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Compliance
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November 22, 2024
Walmart Class Attys In $123M Opioid Deal Seek $24.6M Fee
Three plaintiffs firms known for shareholder litigation are seeking $25 million in fees for their work on a $123 million settlement with Walmart in Delaware's Chancery Court, ending a suit that claimed oversight failures at the retail giant led to reckless opioid prescriptions and massive liabilities.
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November 22, 2024
Pa. Rate Deal Halves FirstEnergy's $502M Customer Hike Bid
FirstEnergy will be able to increase its base electrical rates in Pennsylvania to bring in an additional $225 million in annual revenue starting in 2025 — less than half of the rate hike the company initially proposed, according to a settlement approved by the state's Public Utility Commission.
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November 22, 2024
Fed Bans Ex-CEO Of Bank Felled By Crypto Scam
The former CEO of Kansas' now-shuttered Heartland Tri-State Bank has been banned by the federal government from being a part of the banking industry after stealing $47.1 million from the bank to give to cryptocurrency scammers, leading his bank to fail.
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November 22, 2024
IRS Working To Incorporate Feedback On Donor Fund Regs
The Internal Revenue Service continues to work on final rules for the donor-advised fund excise tax and is taking into account public comments on its proposed rules, such as concerns that the definition of donor-advised funds is too broad, an agency official said Friday.
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November 22, 2024
Judge 'Concerned' With 'Lack Of Progress' In Walmart OT Suit
A Georgia federal judge warned that he was "concerned by the lack of progress on the limited discovery" he reopened last month at the request of a Walmart warehouse manager suing the company for unpaid overtime hours.
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November 22, 2024
Adviser Charged With $2.1M Sports Star Investment Fraud
A Florida investment adviser has been hit with civil and criminal charges in New York alleging he defrauded private lenders and borrowers out of $2.1 million in a scheme in which he lied to private lenders about the creditworthiness of borrowers, often professional athletes and sports agents.
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November 22, 2024
High Court Quietly Pulls Meta Case Without A Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday set aside a Meta Platforms Inc. case that sought to narrow the types of risk disclosures corporations need to make to investors, saying that the court shouldn't have taken up the case in the first place.
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November 21, 2024
Snap Moves To Toss New Mexico's Child 'Sextortion' Suit
Snap Inc. has moved to toss New Mexico's lawsuit accusing it of enabling child sexual exploitation on its instant messaging app, Snapchat, telling a New Mexico state court that the state's attorney general lodged a "sensationalist" lawsuit rife with patently false allegations.
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November 21, 2024
FDIC's 'Hot Money' Revamp Gets Bank, Fintech Cold Shoulder
Banking and fintech lobbyists are calling on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to scrap its proposal to overhaul rules on brokered deposits, also known as "hot money," arguing the effort represents a step backward for the industry that would raise costs for everyone.
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November 21, 2024
DOJ Fights High Court Review Of Kickback Law, Jury's Role
The U.S. Supreme Court need not review a Fifth Circuit decision upholding the convictions of three healthcare professionals accused of taking part in a $40 million kickback scheme, the federal government has told the justices in a brief.
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November 21, 2024
Vt. Telecom Hints DOJ Protected Biden Ally In Dish FCA Suit
A Vermont telecom all but accused the Department of Justice of undercutting the company's False Claims Act suit alleging fraudulent Dish Network spectrum bidding in order to protect a major donor to President Joe Biden, arguing Thursday that its suit should go forth even without the government's blessing.
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November 21, 2024
SEC Denied Civil Penalties Over Pot Pill Exec's 'Inexperience'
The SEC will score $86,000 in disgorgement and interest from a former executive of C3 International Inc. for falsely claiming the company's cannabis pill was projected to generate millions of dollars in revenue, but the court found the defendant's conduct did not warrant the civil penalty the agency requested.
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November 21, 2024
Social Media MDL Judge Rips State Attys Defying Orders
A California federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in multidistrict litigation over social media platforms' allegedly addictive designs on Thursday ordered states to provide the names and state bar numbers of agency counsel who have refused to comply with discovery orders, threatening sanctions and asking, "What happened to the rule of law?"
