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Securities
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September 03, 2024
$15M Class Atty Fee Sought In Microsoft-Activision Suit
Attorneys for Sweden's state pension fund manager have proposed a $15 million attorney fee for their investigation and intervention in a suit seeking Delaware Court of Chancery fixes for defects in some terms of Activision Blizzard Inc.'s $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft Corp. last year.
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September 03, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Last week in Delaware's court of equity, an iconic rock band got a new member, former President Donald Trump's social media company escaped a contempt ruling, and litigation grew over Illumina Inc.'s $8 billion reacquisition of cancer-testing company Grail Inc. New cases touched on intellectual property, mergers, share transfers and dump trucks. In case you missed it, here's the latest from Delaware's Court of Chancery.
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September 03, 2024
$2.2M Bowling Co. Investor Settlement Gets Initial Green Light
A Maryland federal judge has preliminarily approved a nearly $2.2 million settlement ending a class action that alleged Bowl America's board of directors acted in bad faith when approving a merger with Bowlero Corp.
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August 30, 2024
Chancery Prunes $2.1M From Atty Fee Bid In Sculptor Merger
Class attorneys who helped secure a 14.4%, or $80.8 million, improvement in proceeds from Sculptor Capital Management's sale to Rithm Capital Corp. — plus a $6.5 million common fund — saw their $5.75 million fee proposal cut to $3.6 million in Delaware's Court of Chancery Friday.
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August 30, 2024
Semiconductor Co. Beats Investor Suit Over Failed $8B Merger
A California federal judge has dismissed a proposed investor class action filed over semiconductor company MaxLinear Inc.'s decision to cancel a planned $8 billion merger with Silicon Motion Technology Corp., finding investors' claims against the former can't stand because they held shares in the latter.
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August 30, 2024
5th Circ. Rejects SEC Whistleblower Award Calculation Appeal
The Fifth Circuit on Friday rejected petitions by two whistleblowers who allege that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shortchanged them after they helped to uncover purportedly the largest fraud in Texas history, by a company that was driven into bankruptcy.
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August 30, 2024
CFTC Grants Clearing Status To Courtroom Foe Kalshi
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has given the all clear for a division of derivatives startup Kalshi to serve as an intermediary in the swaps market, even as the pair continue to duke it out in court over the trading platform's rebuffed request to participate in the stalled elections betting market.
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August 30, 2024
Del. Judge Finds Exception To Absolute Litigation Shield
An "absolute litigation privilege" barring lawsuits targeting defamation related to court action in Delaware doesn't block involuntary LLC share repurchase demands triggered by a terminated subsidiary officer's alleged defamatory statements, a Delaware judge has ruled.
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August 30, 2024
Door-Maker Demands $10M In Excess Insurance At 4th Circ.
A door manufacturer pressed the Fourth Circuit to force an insurer to hand over $10 million in excess coverage in connection with a $39.5 million shareholder settlement over alleged lies to investors, arguing Friday that the matter was unrelated to other litigation and counts as a separate claim.
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August 30, 2024
Gaming Co. Exec Gets 6 Years For Fake IPO Claims, Theft
An executive of Carlyle Entertainment Ltd. has been sentenced to 72 months in prison for advertising a phony initial public offering and fraudulently misappropriating $3 million in investor funds for his personal use in a scheme that spanned six years.
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August 30, 2024
3 Atty Takeaways On What's Ahead As ERISA Turns 50
As the Employee Retirement Income Security Act turns 50 years old this Labor Day, attorneys reflecting on five decades of development of the federal employee benefits law see a complex path ahead for both litigation and policy. Here are three key takeaways from top attorneys on what’s next for ERISA on its golden anniversary.
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August 30, 2024
FINRA Dings Raymond James $2M Over Customer Complaints
Two Raymond James units will pay nearly $2 million to settle allegations from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that they didn't properly handle customer complaints or supervise mutual fund purchases.
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August 30, 2024
Off The Bench: NFL Lets PE In, Ex-NBA Pro Denies Agent Deal
In this week’s Off The Bench, the NFL shakes up its ownership rules and joins the rest of the pro sports world, while a former NBA player says his agency is trying to cling to him after he moved on. In case you were sidelined this week, Law360 is here to catch you up on the sports and betting stories that had our readers talking.
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August 30, 2024
Fla. Judge Won't Block Sale Of 18M Truth Social Co. Shares
A Florida judge on Friday denied a request by Donald Trump's Truth Social to block the sale of 18 million shares by two of the company's co-founders, finding that the company would not be irreparably harmed by having to rely on a damages remedy if the sale goes through.
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August 30, 2024
Fla. Investment Firm Head Cops To Role In Broker Scheme
The president of a now-shuttered Florida investment firm has admitted to helping an unregistered broker sell securities in exchange for rich commissions that were not disclosed to buyers.
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August 30, 2024
FTX Exec Drops Bid To Undo Plea Amid Partner's Indictment
Former FTX executive Ryan Salame is no longer seeking to vacate his guilty plea that he says Manhattan federal prosecutors induced with a false promise to halt a campaign finance probe into his partner Michelle Bond, though his claims that they broke their word will still be litigated before two different judges.
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August 30, 2024
Crypto Exchanges Illegally Took Facial Scans, Suits Say
Two cryptocurrency exchanges have been hit with proposed class actions in Illinois federal court alleging they unlawfully collected, stored, and disclosed users' facial geometry scans by making new customers go through a mandatory verification process in violation of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act.
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August 29, 2024
Tesla, Elon Musk Beat Dogecoin Buyers' Fraud Suit, For Good
A New York federal judge on Thursday for the final time threw out a contentious lawsuit brought by Dogecoin investors accusing Elon Musk of manipulating the market so that he and Tesla could turn a profit on the meme-themed cryptocurrency.
