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Securities
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December 05, 2024
Software Co. Five9 Sued After Surprise Guidance Slash
Cloud-based customer contact center Five9 Inc. and two of its executives face claims they misrepresented that the company was on track for healthy revenue growth, only to hurt investors by reversing course nine weeks later when they slashed Five9's financial guidance for the year.
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December 05, 2024
Investors Sue Pegasystems In Corporate Espionage Case
Business software developer Pegasystems Inc. has been hit with allegations that it misled an asset management firm by concealing its use of illegal and unethical tactics to misappropriate competitor Appian Corp.'s trade secrets, which led to a since-overturned $2 billion Virginia state court judgment for unjust enrichment.
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December 05, 2024
SolarEdge's CEO, CFO Can't Escape Securities Lawsuit
A New York federal judge ruled Wednesday that a proposed securities class action accusing SolarEdge Technologies Inc. of misrepresenting the demand for its solar energy products in Europe will go on against two of the company's top executives, saying investors adequately pled the executives knowingly misrepresented distributors' inventory levels.
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December 05, 2024
SEC Says Binance's Platform Is 'Integral' To Securities Claims
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Washington, D.C., federal judge that crypto exchange Binance can't escape amended claims that it failed to register with the securities regulator because the platform is "integral" to crypto issuers' alleged promises to increase the value of their tokens.
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December 05, 2024
DOL Says Court Erred In Tossing ESOP Claims Against Exec
A medical equipment industry executive should continue facing claims that he ripped off workers by selling overpriced stock to his company's employee stock ownership plan, the U.S. Department of Labor told an Idaho federal judge Thursday, asking him to rethink letting the executive escape the allegations.
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December 05, 2024
Gov't Efficiency Push Is A 'New Day,' House Speaker Says
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke excitedly Thursday about the new government efficiency operation helmed by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and touted the budding bipartisan lineup of a congressional caucus that will work with it.
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December 06, 2024
FINRA Fines Firm $900K Over SPAC Underwriting Fee Issues
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined New York-based LifeSci Capital LLC nearly $1 million over claims that it received and failed to disclose unfair and unreasonable fees for an initial public offering it underwrote.
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December 05, 2024
Abbott Accused Of 'Last-Ditch Effort' To Halt Formula Suit
Investors accusing Abbott Laboratories leaders of concealing known safety issues related to recalled infant formula urged an Illinois federal judge to reject the company's bid to stay the case because it belatedly formed a special litigation committee to investigate the allegations two years into the litigation.
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December 05, 2024
Sports Collectibles Exec Gets 51 Months For Investment Fraud
The owner of a Las Vegas sports memorabilia company was sentenced to four years and three months in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to lying to investors as part of a fraud scheme that prosecutors said funded a lavish lifestyle.
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December 05, 2024
FTX Clawback Deal With Ex-Alameda Co-CEO Gets Court Nod
A Delaware bankruptcy judge has approved a deal to settle clawback claims by FTX against former Alameda Research Ltd. executive John Samuel Trabucco, who agreed to hand over two San Francisco apartments purchased in 2021 for $8.7 million and a 53-foot yacht bought in 2022 for $2.5 million.
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December 05, 2024
McKinsey Unit To Pay $123M Over South Africa Bribe Scheme
The African unit of consulting giant McKinsey & Co. will pay about $123 million to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into an alleged scheme to bribe South African government officials for contracts with state-owned companies.
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December 04, 2024
Target Can't Escape Investors' Pride Month Merch Suit
Target Corp. cannot escape claims alleging customer backlash over its 2023 LGBTQ-focused marketing campaign caused the retail giant's sales and stock price to decline, a Florida federal judge ruled Wednesday, finding that the investors have plausibly pled Target made misleading warnings about the risk of customer boycotts.
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December 04, 2024
Rep. Hill Vows To Tackle Crypto 'De-Banking' In Next Congress
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle plan to investigate alleged government efforts to cut off cryptocurrency businesses from the traditional banking system, Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., said Wednesday during a House Financial Services Committee hearing that also saw its retiring chair feted with a celebration of bow ties.
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December 04, 2024
'Side Deal' Unlikely To Ax Fees In $10M Morgan Stanley Deal
A California federal judge said Wednesday he isn't inclined to strip counsel who negotiated Morgan Stanley's $10 million deal with its financial advisers of their fees over an abandoned "side deal" between the company and the lead plaintiff, saying it should have been disclosed but didn't impact the deal's fairness.
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December 04, 2024
SEC Scores $13M Default Judgment In Data Co. Insider Action
China-based cloud analytics company Gridsum Inc. and its CEO have been ordered to give the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $13 million after failing to respond to the regulator's claims that they funneled investor money out of the company to the relatives of executives.
