Securities

  • June 26, 2024

    Ed Tech Co. Can't Beat Investor Suit Over Bot-Inflated Classes

    A New Jersey federal judge has ruled that confidential witness testimonies, among other things, "paint an unmistakable picture" that education tech company GSX Techedu Inc. used "bots" to inflate its online class enrollment numbers, in refusing to dismiss a suit against the company that demands recompense from certain executives for stock price drops.

  • June 26, 2024

    3 Firms Vie For Lead Role In Autodesk Securities Suit

    Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and The Rosen Law Firm PA have each asked a California federal judge to lead a securities lawsuit against software company Autodesk for allegedly lacking proper internal controls due to issues with its free cash flow and operating margin practices.

  • June 26, 2024

    Tesla Says Musk's Pay OK In Texas Affects Del. Class Fee Bid

    Tesla Inc. has doubled down on arguments that stockholder ratification of Elon Musk's mammoth compensation plan in Texas should sideline a Delaware Court of Chancery hearing on a potential multibillion-dollar class attorney fee tied to the court's earlier voiding of the same pay package.

  • June 26, 2024

    11th Circ. Urged To Toss $62M Order Against Forex Co. CEO

    An imprisoned former CEO of an investment company urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to toss a multimillion-dollar penalty against him obtained by the federal government, saying he never operated foreign exchange commodity pools and didn't invest borrowed funds on behalf of lenders.

  • June 26, 2024

    Judge Denies ConvergeOne Lenders' Bid To Halt Ch. 11 Plan

    A Texas federal judge has rejected a request by a group of ConvergeOne lenders to stay a bankruptcy court's order approving an equity rights offering included in the information technology company's Chapter 11 plan, ending the spurned lenders' challenge to a deal they claimed ran afoul of bankruptcy rules. 

  • June 26, 2024

    Gun Co. Co-Owner Tells Del. Justices That Partner 'Lied'

    A joint owner of a gun manufacturing business who accused his partner of duping him out of his 50% stake told Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday that the partner — who won the case — had repeatedly "lied" during Chancery Court litigation, so the trial court's decision should be overturned.

  • June 26, 2024

    Big Banks Cleared Fed's Stress Tests, Despite 'Higher Losses'

    The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the nation's big banks have enough capital on hand to ride out a simulated recession, giving them passing marks in the latest round of stress tests as regulators debate tougher rules that could raise capital requirements further.

  • June 26, 2024

    Olo Moots Investor's Chancery Suit By Axing Free Takeover

    Directors of New York-based online food-ordering venture Olo have mooted a proposed class challenge to a company stock buyback program by effectively barring moves that would give the company's top investor majority control of the business, Delaware's chancellor ruled on Monday. 

  • June 26, 2024

    Investor Appeals Chancery Toss Of $2.4B SPAC Deal Suit

    A stockholder of the blank-check company that took electric vehicle company Canoo Holdings Ltd. public in March 2021 has appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court the dismissal of his proposed Delaware Court of Chancery class action challenging the $2.4 billion deal.

  • June 26, 2024

    House GOP Gears Up For The End Of Chevron Deference

    A new memo outlines how House Republicans are gearing up for the U.S. Supreme Court to potentially overturn the decades-old precedent that courts defer to agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes, as an opportunity to roll back the Biden administration's policies and reclaim Congress' power.

  • June 26, 2024

    Akerman Adds Foley Hoag Corporate Atty In DC

    Akerman hired a competition counsel from Foley Hoag LLP in Washington who spent the past four and half years representing clients in a range of antitrust matters.

  • June 26, 2024

    UK Man Avoids Jail In $13M Whiskey, Wine Investment Scam

    A London native was sentenced to three years of probation by an Ohio federal judge after pleading guilty to cold-calling elderly people and falsely promising large returns for investing in wine and whiskey.

  • June 26, 2024

    Archegos Duo Won't Testify In $36B Market Distortion Trial

    The founder of Archegos and its former chief financial officer will not take the stand in their trial on charges they orchestrated a massive campaign to manipulate Wall Street stock prices, the pair told a Manhattan federal judge Wednesday.

