Securities

  • March 06, 2024

    SEC Dissenters Say Crypto Order Highlights 'Untenable' Rules

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission levied a $275,000 fine against crypto exchange ShapeShift for failing to register as a dealer before it left the stateside market in 2021, though dissenting commissioners said the case underscores the "untenable" environment the SEC has created for crypto participants.

  • March 06, 2024

    Weber Stockholders Vie For Chancery Suit Over $3.7B Deal

    The competition among former Weber Inc. stockholders who sued over the grill maker's $3.7 billion squeeze-out by BDT Capital Partners LLC heated up Wednesday in Delaware's Court of Chancery as more than a dozen firms on teams led by Scott + Scott Attorneys at Law LLP, Friedlander & Gorris PA and Prickett Jones & Elliot PA battled to lead a consolidated class suit.

  • March 06, 2024

    Feb. 2025 Trial Set In $1B Ronaldo Binance Promo Suit

    A Florida federal judge has set a February 2025 trial date and other pre-trial details for the proposed class action against soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo related to his role in promoting embattled crypto platform Binance.com, following the failure of the parties to file their joint scheduling reports.

  • March 06, 2024

    IoT Co. Beats Some Claims In Investor Suit Over Fake Reviews

    Chinese "Internet of Things" platform developer Tuya Inc. and one of its directors, former General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, have — for now — beaten some claims in a suit from shareholders alleging Tuya hid that many of its merchant customers were facing scrutiny for using fake reviews to boost their own products.

  • March 06, 2024

    SEC Beefs Up Disclosure Rules For Stock Order Executions

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission unanimously agreed Wednesday to require market venues and brokers to increase disclosures showing that they are obtaining the best prices for their customers' stock market orders on a timely basis, marking the first update to such rules in a quarter-century.

  • March 06, 2024

    Network Biz Investor Challenges Board Removals In Chancery

    An early preferred stockholder of PacketFabric sued the network-as-a-service provider in Delaware's Court of Chancery on Wednesday, requesting an order invalidating what it calls a conflicted board cramdown that converted the investor's preferred shares to common stocks and axed its two seats on the company's board.

  • March 06, 2024

    NYCB Gets $1B Infusion, Names Ex-OCC Chief As CEO

    New York Community Bancorp Inc. has lined up a $1 billion investment from several institutional investors, including former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin's firm, in a deal guided by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

  • March 06, 2024

    Genesis Parent Co. Says NY Fraud Suit Is 'Baseless Innuendo'

    Crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group Inc. and its CEO told a New York trial court on Wednesday that the state attorney general's claims that it defrauded customers out of more than $3 billion are "a thin web of baseless innuendo, blatant mischaracterizations and unsupported conclusory statements" that should be permanently tossed.

  • March 06, 2024

    ​​​​​​​'Joker' Producer Accused Of Funding Films Via Ponzi Scheme

    Movie producer Jason Cloth and a Chicago-area investment brokerage are facing an $80 million proposed class action that was recently leveled in Illinois state court by an investor who says the filmmaker has mishandled money he's pulled in for several projects and raised new funds to pay older investors. 

  • March 06, 2024

    Startup Investors' Attys Want $1.5M In Fees On Disclosure Suit

    Lawyers for a class of investors have asked a New York federal court to approve their attorney fees of $1.5 million for a $4.5 million settlement with a Chinese analytics startup over claims the company misrepresented its tax liability before its initial public offering. 

  • March 06, 2024

    Epic Tesla Fee Bid May Blaze Extraordinary Chancery Path

    An unprecedented $5 billion-plus stock-based fee award sought by class attorneys who recently short-circuited Tesla CEO Elon Musk's 12-step, $51 billion compensation package has set up an equally unprecedented test for Delaware Court of Chancery fee guidelines and a potential award one law expert described as "dynastic wealth."

  • March 06, 2024

    Gemini Scores Arbitration Bid In 'Earn' Crypto Investment Suit

    Gemini Trust Co. LLC investors must arbitrate their claims that the cryptocurrency exchange misled them about the firm's interest-bearing accounts and were hurt after the program for the accounts was halted, with a New York federal judge finding that Gemini and its founders have shown that a valid arbitration agreement exists.