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August 29, 2024
IBM Unit's Repurchase Not Blocked By Del. Litigation Privilege
An International Business Machines Corp. affiliate can enforce a stake repurchase option against a former executive suing the company, a Delaware judge ruled Thursday, saying statements he made in legal filings can trigger the repurchase provision in his nondisparagement agreement.
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August 29, 2024
Texas' Anti-ESG Law Is Unconstitutional, Green Biz Org Says
A sustainability-focused business group on Thursday sued Texas state officials in federal court seeking to block a law that restricts state investments with financial firms and businesses that want to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
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August 29, 2024
Starbucks Overpromised On 'Reinvention' Plan, Investor Says
Coffee chain Starbucks faces a proposed investor class action alleging it misled the markets about prospects for its so-called Triple Shot Reinvention strategy, hurting investors after trading prices for its shares slid when it announced disappointing quarterly results in April 2024.
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August 29, 2024
SEC Says PE Firm Ran $3.3M Real Estate Investment Scam
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a suit in California federal court accusing a private equity firm and its managing partner, who was previously convicted of financial crimes, of fraudulently raising $3.3 million through a Ponzi-like real estate investment scheme.
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August 29, 2024
SEC Slams Crypto Co.'s Bid To Curb Its Enforcement Powers
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has moved to rid itself of a lawsuit that aims to limit its ability to oversee the crypto industry, telling a Texas federal judge that there is no evidence that the agency's staff was even aware of the startup that is suing to head off a non-existent enforcement action.
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August 29, 2024
Ex-SPAC Agrees To Face 'Springing Penalty' In SEC Case
Former blank check company National Energy Services Reunited Corp. has agreed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $400,000, with a potential additional penalty of $1.2 million if it doesn't undertake certain remediation efforts, over alleged financial reporting and controls failures stemming from its acquisition of 2 companies.
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August 29, 2024
Schwab's 'Cash Sweep' Paid For TD Ameritrade Buy, Suit Says
The Charles Schwab Corp. has been hit with a proposed class action in California federal court by three customers alleging that the investment bank obtains "outsized benefits" from its cash sweep programs and used a significant amount of the cash to finance its $26 billion acquisition of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. several years ago.
Expert Analysis
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What 100 Federal Cases Suggest About Changes To Chevron
With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn or narrow its 40-year-old doctrine of Chevron deference, a review of 100 recent federal district court decisions confirm that changes to the Chevron framework will have broad ramifications — but the magnitude of the impact will depend on the details of the high court's ruling, say Kali Schellenberg and Jon Cochran at LeVan Stapleton.
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Opinion
SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule to require more climate-related disclosures will provide investors with much-needed clarity, despite opponents' attempts to challenge the rule with misused legal arguments, say Sarah Goetz at Democracy Forward and Cynthia Hanawalt at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change.
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What Makes Unionization In Financial Services Unique
Only around 1% of financial services employees are part of a union, but that number is on the rise, presenting both unique opportunities and challenges for the employers and employees that make up a sector typically devoid of union activity, say Amanda Fugazy and Steven Nevolis at Ellenoff Grossman.
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How EB-5 Regional Centers Can Prepare For USCIS Audits
In response to the recently announced U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidelines that require EB-5 regional center audits every five years to verify their compliance with immigration and securities laws, regional centers should take steps to facilitate a seamless audit process, say Jennifer Hermansky and Miriam Thompson at Greenberg Traurig.
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FDIC Bank Disclosure Rules Raise Important Questions
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rules mandating disclosures for nonbanks offering deposit products leave traditional financial institutions in a no-man's land between fintech-oriented requirements and the reality of personal service demanded by customers, say Paul Clark and Casey Jennings at Seward & Kissel.
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Recent Wave Of SEC No-Action Denials May Be Slowing
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in March granted no-action relief to Verizon and others on the grounds that a director resignation bylaw proposal would mean violating Delaware law, bucking recent SEC hesitation toward such relief and showing that articulating a basis in state law is a viable path to exclude a proposal, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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10b-5 Litigation Questions Follow Justices' Macquarie Ruling
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Macquarie v. Moab that pure omissions are not actionable under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b–5(b), creating a slightly higher bar for plaintiffs and setting the stage for further litigation over several issues, say Steve Quinlivan and Sean Colligan at Stinson.
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Series
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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Navigating SPAC Market Challenges For Microcap Issuers
For microcap issuers, the special-purpose acquisition vehicle market tells a cautionary tale in which few targets attain the advantages they seek, and important considerations for companies with market capitalization of under $300 million include negotiating costs and expenses upfront to avoid becoming saddled with debt, say attorneys at Lucosky Brookman.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Circuit Split Brews Over Who's A Securities Seller Under Act
A Securities Act section that creates private liability for the sale of an unregistered security is rapidly becoming a favored statute for plaintiffs to wield against participants in both the digital asset and traditional securities markets, but the circuit courts have diverged on who may be held liable for these violations, say Jeffrey L. Steinfeld and Daniel Aronsohn at Winston & Strawn.
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Banks Have Won Syndicated Loan Battle, But Not The War
Though the U.S. Supreme Court's recent denial of certiorari in Kirschner v. JPMorgan preserves the status quo that syndicated loans are not securities, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's discomfort suggests that the underlying issues have not been fully resolved, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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Compliance Strategies To Mitigate 3 New Areas Of AI Risk
The era of artificial intelligence-assisted corporate crime is here, but several concrete mitigation strategies can allow companies to address the new, rapidly evolving threats posed by deepfakes, information barrier evasion and AI model manipulation, say attorneys at Debevoise.