  • June 26, 2024

    Crypto ATM Co. Coinme Taps MoneyGram Atty As Legal Head

    Crypto exchange and kiosk operator Coinme has brought on the former general counsel at payments firm MoneyGram to head its legal and compliance departments, the firm said on Wednesday.

  • June 25, 2024

    Warhol, Monet Artwork Forfeited To US In 1MDB Clawback

    Andy Warhol and Claude Monet paintings are among the items that will be forfeited to the United States as part of a deal resolving the government's civil complaints looking to recover assets allegedly related to money laundering by a Malaysian state-owned investment fund, according to a consent judgment entered Monday.

  • June 25, 2024

    Archer Aviation SPAC Deal Blasted As 'Sham' In Chancery Suit

    Investors in a blank check company that took vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft startup Archer Aviation Inc. public in 2021 have accused the venture, controlled by interests of billionaire Ken Moelis, of deceptively hyping its progress and prospects, according to a new Delaware Court of Chancery complaint.

  • June 25, 2024

    Coffee Chain Dutch Bros Beats Investor Suit For Good

    A New York federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a suit alleging drive-through coffee chain Dutch Bros and two of its executives weren't honest with investors about the impact inflation was having on the company after its 2021 initial public offering, saying the shareholders have failed to plead any actionable misstatements or omissions.

  • June 25, 2024

    Adviser, Firm Owe SEC $425K For Mishandling Crypto Assets

    A Florida federal judge on Tuesday approved approximately $425,000 in settlements in a suit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against an investment adviser and its owner, alleging they hid investment strategies and lost control of the firm's recordkeeping, preventing them from accessing crypto assets possibly worth $10 million.

  • June 25, 2024

    SEC Accuses Ex-CEOs Of Duping Market In $138M Offering

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday reached a $1 million deal with a company allegedly involved in a market manipulation scheme and also brought claims against the two former CEOs who allegedly led the scheme, which fraudulently raised $137.5 million from investors, according to the regulator.

  • June 25, 2024

    Cummins Brass Face Investor Suit For $2B Clean Air Act Deal

    Executives and directors of engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit accusing them of concealing the company's use of unlawful emissions control devices in certain engines, which eventually resulted in a record $1.68 billion fine against the company and more than $326 million in related payments.

  • June 25, 2024

    GOP Lawmakers Urge 8th Circ. To Quash SEC's Climate Rule

    A group of 35 Republican lawmakers on Tuesday moved to weigh in on the consolidated challenge to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently adopted climate disclosure rule, arguing that the Eighth Circuit should vacate the measure due to a lack of clear congressional authorization.

  • June 25, 2024

    Sarissa Capital, Founder Settle Bioverativ Suit In Del. For $40M

    Remaining parties in a Delaware Court of Chancery class action over the $11.6 billion sale of biotech venture Bioverativ Inc. to Sanofi Inc. in 2018 have agreed to settle their outstanding claims for $40 million in cash, according to a stipulation filed with the court Tuesday.

  • June 25, 2024

    FTX Gets OK To Seek Creditor Votes On Ch. 11 Plan

    Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. can seek creditor votes for its Chapter 11 plan after a Delaware bankruptcy judge said he would approve the debtor's disclosures after overruling several objections.

  • June 25, 2024

    Broker's Lax ACH Monitoring Led To $330K Theft, FINRA Says

    A broker-dealer that was once a unit of Oregon-headquartered Umpqua Bank has agreed to pay $225,000 to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority after self-reporting supervisory oversights that enabled unauthorized parties to siphon over $330,000 out of a customer's account.

  • June 25, 2024

    Chancery Tentatively OKs $15.5M Lordstown SPAC Suit Deal

    A $15.5 million class settlement for a stockholder suit that challenged the special-purpose acquisition company deal that took Lordstown Motors Inc. public won tentative Delaware Court of Chancery approval Tuesday, conditioned on confirmation of one expense claim.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Exxon Court Should Clarify Shareholder Proposal Exclusion

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    ExxonMobil last month took the unusual action of asking a Texas federal judge whether a proposal from climate activists seeking to limit oil and gas sales could be excluded from its 2024 proxy statement, and the court should use this opportunity to reevaluate SEC policy and set clear limits on when shareholder proposals can be included, says Stephen Bainbridge at UCLA School of Law.

