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Compliance
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September 06, 2024
Calif. Takes AI Reins With Looming Safety, Transparency Laws
A pair of groundbreaking legislative proposals aimed at ensuring the safe and transparent deployment of artificial intelligence systems are headed to the California governor's desk, raising questions about whether lawmakers are taking the right approach to regulating the emerging technology and how the state's privacy regulator will respond.
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September 06, 2024
7th Circ. Backs Bulk Of CFTC's Fraud Claim Win Against CEO
The Seventh Circuit has largely upheld a win for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, finding that the head of a Chicago-based brokerage conducted a multimillion-dollar options fraud scheme, but remanded on two claims related to whether the company was required to register as a commodity trading adviser.
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September 06, 2024
TV Stations Fined $3.3M For Mixing Hot Wheels Shows And Ads
The Federal Communications Commission on Friday confirmed fines totaling $3.33 million for Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. and 18 other broadcasters for violating the Children's Television Act and commission rules by running Hot Wheels toy commercials during a Hot Wheels show on the air.
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September 06, 2024
Fed's Barr To Give Sneak Peek Of Revised Basel III Plan
The Federal Reserve's vice chair for supervision will preview revisions to a scaled-back version of the controversial Basel III endgame plan to toughen big-bank capital requirements at a Brookings Institution event on Tuesday.
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September 06, 2024
Gov't Asks Fed. Circ. To Rehear AI Deal Dispute
The federal government is urging the Federal Circuit to revisit a high-profile decision reviving an artificial intelligence company's protest over its exclusion from a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency procurement, saying the ruling wrongly expanded the Court of Federal Claims' bid protest jurisdiction.
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September 06, 2024
11th Circ. Orders New Look At Penalty In SEC Loan Fraud Suit
The Eleventh Circuit on Friday rejected a bid from a couple accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of a nearly half-a-billion-dollar fraud to reverse an order expanding a receivership of their merchant loan business, but it vacated $43.7 million in penalties they were ordered to pay on the grounds it was unclear who was liable for what.
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September 06, 2024
Ex-Conn. Utility Execs Can't Shake Convictions At 2nd Circ.
The Second Circuit issued a mammoth 140-page decision Friday upholding punishments including a $748,000 restitution order for three former executives convicted of stealing from a Connecticut utility cooperative, but the court threw out the utility's bid for a $9.6 million reimbursement for fronting the defendants' attorney fees.
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September 06, 2024
DOT Probe Of Airlines' Rewards Spells Fresh Headaches
A new U.S. Department of Transportation investigation into frequent flyer rewards programs at the so-called Big Four U.S. airlines will cause fresh regulatory headaches for an airline industry that's already smarting from a rash of Biden administration competition- and consumer-driven initiatives.
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September 06, 2024
EPA Updates Public Engagement Plan For 1st Time In 20 Years
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is beefing up its public engagement policy to better communicate with community members, Native American tribes, businesses, trade groups and other parties with a stake in the EPA's programs and regulations.
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September 06, 2024
Starbucks Finds Interest For Appeal In Shareholder Suit
A Washington Court of Appeals commissioner suggested to two Starbucks shareholders on Friday that their lawsuit must "do more than what it does" as of now if they want to accuse corporate leadership of responding illegally to barista unionization, hinting the court will likely take up the coffee giant's appeal.
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September 06, 2024
Investment Co. Appeals Sanction In Highland Ch. 11
An alternative investment company has asked a Texas federal court to overturn a sanctions order it received in defunct hedge fund Highland Capital's Chapter 11 case after the bankruptcy court concluded that it filed a claim in bad faith.
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September 06, 2024
Top Groups Lobbying The FCC
The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates more than 100 times in August on issues such as revamping the 4.9 gigahertz spectrum band, using high-power surveillance devices in already crowded Wi-Fi airwaves, fixing mobile "dead zones," stopping scam texts, and more.
