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Securities
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May 14, 2024
FINRA Official Calls Off-Channel Flags 'Shockingly Common'
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority official said Tuesday that firms often veer into issues with off-channel business communications thanks to what's on their representatives' business cards and email signatures, and that the biggest red flag of recordkeeping violations are the habits of firms' own leaders and managers.
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May 14, 2024
Asset Manager Cops To $1.2B Venezuelan Oil Co. Fraud
An asset manager pled guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in a $1.2 billion scheme to embezzle money from Venezuela's state-owned oil company and launder it through false investment schemes in the U.S. and abroad.
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May 14, 2024
SEC Fines Adviser For Undisclosed Movie Financing Deal
A wealth management firm and its founder will pay $950,000 in combined disgorgement and penalties to settle the SEC's claims they failed to disclose conflicts of interest regarding investments in a film production company and favored a certain client's redemption requests over others, according to an order issued Tuesday.
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May 14, 2024
Apache Investors Get First OK On $65M Deal In Drilling Suit
A U.S. magistrate judge has given the first green light to a $65 million settlement resolving a lawsuit against oil and gas company Apache Corp. filed by investors alleging they were deceived by promises of a potentially lucrative drilling project that ultimately led to a $3 billion write-down when it went bust.
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May 14, 2024
Berkshire Bank Sued For Customer's Alleged $90M Ponzi
Massachusetts-based Berkshire Bank is facing a proposed class action brought by an investor seeking to hold the bank liable for providing financial services to a bankrupt local business person whom the investor has accused of operating a $90 million Ponzi scheme.
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May 14, 2024
Ex-Wachovia Exec Owes $9M For Decade-Old Fraud, Feds Say
A former senior trading executive-turned-Christian novelist still owes over $9 million in restitution on a 17-year-old conviction for a Ponzi-like scheme he ran while working for what was then Wachovia's investment banking unit, according to federal prosecutors.
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May 14, 2024
5th Circ. Expresses Doubt On Nasdaq Board Diversity Rules
Lawyers for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Nasdaq Stock Market LLC faced a barrage of questions from the full Fifth Circuit on Tuesday, with judges wondering whether rules requiring corporations to disclose board diversity information would open the door to investor questions on religious practices, political beliefs or Taylor Swift fandom.
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May 14, 2024
Biotech Co. Sued In Del. For Faulty Election, Share Hike Vote
A Cardiff Oncology Inc. stockholder has launched a direct and derivative suit in Delaware Chancery Court accusing the clinical stage biotech company of failing to count "against" votes in decisions that added 2 million shares to the company's limit in 2022 and reelected board members in 2022 and 2023.
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May 14, 2024
Mich. Biz Attys Back State's Securities Fraud Enforcement Bid
Members of Michigan's state bar association have urged the state's highest court to adopt a U.S. Supreme Court test for determining whether promissory notes are securities, in support of an effort by the state securities regulator to bring an enforcement action against a condominium developer accused of failing to pay back investors.
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May 14, 2024
Crystallex Special Master Fires Back Against Effort To DQ Him
The special master appointed to oversee the auction of Citgo's parent company to satisfy billions of dollars worth of Venezuelan debt bristled at the country's allegations that he improperly pressured the U.S. to change its sanctions policy to permit the sale to go through.
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May 14, 2024
Couple Attacks Chase's 'Pack Of Lies' In $20M Loss Case
An elderly couple claiming they lost tens of millions through bad investments with JPMorgan Chase Bank NA said in a heated Massachusetts federal court hearing Tuesday that the big bank shouldn't pocket a pretrial win based on a magistrate judge's "extreme" analysis.
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May 14, 2024
Holland Adds Healthcare Transactions Partner In Chicago
Holland & Knight on Tuesday announced the arrival of attorney John Saran on its healthcare transactions team, who joins after nine years at Ropes & Gray LLP.
