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Securities
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May 17, 2013
CFTC Says Bloomberg's Delay In Filing Sinks Swap Rule Case
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday argued that Bloomberg LP's 18-month delay in challenging the agency's margin requirements for “swap” and “futures” derivatives showed that the company had no standing or good justification for seeking to block application of the rule.
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May 17, 2013
House Passes Bill To Ramp Up SEC Cost-Benefit Reviews
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed legislation that would force the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to more closely analyze the costs and benefits of its regulations, following an acrimonious floor debate between Democrats and the law’s GOP sponsors.
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May 17, 2013
Sheppard Mullin Adds Securities Vet To Silicon Valley Office
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP has landed an experienced fund governance and securities lawyer to join its Palo Alto, Calif., office as a partner in its corporate practice group, the law firm announced Thursday.
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May 17, 2013
Sen. Wants US To Join UK, EU In Oil Price-Fixing Probes
Official concern over the European Commission's surprise inspections of several oil companies mounted Friday as an Oregon senator urged the U.S. Attorney General to join European agencies, which now include the U.K. Serious Fraud Office, in examining allegations of oil price-fixing that potentially target BP PLC and Statoil ASA.
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May 17, 2013
'Mentally Ill' Ex-DHB Exec Wins Fraud Sentencing Delay
The founder of body-armor maker DHB Industries Inc., convicted of insider trading in 2010, won a postponement Friday of his sentencing so the judge can consider a number of issues including whether an assessment that he is “seriously mentally ill" should impact his trial competency and sentencing.
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May 17, 2013
Wal-Mart Busts Its FCPA Budget By $30M In Q1
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it has spent $73 million in the first quarter of the fiscal year dealing with investigations and internal changes stemming from alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, around $30 million more than the retailer expected.
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May 16, 2013
Charles Schwab Lifts Client Class Action Ban
Charles Schwab Corp. will drop its class action waiver for disputes going forward, the brokerage said Wednesday, as opposition mounts against a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel's decision to allow such waivers.
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May 16, 2013
SinoTech Wins Initial Nod For $20M Deal To End IPO Suit
A New York federal judge on Thursday granted preliminary approval of a $20 million settlement in a class action alleging that SinoTech Energy Ltd. misled shareholders ahead of its $180 million initial public offering in 2010 and that its underwriters looked the other way.
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May 16, 2013
Wal-Mart Can't Keep Leaked Docs Out Of Mexico Bribery Suit
A Delaware Chancery judge ruled Thursday that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. can't stop shareholders from using documents leaked into the public domain to support their suit over alleged bribery by its Mexican affiliate, rejecting the chain's contention that the formerly private files were still privileged.
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May 16, 2013
Judge Won't Certify BofA Appeal In RMBS Action
A New York federal judge on Thursday denied a bid by Bank of America NA and U.S. Bank NA for interlocutory appeal of her ruling that they can be sued in a class action for allegedly failing to protect investors in their role as trustees of mortgage-backed securities.
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May 16, 2013
Saints Coach Settles Investor Fraud Suit Against Ex-Player
A Louisiana federal judge on Thursday dismissed New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton's contract claims alleging a former Saints snapper drew him and others into an investment scheme involving fake film tax credits, following a settlement of the action.
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May 16, 2013
CFTC Derivatives Rules Bow To Market Reality, Experts Say
Financial reform groups have blasted the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's newly approved package of rules governing swaps trading as a sop to Wall Street, but analysts say the agency had to ease some requirements in order to give the market time to adjust to the Dodd-Frank Act's transparency mandates.
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May 16, 2013
Ex-Film Site Owner Can't Shake The Wrap's Fraud Suit
A California judge refused Thursday to toss The Wrap News Inc.'s fraud suit against the former owner of a film database company it acquired, ruling the entertainment news website sufficiently pled allegations the owner overstated the value of his company and conspired to steal trade secrets.
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May 16, 2013
Fla. High Court Says Arbitrations Can Be Time-Barred
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that arbitration proceedings are subject to the state's statute of limitations, and said that investor arbitration claims against Raymond James Financial Services Inc. are barred under the state law.
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May 16, 2013
Empire State Building IPO Nears Full Shareholder Approval
The owners of the Empire State Building have received nearly all of the votes needed to pass their controversial plan to put the building in a publicly traded real estate trust, they said in a regulatory filing Thursday.
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May 16, 2013
SEC Wins D&O Bar Against Alleged Hedge Fund Scammer
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can bar a private hedge fund manager accused of misusing investor assets from serving as director or officer of a public company, an Illinois federal court ruled Thursday, despite the defendant’s claims that such a ban was “totally unprecedented.”
