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Corporate
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October 23, 2024
Ameriprise, Ex-Worker Duo To Arbitrate Stolen Docs Claims
Financial services company Ameriprise will arbitrate claims that a father-son pair of ex-employees took confidential records "in the dark of the night" on their way out the door to work for a competitor, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has determined.
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October 23, 2024
Character.AI, Google Face Suit Over Teen's Suicide
A woman claiming her 14-year-old son killed himself after becoming addicted to Character.AI sued the company, its founders and Google on Tuesday, claiming the tech giant is a co-creator of the AI startup's development, marketing and infrastructure, which made the teen believe the artificial intelligence platform's chatbots were real.
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October 23, 2024
Venezuelan TV Mogul Charged In $1.2B PDVSA Bribe Scheme
A Florida federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday charging a Venezuelan television news network owner with participating in a $1.2 billion scheme to launder funds from Venezuela's state-owned energy company Petróleos de Venezuela SA in exchange for bribes to Venezuelan officials.
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October 23, 2024
Investor Tied To Texas AG Seeks Investigation Info From Feds
Real estate investor Nate Paul is looking to get more information from federal prosecutors about their investigation into federal fraud charges he's facing — topics that featured prominently during the failed impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — according to court filings from U.S. Attorney's Office employees.
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October 23, 2024
No More Coverage For Paper Co.'s Pollution Claim, Panel Says
A WestRock Co. subsidiary that owned a Montana paper mill later identified as a Superfund site isn't entitled to additional coverage from its AIG insurer, an Illinois state appeals court ruled, saying two pollution conditions on the property were related and subject to a single $5 million limit of liability.
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October 23, 2024
Chancery Mulls Call To Toss $7B Focus Financial Merger Suit
An attorney for private equity firm Stone Point Capital told Delaware's chancellor Wednesday that there was no control group formed before the $7 billion August 2023 go-private merger between Focus Financial Partners Inc. and Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC, and that a ruling otherwise would "lower the bar" for control allegations.
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October 23, 2024
Del. Justices Urged To Revive Oracle-NetSuite Deal Challenge
An attorney for Oracle Corp. stockholders rattled off a barrage of alleged disclosure failures, analytical flaws and errant deference decisions Wednesday during a Delaware Supreme Court appeal from the Chancery Court's toss last year of a challenge to the company's $9.3 billion acquisition of NetSuite Corp. in 2016.
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October 23, 2024
SEC's Peirce Calls For Compliance Advisory Committee
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Hester Peirce on Wednesday detailed her vision for a compliance advisory committee that would give the agency a way to collect and evaluate concerns about new rules from in-house compliance staff.
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October 23, 2024
Feds Say Conn. Oil Trader's Ailing Brother Deserves Prison Time
A Connecticut businessman who worked with his brother and others to run an oil industry bribery scheme in Brazil should go to prison despite his bladder cancer diagnosis, the government said, arguing incarceration is necessary "to reflect the seriousness of the offense, and to afford adequate deterrence."
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October 23, 2024
Amazon Must Face Drivers' Tip Suit Despite FTC Settlement
A Washington federal judge largely refused Wednesday to toss a proposed class action accusing Amazon of violating Evergreen State laws by withholding portions of drivers' tips, saying the claims are still valid despite the Federal Trade Commission reaching a nearly $62 million deal with the company over the same alleged conduct.
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October 23, 2024
Telecom Group Sues To Cancel FTC's 'Click To Cancel' Rule
A major cable and internet industry group and others sued the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday over its new "click to cancel" rule, asking the Fifth Circuit to vacate the regulation one week after it was adopted in a 3-2 commission vote.
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October 23, 2024
American Airlines Fined $50 Million For Disability Violations
American Airlines received a $50 million penalty from the U.S. Department of Transportation Wednesday for "serious violations" of disability laws protecting people in wheelchairs, with the department saying the violations included injuring or mishandling disabled travelers, damaging their wheelchairs or failing to return the devices promptly.
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October 23, 2024
OpenAI Hires Uber Ethics Head As New Compliance Chief
OpenAI Inc. has brought on Uber Technologies Inc.'s chief ethics and compliance officer to head up its compliance department as it works to "build on [its] ongoing efforts to responsibly advance AI," the company said Tuesday.
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October 23, 2024
Roundup Suit Pared As Preemption Claim Sways Mass. Judge
A Massachusetts judge has dismissed portions of a suit claiming a woman's use of the weedkiller Roundup caused her cancer, ruling a federal labeling law preempts her theory that Monsanto failed to warn consumers about the chemical's dangers.
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October 23, 2024
United Worker Fired Over Online Pics Gets Bias Suit Revived
A California appeals court revived a United Airlines flight attendant's sex bias suit claiming she was unlawfully fired for appearing in uniform on a social media page advertising her OnlyFans account, crediting her argument that male flight attendants didn't face the same consequences for similar behavior.
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October 23, 2024
Roche CEO Says Novo-Catalent Deal Should Be Blocked
The CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche injected himself into the controversy surrounding Novo Holdings' planned $16.5 billion acquisition of Catalent on Wednesday, stating that he thinks antitrust authorities should block the deal due to its anticompetitive implications.
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October 23, 2024
Ex-SEC Atty, Fintech GC Joins Stradling's Securities Team
Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth PC has added a former fintech general counsel and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorney, reinforcing the firm's offerings for companies facing enforcement investigations or grappling with other compliance issues.
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October 23, 2024
Kirkland Adds Freshfields Atty To Boost Private Credit Bench
Kirkland & Ellis LLP has welcomed an expert in leveraged finance from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, saying Wednesday that his diverse practice will strengthen the firm's liability management and opportunistic credit practices and support its position in the growing private credit sector.
