Atkins Promises End To 'Duplicative' SEC-CFTC Enforcement

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is in the process of updating its protocols for coordinating enforcement efforts with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission with an eye toward ending "duplicative enforcement actions," SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Tuesday.

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DOJ Unveils Superseding Policy For Corporate Criminal Cases

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday released its first-ever, department-wide, corporate enforcement policy for criminal matters, outlining how it will decline to prosecute companies that voluntarily disclose misconduct, cooperate with investigators and remediate wrongdoing.

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Alex Spiro Says Twitter Atty 'Misremembering' Offer To Settle

By Bonnie Eslinger

Elon Musk attorney Alex Spiro testified before a California federal jury Tuesday that a lead Twitter lawyer who said Spiro tried to renegotiate Musk's $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform was "misremembering," saying Twitter's counsel offered the discount and asked for legal waivers over the company's bot claims.

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Mining Co. Can't Decertify Class In Dam Collapse Suit

By Katryna Perera

A New York federal judge on Tuesday rejected Vale SA's bid to decertify a class of investors in a suit accusing the Brazilian mining giant and its executives of concealing safety problems at its Brumadinho dam in the lead-up to a deadly collapse there, finding unconvincing Vale's new expert report showing that its securities were traded in inefficient markets.

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ExxonMobil Plans Move To Texas, Citing Biz-Friendly Milieu

By Spencer Brewer

ExxonMobil Corp. is the latest company to eye Texas as its new legal home, telling shareholders Tuesday that the Lone Star State's newly created business court and pro-business policies are good reasons to end its longtime run in New Jersey.

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Anthropic Asks Judge To Block DOD's Security Risk Label

By Madeline Lyskawa

Anthropic has urged a California federal judge to block the Trump administration from enforcing an order designating the artificial intelligence company a supply chain risk to national security, arguing the government has retaliated against Anthropic for its constitutionally protected speech.

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Dem Says 'Compromise' Can Thread Stablecoin Yield Needle

By Jon Hill

A key U.S. Senate Democrat called Tuesday for closing what bankers say is a stablecoin interest "loophole" that could siphon deposits from traditional lenders, stressing that compromise may be needed to avoid letting the "perfect be the enemy of good."

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Calif. Atty Gets Over 11 Years For Solar $1B Ponzi Scheme

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has sentenced a corporate attorney to 11 years and five months behind bars after he pled guilty to nearly two dozen charges for his role in DC Solar's $912 million Ponzi scheme, which duped major investors including Berkshire Hathaway, Progressive and SunTrust Equipment Finance & Leasing.

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Texas Crypto Exec Seeks To Vacate $141M Wyoming Judgment

By José Luis Martínez

A cryptocurrency executive is asking the Texas Business Court to vacate a $141 million Wyoming state court default judgment tied to an investment deal that is part of separate litigation from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a notice of removal.

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Feds Want October Retrial For Tornado Cash Founder

By Aislinn Keely

Federal prosecutors have requested an October retrial for the alleged operator of the Tornado Cash crypto mixer in a letter that told the Manhattan federal court the government intends to take another crack at bringing money laundering and sanctions charges that deadlocked a jury in August.

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Polymarket Loses Bid To Block Mich. Gambling Enforcement

By Jonathan Capriel

There's "no logical way" to view Polymarket's event contracts — which allow people to profit or lose on sports-related outcomes — as financial "swaps" as defined in the Commodity Exchange Act, a federal judge said Tuesday, denying the company's request to temporarily block Michigan officials from imposing state gambling laws.

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Robinhood Wants Mich. Gambling Law Enforcement Blocked

By Tom Lotshaw

Robinhood Derivatives LLC has asked a Michigan federal judge to block the state from enforcing gaming laws against it, arguing that federal statutes give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission jurisdiction over sports-related event contracts.

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CFTC Urged To Halt War Bets Over Insider Trading Fears

By Elaine Briseño

Two Democratic lawmakers from Colorado and Rhode Island have urged the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to "immediately halt" wagers on events tied to U.S. military operations, arguing those types of offerings on prediction markets threaten national security.

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Smartmatic Moves To Toss 'Vindictive' FCPA Prosecution

By Lauren Berg

Smartmatic urged a Florida federal judge Tuesday to toss charges against it in the U.S. Department of Justice's case accusing former company executives of bribing a Filipino official to secure contracts, slamming the superseding indictment as part of a "crusade to unconstitutionally target" President Donald Trump's perceived political enemies.

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Chancery Won't Block Precious Metals Deal In Earnout Fight

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court on Tuesday refused to temporarily block a planned acquisition by Bullion International Group LLC, a precious metals company formed in a 2023 merger between online gold retailer APMEX and global refiner MKS PAMP Group Inc., ruling that the dispute over potential earnout payments can be addressed through money damages rather than emergency injunctive relief.

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Insurers Can't Resume Investor Fight In $220M Coverage Row

By Emily Lever

A Texas appellate court Tuesday rejected two insurance companies' bid to stop a group of shareholders of now-bankrupt Cobalt International Energy from pursuing claims on behalf of thousands of other investors, stymieing the carriers' attempts to curtail a fight over coverage of a $220 million securities settlement.

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Semiconductor Co. Says Key Witness Now Disputes Claims

By Katryna Perera

STMicroelectronics has asked a New York federal judge to reconsider his earlier decision allowing an investor securities fraud suit to move forward, saying the ruling relied on statements from a former executive who now says the allegations attributed to him in the suit are false.

