Securities

  • October 18, 2024

    JPMorgan Says Trial 'Needless' After Couple Loses $20M Suit

    JPMorgan Chase Bank NA told a Massachusetts federal judge Thursday there is no need for a two-week trial on the bank's counterclaims after it scored a pretrial win in a suit brought by an elderly couple who said bad investments cost them $20 million.

  • October 17, 2024

    SEC Fines Broker-Dealer PHX, Sues Rep Over Reg BI Claims

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has fined broker-dealer PHX Financial Inc. and sued one of its registered representatives over claims that the representative improperly advised a handful of retail clients to engage in a trading strategy that caused them massive losses but generated significant fees and commissions for the firm and the representative.

  • October 17, 2024

    Trump Media Investors Get Prison For Insider Trading

    A New York federal judge on Thursday sentenced a Florida venture capitalist to over two years in prison for insider trading on confidential plans to take the media company behind former President Donald Trump's Truth Social network public, a scheme that netted the investor and his brother nearly $23 million.

  • October 17, 2024

    Acadia Hid Wrongful Detainment Of Patients, Investor Claims

    Behavioral healthcare provider Acadia Healthcare was hit with a proposed securities class action in Tennessee federal court alleging that investors were damaged after The New York Times published an investigative report saying the company detained patients in its psychiatric facilities for financial gain rather than out of medical necessity.

  • October 17, 2024

    Stockholders Sue Tech Co. Controllers Over Equity Shuffle

    Stockholders of materials science venture Footprint International have sued the company, several current and former board members and its controlling shareholders in Delaware Chancery Court, seeking damages for allegedly conflicted refinancing moves that stripped regular shareholders of their interests and rights.

  • October 17, 2024

    CFTC Says Court 'Erred At Every Turn' In Election Betting Suit

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission told the D.C. Circuit that the district court "erred at every turn" when it allowed trading platform KalshiEx LLC to offer event contracts based on the outcome of U.S. elections.

  • October 17, 2024

    DOL, Red States Spar Over Loper Bright Impact On ESG Rule

    Conservative-led states suing the U.S. Department of Labor have told a Texas federal court that the end of the Chevron doctrine boosts their bid to end a rule allowing retirement plan advisers to consider environmental, social and governance factors in investment choices, while the DOL argued that it deserves another summary judgment win.

  • October 17, 2024

    Rocket Investors Eye New Cert. Bid After Post-Goldman Denial

    A pension fund has asked a Michigan federal judge for another chance at class certification in a suit alleging Rocket Cos. hid its knowledge of a drop in its mortgage business, saying the new class would be "substantially narrowed" after certification was previously denied in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

  • October 17, 2024

    Feds Arrest Man In SEC X Account Hack Touting Bitcoin ETF

    An Alabama man was arrested Thursday on federal charges tied to the January hack of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's X account, which caused bitcoin prices to spike after a phony post falsely touted that the agency had approved bitcoin exchange-traded products, federal authorities said.

  • October 17, 2024

    Zoox Investors Battle Amazon Sale Suit Toss In Chancery

    An attorney for self-driving robotaxi venture Zoox Inc., its directors and Amazon.com told Delaware's chancellor on Thursday that insolvency was days away when Zoox agreed to a $1.3 billion acquisition by Amazon.com in June 2020, despite conflicting claims from stockholders who challenged the deal.

  • October 17, 2024

    Meta Judge Doubts Investor Suit Over Efforts To Protect Kids

    A California federal judge appeared skeptical Thursday of keeping alive an investor's lawsuit claiming Meta Platforms Inc.'s annual proxy statement misled investors about the social media giant's efforts to protect children from sexual predators, telling the investor his economic loss arguments are circular and doubting whether Meta's statements are actionable.

  • October 17, 2024

    Amgen Faces Derivative Suit In Del. Over Tax Disclosures

    An Amgen Inc. stockholder has sued the company in Delaware's Court of Chancery seeking derivative recoveries for the multinational biopharmaceutical company from its directors and officers based on allegedly false and misleading statements regarding $10.7 billion in federal tax bills and penalties.

  • October 17, 2024

    FTC Admits Federal Court Merger Fights Are Usually Decisive

    Federal Trade Commission complaint counsel has admitted a reality that the agency has long resisted: While federal court preliminary injunction fights are ostensibly meant only to pause a merger while a merits case plays out through an in-house court, the federal court case usually decides the transaction's fate.

  • October 17, 2024

    FTX Insider Cites 'Limited' Fraud Role In Bid To Avoid Prison

    The former head of engineering at FTX asked a Manhattan federal judge to spare him prison time in light of his cooperation with prosecutors and what he said was a relatively "limited" role in the crypto exchange's billion-dollar fraud.