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May 14, 2024
Vein Tech Maker Faces Investor Suit Over DOJ Kickback Probe
Vein disease device maker Inari Medical Inc. and three of its current and former executives face a proposed investor class action over claims that the company's share price fell after it disclosed an investigation into its compliance with federal anti-kickback laws.
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May 14, 2024
Cannabis Co., Wrigley Heir Settle $7M Investor Suit
An investor that sank $7.4 million into cannabis operator Parallel has settled its suit with the company and its former CEO and heir to the Wrigley chewing gum fortune, according to a mediation report filed in Florida federal court.
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May 14, 2024
Stitch Fix Stockholder's Del. Suit Alleges $102M Insider Trades
Insiders at online personal styling service Stitch Fix Inc. sold $102 million worth of company stock while hiding information for nearly 18 months about the company's faltering business prospects, a shareholder has alleged in a new Delaware Chancery Court complaint.
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May 14, 2024
Fla. Man Get 13 Mos. For Trading On Goldman Insider Info
A Florida man was sentenced to 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to trading stocks on information provided by a former Goldman Sachs analyst, his attorney said Tuesday.
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May 14, 2024
Social Media Software Co.'s Deal Hurt Investors, Suit Says
Social media management platform Sprout Social was hit with a proposed class action alleging that it concealed that its growth following the acquisition of an influencer marketing platform was unsustainable and that it damaged investors when disappointing financial results and a guidance-cut announcement led to a share decline.
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May 14, 2024
Billionaire's Pilot Cops To Tax Count, Avoids Insider Trial
A pilot from Virginia accused of profiting from stock tips fed to him by British billionaire Joe Lewis on Tuesday copped to dodging taxes on $500,000 of income from Lewis' company, in a plea deal that avoids an insider trading trial.
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May 14, 2024
Sullivan & Cromwell Seeks To Ax Claims Of Aiding FTX Fraud
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP wants a Florida federal court to dismiss a proposed class action alleging the firm knew about and helped facilitate the massive fraud by FTX, saying customers of the cryptocurrency exchange platform fail to claim anything beyond a "series of speculative allegations with no factual basis."
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May 14, 2024
Convicted Fraudster Says Exchanges With Atty Are Privileged
A convicted fraudster who had his sentence commuted by then-President Donald Trump — now charged with launching another scam shortly after leaving prison — is embroiled in a fight with New Jersey federal prosecutors over his attempt to assert attorney-client privilege for communications with an Israeli attorney who allegedly participated in the scheme.
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May 14, 2024
Carbon Capture Co.'s $1.8B SPAC Deal Sparks Chancery Suit
Stockholders who lost big after a blank-check company took carbon-capture venture LanzaTech NZ Inc. public in a purportedly $1.8 billion reverse-merger in February 2023 have sued for damages in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging disclosure failures and other defects prior to closing.
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May 13, 2024
Tesla Threatened To Fire Holland & Knight, Law Prof Says
Tesla tried to bully a law professor out of filing an amicus brief in investors' suit over Elon Musk's $56 billion compensation plan, in part by threatening to fire the company's longtime outside counsel at Holland & Knight LLP if the professor submitted his brief, according to a filing Monday in Delaware.
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May 13, 2024
Irked Autonomy Judge Vents On HP Fraud Trial's Slow Pace
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on Monday blasted lawyers for the government and two former Autonomy Corp. PLC executives in a criminal fraud case over the trial's slow progress, saying he's "annoyed," but also "complicit" because he "did not take more of a controlling posture."
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May 13, 2024
CFTC Hits Crypto Firm With First-Ever Registration Claims
A Seychelles-incorporated entity has agreed to pay nearly $1.8 million in penalties and disgorgement to end U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission allegations it failed to register as a futures commission merchant in what the CFTC described Monday as a first-of-its-kind action involving digital asset exchanges.
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May 13, 2024
Sens. Slam DOJ's Money Transmitting Biz Interpretation
A pair of U.S. senators say they have "significant concerns" about how the U.S. Department of Justice is interpreting the definition of "money transmission" in two recent criminal actions over crypto mixers, warning that such an interpretation "threatens to criminalize core elements of Bitcoin and other crypto networks."