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Roblox Investors Aim To Preserve Claims As Clock Runs Down

By Emilie Ruscoe

Funds invested in immersive gaming platform Roblox are asking to intervene in a proposed class action alleging the company understated the likelihood of a post-COVID lockdown user revenue slump, saying the clock was running out for bringing certain claims while the judge weighs dismissing the suit.

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Genworth Unravels 401(k) Fund Suit Class Cert. At 4th Circ.

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday reversed class certification for Genworth Financial Inc. employee 401(k) participants who alleged that their retirement savings were dragged down by underperforming BlackRock Inc. target date funds, holding that individual plan participants' investment performance was too varied for the court to sign off on their claims as a group.

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Iowa Defends 5th Circ. Appeal Of Schwab Antitrust Settlement

By Sydney Price

Iowa's attorney general told the Fifth Circuit that its appeal of a Texas federal judge's final approval of a settlement ending an antitrust class action over The Charles Schwab Corp.'s merger with TD Ameritrade is proper, arguing the state's duty to protect consumers allows it to challenge the deal.

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Mayer Brown Adds 6 McGuireWoods Attys In Houston, DC

By Tracey Read

Mayer Brown announced Tuesday that it has hired six attorneys from McGuireWoods LLP for its litigation and dispute resolution and corporate and securities practices, including the former office managing partner of that firm's Houston office.

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Share Repurchases Leave Cos. Susceptible To Litigation

Because share repurchases bring greater ownership, which typically brings greater voting power, they can have serious implications for corporate control, which can raise questions about the unpaid benefits to some shareholders and lead to securities class actions, says Amit Bubna at Bates White.

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Lessons From Justices' Split On Major Questions Doctrine

The justices' varied opinions in Learning Resources v. Trump, which held the International Emergency Economy Powers Act did not confer the power to impose tariffs, offer a meaningful window into the U.S. Supreme Court's perspective on the major questions doctrine that will likely shape lower courts' approach to executive action challenges, say attorneys at Venable.

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Military Attys In DOJ 'Erodes Democratic Norms,' Ex-JAGs Say

By Lauren Berg

Nearly a dozen former military lawyers raised the alarm about the Trump administration appointing judge advocate officers to U.S. attorneys' offices, urging a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to bar an Army lawyer from prosecuting a case that accuses a civilian of assaulting federal immigration enforcement agents.

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DOJ Official Faces Ethics Case Over Georgetown DEI Letters

By Alison Knezevich

U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin has been hit with disciplinary charges in the nation's capital over threatening letters he sent to Georgetown University Law Center last year while he was interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

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Dems Confront Roberts At Wide-Ranging Judiciary Gathering

By Jeff Overley

The federal judiciary's top administrator voiced "serious and urgent concerns" Tuesday regarding threats of retribution against judges, a warning that coincided with a judicial gathering where Democrats discussed security fears and controversial U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

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Prosecutor Resigns, Judge Shows Slide Deck On AI Errors

By Abigail Harrison

A federal prosecutor told a North Carolina federal court Tuesday that he was separating from the office after admitting in open court to using artificial intelligence to help draft a response brief, which he called "the worst decision I've ever made in my 30-year career."

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Ex-Moses & Singer Partner Admits Tax Crimes, Will Pay $2.8M

By Aaron Keller

A former Moses & Singer LLP partner admitted to practice in New York and North Carolina courts has pled guilty to three counts of failing to file personal income tax returns and will pay $2.8 million in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced Monday.

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Judiciary Approves Supreme Court Public Defender Office

By Katie Buehler

The federal judiciary approved a new office Tuesday aimed at improving the quality of representation for indigent defendants with cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. 

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Judge Fumes As Live Nation Antitrust Trial Remains In Limbo

By Stewart Bishop

The status of Live Nation Entertainment's antitrust trial and proposed settlement over federal and state government claims of anticompetitive conduct remained up in the air Tuesday amid pushback by several states, while the Manhattan federal judge overseeing the case upbraided the parties for keeping him out of the loop about negotiations.

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DLA Piper Can't Rep Itself At Bias Trial, Fired Atty Says

By Pete Brush

DLA Piper should not be permitted to represent itself at trial in a pregnancy discrimination case brought by a senior associate who was fired in 2022, lawyers for the plaintiff told a Manhattan federal judge.

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Judge Nixed Over MAGA Op-Ed Seeks Reinstatement

By Emily Sawicki

A retired Illinois state trial court judge pursuing First Amendment claims against the state Supreme Court after his right-wing opinion column resulted in his removal from a temporary judgeship has moved for immediate reinstatement to the Cook County Circuit Court.

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Wisconsin Judges Decline To Extend Interim US Atty's Term

By Courtney Bublé

A majority of judges in the Eastern District of Wisconsin have declined to extend the tenure of interim U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel, according to an announcement Tuesday.

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J&J Opposes Beasley Allen Reinstatement Bid In NJ Talc Fight

By Emily Sawicki

Johnson & Johnson is urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to not take the "extraordinary step" of intervening in an appellate panel ruling that disqualified Beasley Allen from representing hundreds of women in product liability litigation against the pharmaceutical giant after the Georgia-based firm "knowingly collaborated" with a former Johnson & Johnson outside counsel.

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