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May 16, 2013
Wells Fargo Can't Shake Suit Over Conflict As RMBS Trustee
A Colorado federal judge on Wednesday allowed most claims to continue in a hedge fund's lawsuit alleging that Wells Fargo NA breached its responsibilities as both a trustee and a servicer for certain residential mortgage-backed securities, costing the fund millions of dollars in losses.
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May 16, 2013
AIG Docs In $46M SEC Case Stay Secret, Judge Rules
A Washington federal court on Thursday blocked a journalist’s access to confidential reports on American International Group Inc.'s accounting practices that were ordered as part of a $46 million settlement with securities regulators in 2004, saying a recent appeals court ruling had closed the issue.
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May 16, 2013
Fla. Law Firm Lands Banking, Securities Pro In Tampa
Florida law firm Saxon Gilmore Carraway & Gibbons PA recently announced it has landed a banking and securities litigation partner formerly of Trenam Kemker to join its Tampa office.
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May 16, 2013
11th Circ. Won't Let Fraudsters Off Hook For $18M Scheme
The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday dismissed appeals by the owner and office manager of a fraudulent investment firm, who had spent $18 million they collected from investors on spas, cars and office expenses, ruling that trial testimony didn't amount to conjecture about their states of mind.
Expert Analysis
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Insights From An Under-The-Radar CDO Case
A case that seems to have gone relatively unnoticed is ASR Levensverzekering NV v. Swiss Re Financial Products Corporation. Dismissed by the New York Supreme Court, the case provides useful insights into the application of New York fraud and contract law in the context of complex financial transactions, say James Bliss and Kevin Broughel of Paul Hastings LLP.
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E-Discovery In The Cloud: Who Can Get Your Data?
Many lawyers are asking whether placing electronically stored information in the cloud could inadvertently waive the attorney-client privilege and whether the government or a civil litigant could obtain ESI directly from a cloud service provider. In answering these questions, there are a number of aspects of the cloud worth considering, say Timothy Broas and Matthew Saxon of Winston & Strawn LLP.
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Get Ready For A 'Substituted Compliance' Regime
In a complete 180-degree reversal of its previous position, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is on the verge of accepting an international financial regulatory regime of mutual recognition. "Substituted compliance" will help inform foreign market participants about which rules they must follow when their swap activities cross U.S. borders, says Bradley Dizik of Tiberian Regulatory Advisers LLC.
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Why The Libor Lawsuits Are Not Dead
In the wake of a recent court ruling in the Southern District of New York, many people have suggested that London Interbank Offered Rate litigations are now nearly over. Although the ruling represents a significant victory for the defendant banks, and a major challenge to the litigation strategy of many of the claimants, it is by no means the end of the Libor litigations, says Ilan Guedj of ARPC.
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FINRA's Position On Pre-Inception Index Performance Data
FINRA has now formalized its position (albeit in a limited way) on pre-inception index performance data for exchange-traded products. Although the agency permits firms to distribute PIP data only to institutional investors, the recent guidance nonetheless provides some much-needed regulatory clarity for market participants, say Richard Morris and John O’Brien of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.
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Lessons From Philips FCPA Settlement Over Polish Bribes
While Poland has not received particular Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement focus over the years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent order against Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV over Polish bribes underscores the fact that, in given circumstances, any country can present high corruption risk, say attorneys with Fulbright & Jaworski LLP.
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A Model For Facing Meritless Derivative Suits In Pa.
The decision by the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in In re H.J. Heinz Co. Derivative and Class Action Litigation represents a faithful application of the American Law Institute’s Principles of Corporate Governance, which were formally adopted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the landmark decision Cuker v. Mikalauskas, say attorneys with Dechert LLP.
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Sui Generis At Supreme Court
Not since Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1933 have we seen a Supreme Court so imbalanced that it would throw its own power away as it did in Twombly, Iqbal and Concepcion, or devalue its own authority through matters of little interest, simply for the benefit of large American corporations, says Fred Isquith of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP.
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A Significant Impact On Private Investment Funds
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., recently reintroduced the Inclusive Prosperity Act of 2013, a financial transaction tax that, according to its supporters, would provide the federal government between $150 billion and $340 billion of revenue per year. The bill is, essentially, a sales tax on large Wall Street banks — however, its provisions seem to impact hedge funds and private equity funds, says David Sussman of Duane Morris LLP.
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FTC And SEC Are Schizoid On Social Media
The Federal Trade Commission's recent guidance on digital advertising disclaimers and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new policy on corporate financial disclosures were presented by the agencies as ways to enable use of social media by corporations — but instead just make things much harder, if not totally impracticable, says Glenn Manishin of Troutman Sanders LLP.