  • March 06, 2024

    Juniper Networks Sued In Del. For Details On $14B HP Sale

    Leaders of artificial intelligence networking platform Juniper Networks Inc. are breaching their duties to stockholders by withholding material information about the company's recently announced $14 billion acquisition by Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., a Juniper shareholder alleged Wednesday in a Delaware Court of Chancery complaint.

  • March 06, 2024

    L3Harris Deal For DE Shaw Board Seats Prompts Suit In Del.

    An L3Harris Technologies Inc. stockholder has sued the aerospace and defense company in Delaware's Court of Chancery, challenging an agreement obliging it to recommend the election of two activist investor-backed board candidates.

  • March 06, 2024

    Ex-Stimwave CEO Found Guilty Of Healthcare Fraud

    A New York federal jury on Wednesday convicted the former CEO of Stimwave over allegations that the medical device maker sold an implant for chronic pain sufferers with a bogus component in order to drive up billings.

  • March 06, 2024

    Fed's Powell Expects 'Material Changes' For Capital Hike Plan

    Federal regulators' so-called Basel III endgame proposal to raise large bank capital requirements will likely undergo "broad and material changes," Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told House lawmakers Wednesday.

  • March 06, 2024

    Divided SEC Adopts Scaled-Back Climate Reporting Regs

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday adopted climate reporting standards that will require some of the nation's largest companies to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, and it was met almost immediately with a lawsuit despite the final rule scrapping a controversial proposal to mandate so-called Scope 3 disclosures.

  • March 05, 2024

    Settlement Gets 'Tire Spinning' EB-5 Fraud Suit Unstuck

    Winter thawed in a Florida courthouse on Tuesday when the last remaining defendant in a nearly decade-long $50 million investment fraud suit agreed to settle the case, surprising the judge and opposing counsel after refusing for years to strike a deal.

  • March 05, 2024

    PCAOB Sued Over 'Pseudo-Judicial' In-House Proceedings

    The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday in Tennessee federal court by a nonprofit legal group asking the court to reign in the board's "largely unchecked" powers, saying the board's disciplinary proceedings are unconstitutional and biased.

  • March 05, 2024

    Lordstown Ch. 11 Plan Confirmed After Settlements Reached

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge confirmed the Chapter 11 plan of electric vehicle maker Lordstown Motors Corp. over the objection of the Office of the U.S. Trustee after finding that the debtor is eligible for a discharge of its liabilities.

  • March 05, 2024

    Receiver's Suit Merits 'Evil Zombie' Standing, 11th Circ. Told

    A receiver appointed to recover fraudulently transferred assets in the wake of a foreign exchange Ponzi scheme urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to revive its suit against an alleged operator under "evil zombie" standing, arguing that the wrongdoers no longer control the companies it represents.

  • March 05, 2024

    Chegg Must Face Claims It Benefitted From Student Cheating

    A California federal judge said online education company Chegg Inc. must face a proposed class action alleging its share prices benefited from students using the platform to cheat during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the investors sufficiently show the defendants knew share prices would fall when online schooling became less prevalent.

  • March 05, 2024

    Coinbase Asks Judge To Ignore SEC Win Over 'Empty Chair'

    Coinbase on Tuesday told the New York federal judge who's refereeing a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement action brought against the cryptocurrency exchange to disregard a default judgment in another SEC case that found certain crypto trades on public exchanges to be securities transactions.

  • March 05, 2024

    SEC Must Step Aside While Feds Pursue Ponzi Schemer

    A New Jersey federal judge on Tuesday agreed to halt the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's civil investment fraud claims against convicted Ponzi schemer Eliyahu Weinstein so prosecutors can pursue criminal charges over the same alleged scheme without self-incrimination concerns.

  • March 05, 2024

    Rochester, NY, Denied Early Win In SEC's $119M Bond Suit

    A New York federal judge has declined to grant early wins to the city of Rochester, New York; its former finance director; and an advisory firm named in a suit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleging they misled investors in a $119 million bond offering.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • A Guide To New Russia Sanctions For Foreign Financial Cos.

