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January 27, 2012
FTC Sues Omnicare To Block $441M PharMerica Merger
U.S. antitrust regulators on Friday moved to block Omnicare Inc.’s proposed $440.8 million deal for PharMerica Corp. over concerns that a merger of the country’s two largest long-term care pharmacies would raise drug prices, particularly for Medicare patients, and hurt competition.
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January 27, 2012
Health Law Can Stand Even Without Mandate: White House
The Obama administration told the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could survive almost intact even if the central mandate requiring all individuals to have health insurance were deemed unconstitutional.
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January 27, 2012
Chevron Defends Brazil Cleanup As Spill Charges Loom
Chevron Corp. said Friday that it had fully complied with Brazilian laws after an oil spill off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, responding to reports that Chevron and its managers were facing criminal charges in addition to an $11 billion civil suit.
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January 27, 2012
Samsung Loses Another Round In Apple Fight In Germany
A German court on Friday tossed Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s second patent claim against Apple Inc. over mobile telecommunications technology a week after the court rejected its claim over a related patent, according to a patent expert’s blog.
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January 27, 2012
FBI Raids PE Firm Tied To China Reverse Mergers
Federal agents have raided the Wall Street offices of corporate finance and private equity firm New York Global Group Inc., which specializes in Chinese reverse mergers on U.S. stock exchanges, and also searched the home of company President Benjamin Wey, the FBI said Friday.
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January 27, 2012
Costa Concordia Crewman Hits Carnival With Class Action
A crew member from the Costa Concordia cruise ship hit Carnival Corp. with a putative class action in Illinois on Thursday, claiming the company didn’t evacuate the 4,200 passengers and crew quickly enough when the ship ran aground off the coast of Italy.
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January 26, 2012
Orrick Cost Highland $95M In Canceled CDO Deal: Suit
Highland Financial Partners LP launched a suit Wednesday in Texas alleging former counsel Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP cost it $95 million by failing to mention a provision in a collateralized debt obligation transaction allowing Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC to cancel it at will.
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January 26, 2012
BP On Hook For Some Deepwater Claims Against Transocean
The federal judge handling multidistrict litigation over the Deepwater Horizon disaster ruled Thursday that BP PLC must cover some oil-spill-related compensatory damages against Transocean Ltd., even if they involved negligence or strict liability on Transocean’s part.
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January 26, 2012
Pentagon To Save $259B By Shrinking Army, Slowing F35 Buys
To save $259 billion over the next five years, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Thursday that the U.S. military would reduce the number of active-duty troops and modify some weapons procurements, such as slowing the Pentagon's purchase of the expensive F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
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January 26, 2012
$25B Mortgage Deal In Trouble As California Backs Out
California on Thursday became the second state to reject a proposed $25 billion settlement with major mortgage servicers to provide relief for homeowners facing foreclosure, with the Golden State's attorney general denouncing the proposal as “inadequate” to address California homeowners' needs.
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January 26, 2012
2nd Circ. Won't Take Chevron Off Ecuador's $18B Hook
The Second Circuit ruled Thursday that Chevron Corp. cannot use New York's courts to block an $18 billion judgment handed down in Ecuador over the energy company's pollution.
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January 26, 2012
House GOP Threatens To Subpoena DOI Drilling Ban Docs
The House Natural Resources Committee threatened Wednesday to subpoena the U.S. Department of the Interior to obtain documents that allegedly show the agency doctored a report to imply that independent scientists had backed the Obama administration's six-month ban on offshore drilling in 2010.
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January 26, 2012
Ranbaxy Bows To Sweeping Penalties From US
The U.S. government on Wednesday sought court approval of a consent decree that will hold generic drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. to unprecedented standards before it can again produce drugs for the U.S. market at four plants cited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for serious manufacturing violations.
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January 26, 2012
Megaupload Execs Free On Bail But Extradition Looms
Two of the Megaupload Ltd. executives indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for their role in the accused pirate site’s alleged crimes were reportedly granted bail Thursday by a New Zealand judge in advance of possible extradition to the U.S.
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January 26, 2012
Founder Of French Silicon Implant Co. Arrested Amid Scandal
The founder of France's Poly Implant Prothese and a former director were reportedly arrested Thursday morning, after concerns over the now-defunct company's use of industrial-grade silicon raised health alarms around the world.
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January 25, 2012
HSBC Confirms US Senate Panel Probe
U.K.-based banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC is the target of U.S. Senate investigation related to money laundering, the company confirmed Wednesday.
