Securities

  • April 25, 2024

    Tesla Says Investors May Want To Influence Shareholder Vote

    Tesla on Thursday questioned the motives of investors who want billions of dollars in company stock put into a trust, saying that their push to hasten the court's decision in their suit over Elon Musk's compensation plan raises concerns that they want to "elicit commentary" ahead of a shareholder meeting.

  • April 25, 2024

    Crypto Co. DCG Hires 1st Legal Chief Amid New York AG Fight

    The head of cryptocurrency conglomerate Digital Currency Group on Thursday said the firm has appointed its first chief legal officer, hiring the former top lawyer of payment management firm Billtrust as DCG fights a lawsuit by New York's attorney general and other disputes. 

  • April 25, 2024

    QuidelOrtho Execs Lied About COVID Test Revenue, Suit Says

    A QuidelOrtho Corp. investor on Thursday filed a derivative shareholder suit in New York federal court against board members and executives of the diagnostic healthcare company, alleging they made misleading statements about the company's ability to maintain a high margin revenue after sales of its COVID-19 detection tests plunged.

  • April 25, 2024

    FDIC Tables Plans To Scrutinize Big 'Passive' Bank Investors

    Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. leaders on Thursday debated two competing proposals intended to address concerns about asset managers and other investors amassing outsized influence over banks whose shares they own, ultimately taking the rare step of tabling the measures as neither garnered majority support.

  • April 25, 2024

    5th Circ. Axes Class Claims Over Anadarko's $900M Write-Off

    The Fifth Circuit on Thursday decertified a class of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. shareholders who claim they lost money on the company's bad oilfield bet, ruling a lower court judge didn't allow the company to respond to an expert report that tied a stock price drop to a $900 million write-off disclosure.

  • April 25, 2024

    McDermott Judge U-Turns, Says Some Investors Deserve Cert.

    A Texas federal magistrate judge reversed his recommendation that investors be denied class certification in litigation over McDermott International's $6 billion merger with Chicago Bridge & Iron, saying a former CB&I shareholder class "should be certified now" and a putative McDermott stock purchaser class be created for subsequent consideration.

  • April 25, 2024

    Crypto Co. Sues 'Crusading' Gensler Over SEC's Ether Stance

    Cryptocurrency software company Consensys Software Inc. sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday in Texas federal court over the agency's treatment of the Ethereum network's ether token as a security after the company received a so-called Wells notice that agency staff intends to recommend an enforcement action over its products.

  • April 25, 2024

    Real Estate Exec Can't Escape Shareholder's Self-Dealing Suit

    A California federal judge ruled that a derivative shareholder suit accusing the president of a real estate management and investment firm of misusing nearly $35 million of company revenue now passes the so-called Zuckerberg test since the plaintiff sufficiently pled that demand on the company's board members would be futile.

  • April 25, 2024

    Outlets Ask Fla. Court To Toss Trump's $1.5B Truth Social Suit

    Several news outlets that were sued by Donald Trump's social media company over reports that it lost $73 million following a merger have urged a Florida state court to dismiss the lawsuit, saying defamation wasn't sufficiently alleged and the articles were substantially true.

  • April 25, 2024

    Zendesk Beats Shareholders' Suit Over $10B PE Takeover

    Zendesk Inc. has defeated a securities class action in California federal court accusing the customer service software company of undervaluing itself to get a $10.2 billion go-private merger with private equity firms approved by Zendesk shareholders.

  • April 25, 2024

    PHX Minerals Stockholders Sue In Del. To Change Bylaws

    A proposed class of PHX Minerals Inc. stockholders has sued the natural gas and oil mineral company and its board in Delaware state court, arguing that the company's bylaws must be changed to bring them into compliance with the Delaware General Corporation Law.

  • April 25, 2024

    SEC Says Texas Crypto Mining Co. Execs Ran $5.6M Fraud

    A crypto asset mining and hosting company and two of its principals face U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims they defrauded about 64 investors with an unregistered securities offering that raised $5.6 million, spending investor funds lavishly on themselves while neglecting to set up, or in some cases even buy, the mining equipment they had said they would get.