  • Mitigating The Risk Of Post-Closing M&A Earnout Disputes

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    Today's uncertain deal environment makes a well-crafted earnout an excellent way for parties to accomplish a desired transaction that would not otherwise occur, but transacting parties also need to take key steps to avoid the risk of post-closing disputes that earnouts can present, say Chad Barton and Claire Lydiard at Holland & Knight.

  • Understanding SEC's Focus Amid Lack Of Final AI Rules

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    Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rules to govern artificial intelligence are likely far from being finalized, understanding existing regulatory provisions that could address AI risks with respect to development, disclosure, compliance and data protection could help firms anticipate and avoid pitfalls, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Preparing For DOJ's Data Analytics Push In FCPA Cases

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    After the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent announcement that it will leverage data analytics in Foreign Corrupt Practice Act investigations and prosecutions, companies will need to develop a compliance strategy that likewise implements data analytics to get ahead of enforcement risks, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • How High Court SEC Case Could Affect The ITC

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy will likely spare the U.S. International Trade Commission from major operative changes, the ITC’s ability to issue penalties for violations of its orders may change, say Gwendolyn Tawresey and Ryan Deck at Troutman Pepper.

  • Open Questions After Elastos Crypto Class Action Settlement

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    The recent settlement in Owen v. Elastos Foundation resolving a class action fight over whether Elastos was required to register an initial coin offering with U.S. regulators has raised several questions that may be of interest to lawyers litigating cryptocurrency-related cases, including whether a crypto token constitutes a security under U.S. law, says Bradley Simon at Schlam Stone.

  • Del. Segway Dismissal Suggests Execs Not Liable For Biz Risk

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    While the debate continues within the Delaware Chancery Court over whether Caremark liability applies to matters of pure business risk, the court's recent rejection of Segway’s suit against the ex-president who oversaw financial difficulties suggests the court is uninterested in undermining the deference the business judgment rule grants corporate fiduciaries, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • $32.4M Fine For Info Disclosure Is A Stark Warning For Banks

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    The New York State Department of Financial Services and the Federal Reserve's fining of a Chinese state-owned bank $32.4 million last month underscores the need for financial institutions to have policies and procedures in place to handle confidential supervisory information, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Exxon ESG Proxy Statement Suit May Chill Investor Proposals

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    Exxon Mobil’s recent use of a Texas federal lawsuit to intimidate shareholders into withdrawing a climate-friendly proxy proposal could inspire more public companies to sue to avoid adopting ESG resolutions — a power move that would chill activist investor participation and unbalance shareholder-corporate relations, say Domenico Minerva and James Fee at Labaton Keller.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • Implications For Digital Assets After SEC Settlement With DAO

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's December settlement with BarnBridge — finding that the decentralized autonomous organization's products were securities under federal law — foreshadows increased enforcement attention on digital assets, and reveals arguments the SEC may use in similar disputes with decentralized finance protocols, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • Bitcoin ETF Approval Doesn't Mean SEC Approves Of Crypto

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    While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval last month of 11 applications for spot exchange-traded funds tracking bitcoin is a landmark moment for the crypto-asset industry, investors who are hopeful that the SEC will approve similar crypto-based ETFs may be disappointed, says attorneys at Mintz.

  • A Closer Look At Novel Jury Instruction In Forex Rigging Case

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    After the recent commodities fraud conviction of a U.K.-based hedge fund executive in U.S. v. Phillips, post-trial briefing has focused on whether the New York federal court’s jury instruction incorrectly defined the requisite level of intent, which should inform defense counsel in future open market manipulation cases, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

  • Reducing Carbon Footprint Requires A Tricky Path For CRE

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    As real estate owners find themselves caught between rapidly evolving environmental, social and governance initiatives and complicated societal debate, they will need to carefully establish formal plans to remain both competitive and compliant, say Michael Kuhn and Mahira Khan at Jackson Walker.

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