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September 06, 2024
EU Antitrust Chief Charts Path Forward After Illumina Setback
The European Union's top antitrust official said a recent ruling that found enforcers lacked authority to probe Illumina's $8 billion acquisition of Grail put an end to an important merger review tool and suggested legislation may be needed to plug the gap.
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September 06, 2024
CFPB's Zelle Scrutiny Leaves Banks Guessing On Next Moves
As federal regulators turn up the heat on major banks over long-simmering complaints about fraud and scams on Zelle, the largest U.S. peer-to-peer payments platform, it remains unclear whether more banks could face scrutiny and what they can do to get ahead of it.
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September 06, 2024
3rd Circ. Follows Corner Post In Home Care OT Change Feud
Three home care companies' challenge to an Obama-era rule expanding overtime eligibility for certain workers is back on track, the Third Circuit ruled Friday, saying that the U.S. Supreme Court's Corner Post decision mooted a Pennsylvania federal court's ruling that the entities' suit was late.
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September 06, 2024
IRS Urges Safe And Legal Sports Betting As NFL Kicks Off
With the professional football season just barely underway, and in the wake of a few bombshell betting scandals, IRS Criminal Investigation is reminding the public to bet safely and legally, warning that illegal gambling activities can lead to criminal charges ranging from money laundering to tax evasion.
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September 06, 2024
DOJ Must Give Google 'Something Concrete' On Search Fixes
The Justice Department cannot wait until February to propose remedies meant to address Google's default contract exclusionary thumb on the scales of online search, a D.C. federal judge told the agency during a hearing Friday, adding that the government needs to put a definitive proposal on the table much sooner.
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September 06, 2024
Doctor Pulls Discovery Demands Against WWE Accuser
Celebrity doctor Carlon Colker has withdrawn his demands seeking pre-litigation discovery materials from the woman who has accused Vince McMahon and former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. executives of sexually assaulting and trafficking her.
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September 06, 2024
CFTC Loses Court Battle Over Election Betting Contracts
A Washington, D.C., federal judge ruled against the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday in a case that challenged an agency ban on the use of the derivatives markets to place bets on the outcome of U.S. elections, granting victory to trading platform KalshiEx LLC.
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September 06, 2024
NC Judge Orders MV Realty's CEO To Produce Emails
A North Carolina Business Court judge on Friday ordered MV Realty to produce its CEO's emails as part of Attorney General Josh Stein's lawsuit accusing the company of locking homeowners in fraudulent deals to extract illegal fees.
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September 06, 2024
Atlanta Hit With Clean Water Suit Over Wastewater Discharge
A conservation group sued Atlanta in Georgia federal court Friday, claiming the city failed to properly maintain its largest wastewater treatment plant, sending excessive pollution, including harmful bacteria, into the Chattahoochee River — a charge the city says it has corrected.
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September 06, 2024
Boeing Loses Bid To Toss Investor Suit Over Blowout
A Virginia federal judge gave the green light to Boeing investors to continue their securities fraud proposed class suit against the company over one of its planes' midair door blowout in January, rejecting the aerospace giant's motion to dismiss and telling Boeing it had a "real problem" on its hands.
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September 06, 2024
Ga. Man Dismisses His Challenge To Disorderly Conduct Law
A Woodbury, Georgia, resident who challenged the city's disorderly conduct ordinance after being arrested for arguing with a city employee in response to his water having been shut off has agreed to dismiss the suit.
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September 06, 2024
Enviro Groups Challenge FERC Approval Of La. LNG Terminal
Environmental groups and fishermen have called on the D.C. Circuit to slash the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of a massive liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana, saying the move violates federal law and illustrates the agency's "failure to consider and approve projects that are truly in the public interest."
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September 06, 2024
Three Defendants Settle SEC's $14M Pot Co. Securities Suit
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reached settlements with three defendants who allegedly misappropriated $14 million in investment funds intended for a cannabis enterprise, with the three agreeing to pay back a total of more than $4 million in disgorgements and interest and $3 million in civil penalties.