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November 21, 2024
Wash. Justices Unsure CARES Act Protects Violent Tenants
Two Washington Supreme Court justices on Thursday seemed to doubt whether the CARES Act blocked landlords from quickly evicting violent tenants, as opposed to just those behind on rent, a question that resulted in opposing opinions from two lower appellate panels.
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November 21, 2024
FERC Heeds States' Worries With Grid Planning Policy Rewrite
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved changes to its sweeping revision of its regional transmission planning policies, and a heftier role for states in the planning process was enough to assuage the concerns of a commissioner who dissented from the original rule.
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November 21, 2024
FCC To Hit Video Doorbell Maker For Skirting Security Rules
The Federal Communications Commission wants to slap Chinese smart home device maker Eken with a more than $700,000 fine for breaking agency rules that require foreign companies to have an agent located in the U.S.
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November 21, 2024
Fed's Bowman Sees The Bright Side In Chevron's Demise
Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman, a Republican seen as a potential Trump administration contender for the central bank's top supervision job, chided the regulatory response to last year's regional bank failures and said the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision could "transform agency rulemakings positively."
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November 21, 2024
Fuel Economy Regs Are Unlawful Path To EVs, 6th Circ. Told
Republican-led states and fuel industry groups have told the Sixth Circuit that the U.S. Department of Transportation overstepped with new vehicle fuel-economy standards that amount to an unlawful electric vehicles mandate, while environmental groups say the standards don't go far enough to meaningfully combat climate change.
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November 21, 2024
DC Circ. Judges Disagree On Standing In Drilling Permit Suit
The judges of the D.C. Circuit stepped on each other's toes Thursday during oral arguments over a challenge to the approvals of thousands of drilling permits in New Mexico and Wyoming, appearing to be at odds over whether the environmental groups' stance on standing had legs.
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November 21, 2024
SEC Seeks More Data On Nasdaq Plan To Speed Up Delistings
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed deciding on a Nasdaq proposal that would accelerate delistings of companies with low-priced stocks that take extended time to regain compliance or rely on reverse-stock splits to elevate their share prices, saying more data is needed before it takes action.
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November 21, 2024
Key Informant Who Recorded Madigan Takes The Stand
A former Chicago alderman who prosecutors have deemed one of their "most significant cooperators in the last several decades" took the stand Thursday afternoon and began what is expected to be multiple days of testimony in the racketeering trial of ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, whom he secretly recorded while working with the government.
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November 21, 2024
Tempur Gave UK Co. 'Total Autonomy' Post-Merger, CEO Says
The CEO of a United Kingdom-based mattress company acquired by Tempur Sealy in 2021 told a Houston federal judge Thursday that his new parent company has provided him "total autonomy" since the acquisition.
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November 21, 2024
Ariz. AG Offers $6M To Aid Victims Of Sober Living Scam
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes says the state is offering $6 million in grant funding to tribal nations impacted by a sober home living scam that's estimated to have racked up an estimated $2 billion in fraudulent billing and potentially victimized thousands of Native Americans.
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November 21, 2024
FCC Targets Spoofing Scams With Third-Party Caller ID Regs
In hopes of better combating spoofed robocalls, the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday required telecoms to meet certain legal obligations when hiring third parties to verify caller ID data using a widely accepted technical standard.
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November 21, 2024
EPA Beats Calif. Suit Over Pesticide-Coated Seed Exemption
A California federal judge threw out public safety groups' lawsuit alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided pesticide-coated crop seeds an illegal loophole from regulation, finding the agency made a fair and considered judgment when it said the seeds are exempted from registration.
Expert Analysis
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Philly's Algorithmic Rent Ban Furthers Antitrust Policy Trends
A Philadelphia bill banning the use of algorithmic software to set rent prices and manage occupancy rates is indicative of growing scrutiny of this technology, and reflects broader policy trends of adapting traditional antitrust principles to respond to new technology, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Key Territory-Split Licensing Lessons For Life Sciences Cos.