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January 25, 2012
HSBC Kills $62.5M Deal With Madoff Fund Investors
HSBC Holdings PLC has withdrawn its $62.5 million settlement offer to a putative class of foreign investors in a feeder fund for Bernard L. Madoff's Ponzi scheme, the bank said Monday, citing a New York federal judge’s decision that the case belongs overseas.
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January 25, 2012
Ex-HealthSouth CEO Gets 1 Year Dropped From Prison Time
An Alabama federal judge on Wednesday trimmed a year off HealthSouth Corp. founder Richard Scrushy's prison sentence based on an Eleventh Circuit ruling last year that tossed two fraud counts against him over a bribery scheme involving former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.
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January 25, 2012
Pfizer Triumphs Over Drinkmaker In Viagra Mark Dustup
The General Court of the European Union ruled Wednesday that Polish company Viaguara SA cannot trademark its name for its line of alcoholic and energy drinks due to the similarity of Pfizer Inc.’s Viagra mark.
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January 25, 2012
State Dept. Challenges Bill To Revive Keystone Pipeline
The U.S. Department of State’s environmental chief on Wednesday told a U.S. House of Representatives panel that legislation stripping the Obama administration of its authority to deny TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline could undercut federal and state agencies’ ability to manage the project.
Expert Analysis
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No More Redevelopment Agencies In Calif.
The most immediate consequence of the California Supreme Court’s ruling on redevelopment agencies is that each of the more than 400 RDAs will cease to exist as of Feb. 1, 2012, as will their special powers to receive property taxes, subsidize economic development projects, assemble land for redevelopment, address environmental liabilities and adopt land use regulations, say attorneys with Paul Hastings LLP.
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Volcker Rule In Flux
The Volcker Rule has already elicited substantial comment and concern from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, certain Democratic members of the House of Representatives, and industry groups like the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, which has called for an extended comment period. Delayed implementation of the rule certainly seems possible, says Benjamin Coulter of Burr & Forman LLP.
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Case Study: GPX International Tire V. US
Barring intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court or Congress, the Federal Circuit's landmark decision in GPX International Tire Corp. v. U.S. will halt or overturn scores of countervailing duty proceedings involving China, profoundly impacting the administration of trade remedies in the U.S., say Jill Caiazzo and Brenda Jacobs of Sidley Austin LLP.
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Top 10 Trademark Events Of 2011
As we enter 2012, we wanted to look back on the top 10 trademark events of 2011 — some decisions that drew considerable news coverage but were not all that influential, some impressive judgments, a massive shakedown of trademark owners and one high-stakes litigation that is likely to be one of the biggest decisions of 2012, say Scott Johnston and Gregory Golla of Merchant & Gould.
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Enhancing Economic Espionage And Trade Secret Sentences
The U.S. Senate will soon consider the enhancement of sentences in economic espionage and trade secret cases. While leaving the merits of the proposed amendments to policymakers, we seek to provide a fuller understanding of the sentencing process in both types of cases, including a discussion of the unique challenges presented and a review of some of the sentences imposed, say Mark Krotoski and Richard Scott of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Assessing The Recess Appointment Of CFPB Director
President Obama's recess appointment of Richard Cordray as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will test whether a three-day gap between pro forma sessions constitutes a "recess" that allows the president to exercise his recess appointments power, say Reginald Brown, Russell Bruemmer and Eric Mogilnicki of WilmerHale LLP.
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Patchak V. Salazar — An Important Fee-To-Trust Opinion
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to review Patchak v. Salazar, in which the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the negative effects of a proposed casino gave the plaintiff standing to assert limitations on the authority of the Secretary of Interior under the Indian Reorganization Act. If the D.C. Circuit's decision is left intact, attacks on land trust acquisitions could multiply, says Brian Pierson of Godfrey & Kahn SC.
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Top 10 Securities Enforcement Developments Of 2011
While the year may be remembered more for the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus decision, other noteworthy developments at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2011 included a focus on alleged negligent and fraudulent conduct, and getting the cooperation and whistleblower initiatives off the ground, says James Meyers, a partner with Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and former assistant chief litigation counsel at the SEC Division of Enforcement.
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For Now, Durban Platform Is Just A Stepping Stone
While the recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as the "Durban platform," takes significant strides toward developing a global agreement on climate change — and led to the extension of the Kyoto Protocol — it will have no impact unless a legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is ultimately reached, say attorneys with Vinson & Elkins LLP.
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Overhauling The Federal Jurisdictional Statutes
In an important development for litigants and litigators, President Obama recently signed into law the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011, which becomes effective Jan. 6, 2012. The act significantly amends the federal jurisdictional statutes, including the provisions governing diversity jurisdiction, venue and removal, say Laurence Shiekman, Stephen Harvey and Matthew Janssen of Pepper Hamilton LLP.