Expert Analysis
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Calif. Out-Of-State Noncompete Ban Faces Several Hurdles
California's attempt to bolster its noncompete law has encountered significant procedural and constitutional challenges, and litigating parties must carefully analyze not only the restrictive covenants contained in their agreements, but also the forum-selection and choice-of-law provisions, say Jennifer Redmond and Gal Gressel at Sheppard Mullin.
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How 3 Recent High Court Rulings Could Shape Fintech Policy
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in Jarkesy, Loper Bright and Corner Post provide fintech companies with new legal strategies to challenge regulatory actions, but agency reactions to these rulings and inconsistent judicial interpretations could bring compliance challenges and uncertainties, says Amy Whitsel at FS Vector.
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What Cos. Should Note In DOJ's New Whistleblower Pilot
After the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a new whistleblower pilot program last week — continuing its efforts to incentivize individual reporting of misconduct — companies should review the eligibility criteria, update their compliance programs and consider the risks and benefits of making their own self-disclosures, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Motion To Transfer Venue Considerations For FCA Cases
Several recent decisions highlight the importance for practitioners of analyzing as early as possible whether a False Claims Act case warrants a change of venue, and understanding how courts weigh certain factors for defendants versus whistleblowers, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Corey Lipton at DiCello Levitt.
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A Primer On EU's Updated Human Substance Regulations
The European Union's updated standards regarding quality and safety of substances of human origin meant for human application carry significant implications for companies that work with cells and tissues, and U.S. companies active in the EU market should pay particular attention to the import and export rules, say Geneviève Michaux and Georgios Symeonidis at King & Spalding.
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Series
After Chevron: New Lines Of Attack For FCA Defense Bar
Loper Bright has given defense counsel new avenues to overcome the False Claims Act elements of falsity and scienter, as any FCA claim based upon ambiguous statutory terms can no longer stand solely on agency regulations to establish the statute's meaning, which is itself necessary to satisfy the FCA's basic requirements, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.
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CFPB's Medical Debt Proposal May Have Side Effects
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent proposal to prevent medical debt information from appearing on consumer reports and creditors from basing lending decisions on such information may have initial benefits for some consumers, but there are potential negative consequences that should also be considered, say attorneys at Cooley.
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New NHTSA Fuel Economy Rule Adds Compliance Complexity
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recently announced final rule on new corporate average fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks will create challenges for manufacturers, which must also comply with the EPA's multipollutant rule and California's zero-emission vehicle programs, say Joanne Rotondi and Hannah Graae at Hogan Lovells.
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Autonomy Execs' Acquittal Highlights Good Faith Instruction
The recent acquittal of two former Autonomy executives demonstrates that a good faith jury instruction can be the cornerstone of an effective defense strategy in white collar criminal cases, in part because the concept of good faith is a human experience every juror can relate to, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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SolarWinds Ruling Offers Cyber Incident Response Takeaways
The New York federal court's dismissal of all charges related to the 2019 Sunburst cyberattack is a devastating blow to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cybersecurity case against SolarWinds, but the well-reasoned opinion provides valuable lessons that may improve companies' defensive posture in the wake of a major cybersecurity incident, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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A Guide To Long-Term, Part-Time Employee Determinations
With final regulations under the Secure Act requiring 401(k) retirement benefits for long-term, part-time employees expected soon, Amy Sheridan and David Guadagnoli at Sullivan & Worcester look at how the proposed rules would shift the risk-reward calculus on excluding categories of employees, and what plan sponsors would need to consider when designing retirement plans.
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3 Ways To Lower Insider Trading Risk After First 10b5-1 Case
In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's insider trading prosecution against the former CEO of Ontrack based on alleged abuse of a Rule 10b5-1 safe harbor plan — designed to allow executives to sell their companies' securities without liability — companies and individuals should take steps to avoid enacting similar plans in bad faith, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
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Decoding CFPB Priorities Amid Ramp-Up In Nonbank Actions
Based on recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement actions and press releases about its supervisory activities, the agency appears poised to continue increasing its scrutiny over nonbank entities — particularly with respect to emerging financial products and services — into next year, say attorneys at Wiley.