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October 23, 2024
JAMS Adds International Arbitration Veteran To Miami Office
Alternative dispute resolution service JAMS has added the managing member of Squires International Law PLLC to its Miami office, strengthening its services with a multilingual attorney who brings a strong business and law background.
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October 23, 2024
CPAs Prepare For Uncertainty As TCJA Expiration Looms
Certified public accountants and financial planners are preparing to help their clients navigate the uncertainty around next year's expiration of major parts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as lawmakers gear up to decide who will bear the brunt of any resulting tax changes.
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October 23, 2024
Chemical Co. GC Fires Back At Pregnancy Bias Claims In NJ
Arxada and its general counsel struck back at a former in-house attorney's claims in a New Jersey state court lawsuit that the specialty chemicals company unlawfully dismissed her in the days after she talked about taking leave to recover from a miscarriage.
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October 22, 2024
UFC Fighters Win Initial OK On $375M Wage Suppression Deal
A Nevada federal judge on Tuesday gave his blessing to a $375 million settlement resolving a group of former UFC fighters' claims that the organization for years underpaid match participants, the fighters' counsel confirmed.
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October 22, 2024
Calif. Panel Says Panera Must Face PAGA Claims
A California state appeals court on Monday reversed a state trial court's ruling compelling a Panera restaurant employee to arbitrate Private Attorneys General Act claims against the bakery and café chain, saying an arbitration agreement the worker had entered explicitly excluded PAGA claims.
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October 22, 2024
Texas Rebar Giant Accused Of Crushing Rivals As Trial Opens
Pacific Steel Group's counsel told a California federal jury during trial openings Tuesday that Texas rebar giant Commercial Metals Co. used anticompetitive tactics to "crush" competition and drive up rebar prices in the Golden State, while CMC's counsel said evidence will show PSG can only blame itself for its problems.
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October 22, 2024
Ex-Google GC Must Be Investigated By Calif. Bar, Groups Say
A trio of groups led by the American Economic Liberties Project on Tuesday pressed the State Bar of California to investigate former Google general counsel Kent Walker for "coaching" the company to "engage in widespread and illegal destruction of records relevant to multiple ongoing federal trials."
Expert Analysis
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Integrating ESG Into Risk Management Programs
Amid increasing regulations and reporting requirements for corporate sustainability in the European Union and the U.S., companies might consider how to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into more formalized risk management, say directors at Alvarez & Marsal.
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Exploring Practical Employer Alternatives To Noncompetes
With the Federal Trade Commission likely to appeal a federal court’s recent rejection of its noncompete ban, and more states limiting the enforceability of these agreements, employers should consider back-to-basics methods for protecting their business interests and safeguarding sensitive information, says Brendan Horgan at FordHarrison.
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3 M&A Elements To Master In A Volatile Economy
The current M&A market requires a strategic approach to earnouts, past-due accounts payable and employee retention in order to mitigate risk and drive successful outcomes, says Robert Harig at Robbins DiMonte.
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It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers
Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.
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Service Agreement Lessons From July's Global Tech Outage
The worldwide outages recently caused by Crowdstrike Holdings' misconfigured software update highlight the need to evaluate potential IT vendors, negotiate certain service agreement terms, and review existing agreements and diligence forms to help prevent future disruptions and mitigate the fallout should one occur, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Calif. Bill, NTIA Report Illustrate Open-Model AI Safety Debate
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s balanced recommendations for preventing misuse of open artificial intelligence models, contrasted with a more aggressive California bill, demonstrate an evolving regulatory debate about balancing democratic access to this powerful new technology against potential risks to the public, say Stuart Meyer and Fredrick Tsang at Fenwick.
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Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility
The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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5 Lessons From Consulting Firm's Successful DOJ Disclosure
The Boston Consulting Group recently received a rare declination of prosecution from the U.S. Department of Justice after self-disclosing a foreign bribery scheme, and the firm’s series of savvy steps after discovering the misconduct provides useful data points for white collar defense attorneys, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG
A wave of ESG-related litigation and regulations have led some companies to retreat altogether from any public statements about their ESG goals, a trend known as "greenhushing" that was at the center of a recent D.C. court decision involving Coca-Cola, say Gonzalo Mon and Katie Rogers at Kelley Drye.
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Complying With FTC's Final Rule On Sham Online Reviews
The Federal Trade Commission's final rule on deceptive acts and practices in online reviews and testimonials is effective Oct. 21, and some practice tips can help businesses avert noncompliance risks, say Airina Rodrigues and Jonathan Sandler at Brownstein Hyatt.
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Del. Dispatch: Drafting Lessons For Earnout Provisions
The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Medal v. Beckett Collectibles provides guidance for avoiding ambiguity in provisions relating to the acceleration of earnout payments under specified circumstances, and provisions mandating good faith negotiations before bringing earnout litigation, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Mitigating Risk In Net Asset Value Facility Bankruptcies
In times of economic turbulence, parties to bankruptcy proceedings that involve net asset value facilities can mitigate risk by understanding the purpose of the automatic stay, complications it can create for NAV facility lenders and options for relief, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Opinion
A Fuzzy Label With Bite: FTC Must Define Surveillance Pricing
The Federal Trade Commission recently issued orders to eight companies — including Mastercard, McKinsey and Chase — seeking information on "surveillance pricing," but the order doesn't explain the term or make the distinction between legal and illegal practices, leaving any company that uses personalized pricing in the dark, says Chris Wlach at Huge.
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Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools
A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.
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Missouri Injunction A Setback For State Anti-ESG Rules
A Missouri federal court’s recent order enjoining the state’s anti-ESG rules comes amid actions by state legislatures to revise or invalidate similar legislation imposing disclosure and consent requirements around environmental, social and governance investing, and could be a blueprint for future challenges, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.