  • April 25, 2024

    7th Circ. OKs Pausing Nail Polish IP Suit For Ownership Fight

    A company registered in New Jersey that sells nail polish has failed to persuade a federal appeals court to let it move ahead with its trade secrets case in a Chicago federal court against its former business partners in China until first resolving an ownership dispute "lurking just beneath the surface."

  • April 25, 2024

    Chancery Seeks More Info About Bond In Truth Social Case

    A Delaware vice chancellor said Thursday she needs more information from the sponsor of the blank-check company that took Donald Trump's Truth Social public about a bond it requested during litigation with some of the company's stockholders.

  • April 25, 2024

    Autodesk Faces Investor Suit Over Internal Controls

    Software company Autodesk has been hit with a proposed class action alleging the company's stock price dropped after investors learned it lacked proper internal controls due to issues with its free cash flow and operating margin practices.

  • April 25, 2024

    4 Takeaways From DOL's Final ERISA Investment Advice Regs

    The U.S. Department of Labor’s finalized regulations broadening who qualifies as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act will bring more investment advisers under the purview of federal benefits law, but the final version contains some important differences from what the DOL initially proposed. Here are four key takeaways.

  • April 25, 2024

    3rd Circ. Lets Mallinckrodt Off Sanofi's Royalty Hook

    A Third Circuit panel said Thursday that Mallinckrodt PLC's Chapter 11 bankruptcy could sever its obligation to pay Sanofi-Aventis US LLC royalties on sales of an autoimmune disease drug, finding that Sanofi's contract to sell Mallinckrodt the rights to the drug created a claim ripe to be extinguished.

  • April 25, 2024

    SEC, Trade Group Ask DC Circ. To Revive Proxy Advisory Rule

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a leading trade group called on the D.C. Circuit Thursday to revive a rule imposing heightened disclosure requirements on proxy advisory firms, appealing a lower court decision that threw out the requirements.

  • April 25, 2024

    Former Fuel Co. GC, CEO Must Pay $750K In SEC Fraud Suit

    The former general counsel and CEO of an Arizona fuel company accused of conspiring to defraud investors out of $30 million have reached consent orders with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and agreed to pay nearly $750,000 in fines, disgorgement and restitution.

  • April 25, 2024

    WWE Shareholders Combine Chancery TKO Merger Suits

    Delaware's Court of Chancery will decide this summer whether teams led by Block & Leviton, Bernstein Litowitz or Robbins Geller will represent World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. stockholders in a consolidated class suit against founder Vincent McMahon and others over the company's $21 billion merger with the Endeavor Group.

  • April 25, 2024

    Ga. Fund Manager Stole Millions And Fled Country, SEC Says

    An Atlanta financier was hit with a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil suit Wednesday alleging he ripped off investors in his nearly $10 million hedge fund, stealing millions to enrich himself while falsifying records of the fund's purported success.

  • April 24, 2024

    Ex-Autonomy GC Tells Jurors He Wanted To Be 'Helpful' To HP

    Autonomy's former U.S. general counsel conceded Wednesday in the criminal trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that he told an HP lawyer he wanted to be as "helpful" as possible to the company as it was investigating Autonomy-related issues that popped up after the Silicon Valley giant purchased the British company, and that he was told he could face liability for his work at Autonomy.

  • April 24, 2024

    Bid To Sanction DOJ Denied In Novel Insider Trading Case

    A California federal judge on Tuesday refused to grant an indicted former healthcare CEO's bid to sanction the government in a case accusing him of a novel form of insider trading, saying the CEO failed to show that he was prejudiced by the government interviewing a potential witness without counsel present. 

  • April 24, 2024

    Kwok Jurors To Be Anonymous Amid Harassment Concerns

    Jurors who will decide the criminal fraud and racketeering case against exiled Chinese billionaire Ho Wan Kwok will be anonymous and partially sequestered, a New York federal judge said on Wednesday, ruing that if their identities are revealed they could face the same harassment that befell Kwok's bankruptcy trustee.

  • April 24, 2024

    Hedge Fund Says Credit Suisse Misled On Bonds' Health

    U.S.-based hedge fund Appaloosa LP is accusing the former Credit Suisse in New Jersey federal court of misleading investors about its financial health before $17 billion of its bonds were wiped out in a merger with its Swiss competitor UBS.