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December 04, 2024
GAO Finds Limited Oversight, Data On Crypto In 401(k)s
Though crypto assets make up a small part of the 401(k) market, their limited federal oversight might leave workers responsible for monitoring the volatile investment options, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
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December 04, 2024
Mich. Justices Doubt Shareholder Agreement Bars Debt
A chorus of Michigan Supreme Court justices on Wednesday appeared skeptical that a sister could claim her brother's ski resort company breached an agreement for shareholder redemption by taking out debt that altered her share redemption price, pressing her attorney as to how the contract prevented the company from doing so.
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December 04, 2024
PCAOB Boots Audit Firm, Partners Over Altered Documents
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has imposed $465,000 in total fines against Raines & Fischer LLP and three of its partners, permanently revoking the firm's registration and barring the partners after they allegedly altered audit documents prior to an inspection of the firm.
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December 04, 2024
CFTC Hits $17.1B Enforcement Record With FTX-Linked Deals
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission secured a record annual enforcement haul of more than $17.1 billion in fiscal year 2024, including a historic $12.7 billion judgment against failed crypto exchange FTX and its affiliated trading firm Alameda Research, the agency announced Wednesday.
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December 04, 2024
5th Circ. Probes $8M Payout For Allegedly Undelivered Services
An investment company on Wednesday found itself before the Fifth Circuit having to justify paying $7.7 million for allegedly undelivered services from an affiliate, as it appeals a $2.6 million bill it got hit with for prematurely ending a contract.
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December 04, 2024
Starbucks Brass Face Derivative Suit Over 'Reinvention' Flop
Officers and directors of coffee chain Starbucks are facing shareholder derivative claims over the company's so-called Triple Shot Reinvention strategy after the company disappointed the markets in April with updates about the plan.
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December 04, 2024
Developer, Michigan Differ On State, Federal Securities Tests
A Michigan Supreme Court justice on Wednesday pressed the state's securities administrator and a developer over how Michigan businesses and residents could be affected if the high court were to decide that a state law test rather than a federal one should be used to determine if a promissory note is a security.
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December 04, 2024
Uber Investors' Attys Awarded $58M In $200M IPO Suit Deal
A California federal judge granted final approval Wednesday to Uber's $200 million deal settling class claims from investors accusing it of making false and misleading statements ahead of its initial public offering, and also awarded $58 million for attorney fees that he called quite "substantial" but "warranted."
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December 04, 2024
SEC Taps New Co-Leaders For Crypto Enforcement Unit
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has promoted the assistant director of its crypto and cyber enforcement unit and a counsel to an outgoing Democratic commissioner to co-lead the regulator's crypto enforcement efforts ahead of a coming administration shake-up that could change the agency's approach to the digital asset industry.
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December 04, 2024
Wells Fargo Wants Suits Over $300M Scheme Tossed
Wells Fargo Bank NA urged a Florida federal judge on Wednesday to toss both a proposed class action and a receiver's lawsuit claiming the bank aided and abetted a $300 million Ponzi scheme that duped more than 1,000 investors, arguing that neither pleading sufficiently shows that Wells Fargo knew about the fraud.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.
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SEC Settlement Holds Important Pay-To-Play Lessons
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent fine of an investment adviser, whose new hire made a campaign contribution within a crucial lookback period, is a seasonable reminder for public fund managers to ensure their processes thoroughly screen all associates for even minor violations of the SEC’s strict pay-to-play rule, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners
Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.
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Opinion
FERC Penalty Adjudication Unconstitutional Under Jarkesy
The U.S. Supreme Court's holding in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy that the SEC's use of in-house proceedings to adjudicate civil penalties is unconstitutional should equally apply to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's statutory penalty assessment schemes, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics
Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.
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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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What The SEC Liquidity Risk Management Amendments Entail
Fund managers should be cognizant of the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission's recent changes to certain reporting requirements and guidance related to open-end fund liquidity risk management programs, and update their filing systems if need be, says Rachael Schwartz at Sullivan & Worcester.
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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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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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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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7 Takeaways For Investment Advisers From FinCEN AML Rule
With a new FinCEN rule that will require covered investment advisers to implement anti-money laundering programs and comply with extra recordkeeping requirements by 2026, companies should begin planning necessary updates to their policies and procedures by focusing on seven of the rule’s key requirements, identified by attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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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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What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs
An unexpected settlement in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund, based on specific details of an Atlanta venture capital fund's challenged minority grant program, leaves the legal landscape wide open for organizations with similar programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion to chart a path forward, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.
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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.