsuit brought by Dogecoin investors accusing Elon Musk of manipulating the market so that he and Tesla could turn a profit on the meme-themed cryptocurrency.
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August 29, 2024
IBM Unit's Repurchase Not Blocked By Del. Litigation Privilege
An International Business Machines Corp. affiliate can enforce a stake repurchase option against a former executive suing the company, a Delaware judge ruled Thursday, saying statements he made in legal filings can trigger the repurchase provision in his nondisparagement agreement.
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August 29, 2024
Texas' Anti-ESG Law Is Unconstitutional, Green Biz Org Says
A sustainability-focused business group on Thursday sued Texas state officials in federal court seeking to block a law that restricts state investments with financial firms and businesses that want to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
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August 29, 2024
Starbucks Overpromised On 'Reinvention' Plan, Investor Says
Coffee chain Starbucks faces a proposed investor class action alleging it misled the markets about prospects for its so-called Triple Shot Reinvention strategy, hurting investors after trading prices for its shares slid when it announced disappointing quarterly results in April 2024.
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August 29, 2024
SEC Says PE Firm Ran $3.3M Real Estate Investment Scam
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a suit in California federal court accusing a private equity firm and its managing partner, who was previously convicted of financial crimes, of fraudulently raising $3.3 million through a Ponzi-like real estate investment scheme.
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August 29, 2024
SEC Slams Crypto Co.'s Bid To Curb Its Enforcement Powers
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has moved to rid itself of a lawsuit that aims to limit its ability to oversee the crypto industry, telling a Texas federal judge that there is no evidence that the agency's staff was even aware of the startup that is suing to head off a non-existent enforcement action.
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August 29, 2024
Ex-SPAC Agrees To Face 'Springing Penalty' In SEC Case
Former blank check company National Energy Services Reunited Corp. has agreed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $400,000, with a potential additional penalty of $1.2 million if it doesn't undertake certain remediation efforts, over alleged financial reporting and controls failures stemming from its acquisition of 2 companies.
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August 29, 2024
Schwab's 'Cash Sweep' Paid For TD Ameritrade Buy, Suit Says
The Charles Schwab Corp. has been hit with a proposed class action in California federal court by three customers alleging that the investment bank obtains "outsized benefits" from its cash sweep programs and used a significant amount of the cash to finance its $26 billion acquisition of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. several years ago.
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August 29, 2024
Nigerian Fintech Ex-CEO Hit With $32M Fine In SEC Fraud Suit
A New York federal judge has levied a nearly $32 million penalty against a Nigerian businessman whom the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused of fraudulently inflating the value of his food and agriculture technology businesses, while also ordering him and various affiliated businesses to cough up hundreds of millions of dollars in disgorgement and prejudgment interest.
Expert Analysis
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
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The State Of Play In DEI And ESG 1 Year After Harvard Ruling
Almost a year after the U.S. Supreme Court decided Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, attorney general scrutiny of environmental, social and governance-related efforts indicates a potential path for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to be targeted, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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2 Oil Trader FCPA Pleas Highlight Fine-Reduction Factors
Recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlements with Gunvor and Trafigura — the latest actions in a yearslong sweep of the commodities trading industry — reveal useful data points related to U.S. Department of Justice policies on cooperation credit and past misconduct, say Michael DeBernardis and Laura Perkins at Hughes Hubbard.
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Influencer Considerations As FINRA Initiates Crackdown
To avert risks when evaluating influencer and referral programs, firms should assess the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's recent settlements involving the supervision of social media tastemakers, as well as recent FINRA guidance in this area, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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New Crypto Reporting Will Require Rigorous Recordkeeping
The release of a form for reporting digital asset transactions is a pivotal moment in the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to track cryptocurrency activities that increases oversight by requiring brokers to report investor sales and exchanges, say Shaina Kamen and Max Angel at Holland & Knight.
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What Transactional Attys Must Know About Texas Biz Courts
As Texas prepares to launch its new business courts, transactional attorneys — especially those involved in commercial, securities and internal governance matters — should keep several issues in mind when considering use of the state's business court system to facilitate deals and settle disputes, say attorneys at Katten.
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Crypto Mixer Laundering Case Provides Evidentiary Road Map
A Washington, D.C., federal court’s recent decision to allow expert testimony on blockchain analysis software in a bitcoin mixer money laundering case — which ultimately ended in conviction — establishes a precedent for the admissibility of similar software-derived evidence, say Peter Hardy and Kelly Lenahan-Pfahlert at Ballard Spahr.
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Series
Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.
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5 Lessons From Ex-Vitol Trader's FCPA Conviction
The recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering conviction of former Vitol oil trader Javier Aguilar in a New York federal court provides defense takeaways on issues ranging from the definition of “domestic concern” to jury instruction strategy, says attorney Andrew Feldman.
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SEC Amendments May Launch New Execution Disclosure Era
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently adopted amendments to Rule 605 of Regulation NMS for executions on covered orders in national market system stocks modernize and enhance execution quality reporting, but serious guidance is still needed to make the reports useful for the public investor, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Mitigating Incarceration's Impacts On Foreign Nationals
Sentencing arguments that highlighted the disparate impact incarceration would have on a British national recently sentenced for insider training by a New York district court, when compared to similarly situated U.S. citizens, provide an example of the advocacy needed to avoid or mitigate problems unique to noncitizen defendants, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.
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Lessons On Challenging Class Plaintiffs' Expert Testimony
In class actions seeking damages, plaintiffs are increasingly using expert opinions to establish predominance, but several recent rulings from California federal courts shed light on how defendants can respond, say Jennifer Romano and Raija Horstman at Crowell & Moring.
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
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Del. Dispatch: Chancery's Evolving Approach To Caremark
Though Caremark claims are historically the least likely corporate claims to lead to liability, such cases have been met in recent years with increased judicial receptivity — but the Delaware Court of Chancery still expressly discourages the reflexive filing of Caremark claims following corporate mishaps, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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A GC's Guide To Multijurisdictional Regulatory Compliance
Overlapping cybersecurity regulation has created an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape with elevated oversight for organizations across the globe, but general counsel can help develop a best-in-class approach to manage these complexities by building a compliance strategy holistically, say David Dunn and Meredith Griffanti at FTI Consulting.