Expert Analysis

  • Chancery's Carvana Suit Toss Shows Special Committee Value

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    The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent dismissal of a stockholder complaint against Carvana illustrates how special litigation committees can be a powerful tool for boards to regain control after litigation alleging a breach of fiduciary duty, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.

  • 7th Circ. Mootness Fee Case May Curb Frivolous Merger Suits

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    On April 15, the Seventh Circuit in Jorge Alcarez v. Akorn Inc. mapped out a framework for courts to consider mootness fees paid to individual shareholders after the voluntary dismissal of a challenge to a public company merger, which could encourage objections to mootness fees and reduce the number of frivolous merger challenges filed, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • 4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy

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    With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.

  • What 3rd Circ. Trust Ruling Means For Securitization Market

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    Mercedes Tunstall and Michael Gambro at Cadwalader break down the Third Circuit's March decision in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. National Collegiate Master Student Loan Trust, as well as predict next steps in the litigation and the implications of the decision for servicers and the securitization industry as a whole.

  • Tips For Balanced Board Oversight After A Cyberincident

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cybersecurity disclosure rules, as well as recent regulatory enforcement actions bringing board governance under scrutiny, continue to push boards toward active engagement in relation to their cyber-oversight role, despite it being unclear what a board's level of involvement should be, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Breaking Down DOJ's Individual Self-Disclosure Pilot Program

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently announced pilot program aims to incentivize individuals to voluntarily self-disclose corporate misconduct they were personally involved in, complementing a new whistleblower pilot program for individuals not involved in misconduct as well as the government's broader corporate enforcement approach, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Reverse Veil-Piercing Ruling Will Help Judgment Creditors

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    A New York federal court’s recent decision in Citibank v. Aralpa Holdings, finding two corporate entities liable for a judgment issued against a Mexican businessman, shows the value of reverse veil piercing as a remedy for judgment creditors to go after sophisticated debtors who squirrel away assets, says Gabe Bluestone at Omni Bridgeway.

  • Address Complainants Before They Become Whistleblowers

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    A New York federal court's dismissal of a whistleblower retaliation claim against HSBC Securities last month indicates that ignored complaints to management combined with financial incentives from regulators create the perfect conditions for a concerned and disgruntled employee to make the jump to federal whistleblower, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Ensuring Nonpublic Info Stays Private Amid SEC Crackdown

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    Companies and individuals must take steps to ensure material nonpublic information remains confidential while working outside the office, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission continues to take enforcement actions against those who trade on MNPI and don't comply with new off-channel communications rules in the remote work era, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • What Cos. Are Reporting Under New SEC Cybersecurity Rule

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    Four months after its effective date, 14 companies have made disclosures under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting rule, and some early trends are emerging, including a possible rush to file, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • 10 Tips For ESG Disclosure Compliance In Private Funds

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    As regulators increase scrutiny of misleading claims about environmental, social and governance investments, private fund sponsors should consider several practical tips for communicating accurately with potential investors, drafting comprehensive disclosures and establishing internal policies that can keep pace with evolving compliance requirements, says Jonathan Rash at Ropes & Gray.

  • Binance Ruling Spotlights Muddled Post-Morrison Landscape

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in Williams v. Binance highlights the judiciary's struggle to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's Morrison v. National Australia Bank ruling to digital assets, and illustrates how Morrison's territorial limits on the federal securities laws have become convoluted, say Andrew Rhys Davies and Jessica Lewis at WilmerHale.

  • What FERC's Disclosure Demands Mean For Cos., Investors

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    Two recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders reflect the commission's increasingly meticulous approach to reviewing corporate structures in applications for approval of proposed consolidations, acquisitions or changes in control — putting the onus on the regulated community to track and comply with ever-more-burdensome disclosure requirements, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • Corp. Transparency Act Could Survive 11th Circ. Several Ways

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    If the Eleventh Circuit upholds an Alabama federal court’s injunction against the Corporate Transparency Act, the anti-money laundering law could persist as a narrower version that could moot some constitutional challenges, but these remedies would likely generate additional regulatory or statutory ambiguities that would result in further litigation, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

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