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    Attorneys at Foley Hoag take foreign financial companies on a deep dive into the compliance advice the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control issued after President Joe Biden's December executive order widened a Russian import ban and authorized sanctions against businesses that transact with Russia's military-industrial base.

  • The Questions Around Prometheum's SEC-Compliant Strategy

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    While the rest of the crypto industry has been engaged in a long-running battle to escape the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's jurisdiction, a once-obscure startup called Prometheum has instead embraced the SEC's view to become the first crypto special-purpose broker-dealer, but it's unclear whether it can turn its favored status into a workable business, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52

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    Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.

  • Reverse Merger Tips For Biotechs After SEC's Recent Actions

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    Several recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission developments could limit the viability of reverse mergers for biotech companies, and will require additional creativity and analysis for private companies looking to go public, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Black-Led VC Fund Case Could Hinge On Nature Of Grants

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    Organizations whose missions involve any manner of race-conscious funding should closely monitor arguments this week in American Alliance v. Fearless Fund, a case filed against a grant program that seeks to address the gap in venture capital funding for Black women-led businesses, which will examine whether grants are charitable under Civil Rights Act Section 1981 liability, say Kali Schellenberg and John Stapleton at LeVan Stapleton, and Kenneth Trujillo at Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

  • Ex-OpenSea Staffer Case May Clarify When Info Is Property

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    In considering the appeal of a former OpenSea manager’s wire fraud conviction in U.S. v. Chastain, the Second Circuit may soon provide guidance about whether economic information is traditional property in certain insider trading prosecutions — a theory of fraud that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly narrowed, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Takeaways From SEC's Aggressive Cybersecurity Moves

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's intensifying policy on cybersecurity and securities violations in the wake of a data breach — like its enforcement action against SolarWinds and its security officer — has emboldened shareholders to file related suits, creating a heightened threat to public companies, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Considerations For Lawyer Witnesses After FTX Trial

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    Sam Bankman-Fried's recent trial testimony about his lawyers' involvement in FTX's business highlights the need for attorney-witnesses to understand privilege issues in order to avoid costly discovery disputes and, potentially, uncover critical evidence an adversary might seek to conceal, says Lawrence Bluestone at Genova Burns.

  • NY Discovery Stay Ruling Empowers Securities Defendants

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    A New York state appeals court’s recent decision in Camelot Event v. Morgan Stanley — which extends a federal securities law's discovery stay to state courts — clarifies an issue that has perplexed state courts across the country and provides the advantage of reduced discovery costs to securities defendants, say Katherine Kelly Fell and Jeremy Wertz at Milbank.

  • Del. Dispatch: Efforts Clause Trumps Contractual Right

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery's Chordia v. Lee ruling this month — that the efforts clause set forth in a stockholders' agreement overrode the acquired company's right to fire its officers and employees — highlights key considerations for parties in such agreements to avoid post-acquisition disputes, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Employee Experience Strategy Can Boost Law Firm Success

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    Amid continuing business uncertainty, law firms should consider adopting a holistic employee experience strategy — prioritizing consistency, targeting signature moments and leveraging measurement tools — to maximize productivity and profitability, says Haley Revel at Calibrate Consulting.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: A Strong Year For MDLs

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    While the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted even fewer MDL petitions last year than in 2022, hitting a 21st-century low, a closer look at the record-setting number of total actions encompassed within current proceedings reveals that MDL practice is still quite robust, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

  • What EU And UK Corp. Corruption Reform Means For US Cos.

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    Legislative developments in the U.K. and European Union have signaled that the prosecution of fraud and corruption is becoming a greater priority, and large U.S. companies with a global presence should view them as an opportunity to create and revise their global compliance programs, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Series

    Competing In Triathlons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While practicing law and competing in long-distance triathlons can make work and life feel unbalanced at times, participating in the sport has revealed important lessons about versatility, self-care and perseverance that apply to the office as much as they do the racecourse, says Laura Heusel at Butler Snow.

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