Territory-split deals can allow life sciences companies to maximize products' potential across a range of geographic areas, but these deals also present unique challenges requiring highly bespoke structures that can make or break the value of an asset, say attorneys at Covington.
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Trump's 2nd Term May Be A Boost To Banking Industry
President-elect Donald Trump's personnel appointments could be instrumental in reshaping the financial regulatory landscape during his second administration, likely allowing for greater merger activity and halting or undoing some of the Biden administration's more restrictive financial services policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Loper Bright Offers New Materiality Defense To FCA Liability
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bight Enterprises v. Raimondo, ending Chevron deference, may have created a new defense to False Claims Act liability by providing the opportunity to argue that a given regulation is not material to the government's payment decision, says Tanner Cook at Husch Blackwell.
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Why K-Cup Claims Landed Keurig In Hot Water With SEC
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement with Keurig Dr. Pepper for making incomplete statements regarding the recyclability of K-cup pods highlights the importance of comprehensive corporate disclosures, particularly with respect to ESG matters, say attorneys at BCLP.
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Unpacking CFPB's Unwieldy Buy Now, Pay Later Guidance
Both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent interpretive rule regarding buy now, pay later transactions, and its FAQ guidance, place providers in murky waters with the unenviable position of attempting to place a square, closed-end product in a round, regulatory framework meant for open-end products, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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2nd Circ. Halkbank Ruling Shifts Foreign Immunity Landscape
Following the Second Circuit’s recent common law immunity ruling in U.S. v. Halkbank, foreign state-owned banks, wealth funds and other entities now must seriously consider the risk of criminal liability for commercial activity that violates U.S. laws, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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9 Considerations Around Proposed Connected Vehicle Ban
Stakeholders should consider several aspects of the U.S. Department of Commerce's recent proposal to ban U.S. imports and sales of vehicles incorporating certain connectivity components made in China or Russia, including exempted transactions and vehicle hardware imports, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
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Predicting Shareholder Activism Trends In New Trump Admin
While President-elect Donald Trump has promised tax policies, deregulation and lax antitrust enforcement — which all fuel shareholder activism — a closer look at his first administration's track record suggests that his second presidency might be a mixed bag for activist investors and companies alike, say attorneys at Sidley.
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What Trump's 2nd Presidency Could Mean For Crypto Sector
Trump's second term will bring a fundamental shift from the Biden administration's approach to crypto-asset regulation and banking supervision, with the most significant changes likely taking effect in the first two quarters of 2025 and broader policy shifts emerging over the next year, say attorneys at Cahill.
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Putting NYDFS AI Cybersecurity Guidance Into Practice
New guidance from the New York Department of Financial Services explains how financial institutions should assess and mitigate cybersecurity risks associated with artificial intelligence, focusing on four main threats and highlighting how varying environments require specific mitigation measures, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.
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Promoting Diversity In The Selection Of ADR Neutrals
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Choosing neutrals from diverse backgrounds is an important step in promoting inclusion in the legal profession, and it can enhance the legitimacy and public perception of alternative dispute resolution proceedings, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Opinion
In Visa Case, DOJ Continues To Misapply The Sherman Act
The recent U.S. Department of Justice debit market monopolization case against Visa fuels concerns that a misguided Biden administration DOJ is inappropriately expanding its interpretation of the Sherman Antitrust Act beyond the demonstrable economic effects that business conduct has on consumers, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University.
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Opinion
Preserving The FCA Is Crucial In Trump's 2nd Term
While the Trump administration may pursue weaker False Claims Act enforcement, it remains an essential tool in safeguarding public funds and maintaining corporate accountability, so now is not the time to undermine ethical behavior, or reduce protections and incentives for whistleblowers, says Adam Pollock at Pollock Cohen.
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Series
Playing Ultimate Makes Us Better Lawyers
In addition to being fun, ultimate Frisbee has improved our legal careers by emphasizing the importance of professionalism, teamwork, perseverance, enthusiasm and vulnerability, say Arunabha Bhoumik and Adam Bernstein at Regeneron.