Expert Analysis
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NY CRE Lenders Need Clarity On Foreclosure Standing
Recent contradictory New York case law regarding issues of standing in commercial real estate litigation creates confusion for borrowers and lenders alike, and should be addressed by courts in advance of the anticipated onslaught of commercial mortgage-backed securities foreclosures, say Christopher Gorman and John Muldoon at Rosenberg & Estis.
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ERISA Litigation Faces New Frontiers In 2024
As plaintiffs firms explore novel theories for recovery and the Department of Labor attempts to broaden the definition of an investment advice fiduciary, 2024 could see new types of Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation after just 100 class actions were filed last year, say attorneys at Groom Law.
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Del. Ruling Guides On Advance Notice Bylaw Amendments
The Delaware Chancery's Court's recent denial of investment fund Paragon Technologies' injunction motion against Ocean Power Technologies underscores the importance of carefully crafting and enforcing corporate advance notice bylaw amendments, especially in light of universal proxy rules, say attorneys at Venable.
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Series
Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer
After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.
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Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?
Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.
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Series
NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4
New York's banking and financial sector saw a number of notable regulatory and legislative changes in the final quarter of 2023, including guidance on climate risks and heightened cybersecurity protocols issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services, as well as final revisions to virtual currency listings in the state, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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4 Questions On Groundbreaking New Foreign Bribery Law
The recently enacted Foreign Extortion Prevention Act will significantly alter the anti-corruption landscape under U.S. law by allowing prosecutors to pursue foreign officials for soliciting or accepting bribes, but it’s not yet clear how the statute will be used and by whom, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Why CFTC Whistleblowers Are Crucial To Crypto Regulation
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's whistleblower program has proven to be a key tool in the U.S.' efforts to police cryptocurrency, but a funding issue shows that it has become a victim of its own success, says Stephen Kohn at Kohn Kohn.
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Wachtell-X Ruling Highlights Trend On Arbitrability Question
A growing body of case law, including a California state court's recent decision in X Corp. v. Wachtell, holds that incorporation of specific arbitral body rules in an arbitration provision may in and of itself constitute clear and unmistakable evidence of delegation of arbitrability to an arbitrator, and thus such clauses should be drafted carefully, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond
The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.
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Securities Class Actions Show No Signs of Slowing In 2024
Plaintiffs asserted securities class actions at elevated levels in 2023 — a sign that filings will remain high in the year ahead — as they switched gears to target companies that allegedly have failed to anticipate supply chain disruptions, persistent inflation, rising interest rates and other macroeconomic headwinds, say attorneys at Skadden.
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How Corp. Transparency Act Can Unmask Crypto Owners
With the federal Corporate Transparency Act in effect as of Jan. 1, litigants may now have a less burdensome path toward determining the identities of owners behind convoluted corporate entities, and, by extension, any digital assets they own that could be subject to a potential judgment, says Brett Sager at Ehrenstein Sager.
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ESG Concerns Can No Longer Be Ignored In 2024
While the long wait for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ESG rule continues, government attention to regulations, increased litigation efforts and shareholder resolutions seeking transparency highlight the importance of placing an emphasis on ESG considerations, say attorneys at Wollmuth Maher.
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2 FCPA Settlements Illuminate Self-Disclosure, Disgorgement
Two of last year’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlements — with biomedical company Lifecore and mining company Corsa Coal — suggest that the government will be much more flexible in negotiating disgorgement amounts if an entity voluntarily self-discloses misconduct, say Michael Gilbert and Lucas Amodio at Sheppard Mullin.
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Opinion
Conflicts Abound When Activist Short-Sellers Publish Reports
The self-serving relationship between activist short-sellers and plaintiff-side litigators is conflict-ridden and hinders the fact finder's impartiality when a short report forms the basis for lead plaintiffs' allegations, say Nessim Mezrahi and Stephen Sigrist at SAR.