  • October 16, 2024

    TD Bank's $3B AML Deal Sparks Scrutiny Of Its Oversight

    The long-standing, widespread compliance failures at the root of TD Bank's blockbuster $3 billion U.S. anti-money laundering settlement last week have stunned experts and brought tough punishment for the Canadian bank — but they're also raising questions about why regulators didn't act sooner.

  • October 16, 2024

    NY's Financial Regulator Releases AI Cybersecurity Guidance

    New York's Department of Financial Services issued new guidance Wednesday intended to give state-regulated financial institutions an outline for protecting against cybersecurity risks posed by artificial intelligence.

  • October 16, 2024

    Chinese AI Co. Hit With Investor Suit Over Nasdaq Compliance

    China-based artificial intelligence company Xiao-I Corp. was hit with a proposed investor class action in New York federal court alleging it downplayed increasing research and development costs that it was incurring, increasing the likelihood that it would fail to comply with the Nasdaq Stock Market's minimum price requirement after going public.

  • October 16, 2024

    Gatos Silver Investor Deal Gets Final OK, Attys Score $6M Fee

    Attorneys from Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP, Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLP and The Schall Law Firm will receive over $6 million after representing investors in a settlement with precious metals company Gatos Silver Inc. over claims the company knowingly overstated expectations about the resources and reserves in its mine in Mexico.

  • October 16, 2024

    ConocoPhillips Targets Hedge Fund Over Del. Citgo Sale

    ConocoPhillips has initiated a new lawsuit in Delaware in an attempt to preserve the value of Citgo's indirect parent company, PDV Holding Inc., for an upcoming auction aimed at satisfying Venezuelan debt, as Connecticut hedge fund Gramercy allegedly threatens to undermine the long-awaited Citgo sales process.

  • October 16, 2024

    3rd Par Funding Exec Admits To Racketeering In $100M Scam

    The last member of the triumvirate behind Par Funding, a cash advance company that federal prosecutors say bilked investors out of $100 million, pleaded guilty to racketeering in Pennsylvania federal court Wednesday, just weeks before he was scheduled to stand trial.

  • October 16, 2024

    Atty Pressed On DMI Stock Drop Focus In Del. Merger Suit

    A Delaware vice chancellor repeatedly pressed an attorney for shareholders of 3D printer manufacturer The ExOne Co. Wednesday on the relative importance of a stock drop experienced by acquirer Desktop Metal Inc. before and after shareholders voted on a $575 million merger.

  • October 16, 2024

    Banks Ditch Exchange's Boycott Conspiracy Suit At 2nd Circ.

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday rejected a small trading exchange's effort to revive its claims that several major banks conspired to shut it out of the credit default swap market, saying the exchange failed to plausibly allege that the banks' conduct was the result of an unlawful agreement or conspiracy.

  • October 16, 2024

    Hawaii Utility Beats Investor Suit Over Wildfire, For Now

    A California judge on Tuesday dismissed a shareholder suit filed against Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. in the wake of a deadly fire on Maui in 2023, but will allow plaintiffs to amend their claims that the company failed to warn investors about its inadequate risk mitigation program.

  • October 16, 2024

    Pharma Co. Contractor Settles SEC Insider Trading Claim

    An information technology consultant for a Massachusetts biopharmaceutical company will pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over $28,000 to resolve claims he immediately dumped shares of his client when he got wind of its yet-to-be announced plans for major layoffs.

  • October 16, 2024

    Ex-Pharma Co. Employee Traded On GSK Deal Info, SEC Says

    The former director of analytical development at Canada-based drug company Bellus Health Inc. has agreed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over $120,000 to settle claims that he sold shares on nonpublic information about pharma giant GSK's impending takeover of his company, according to court filings.

Expert Analysis

  • 'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG

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    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.

  • 7 Takeaways For Investment Advisers From FinCEN AML Rule

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    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.

  • Del. Dispatch: Drafting Lessons For Earnout Provisions

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    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.

  • What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs

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    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.

  • Missouri Injunction A Setback For State Anti-ESG Rules

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    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.

  • New Lessons On Managing Earnout Provision Risks

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    Earnout provisions can be a useful tool for bridging valuation gaps in M&A, particularly in developmental-stage pharmaceutical transactions, but the Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision in Shareholder Representative Services v. Alexion sheds new light on the inherent risks and best practices for managing them, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls

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    Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Companies Are Approaching Insider Trading Policies

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    An analysis of insider trading policies recently disclosed by 49 S&P 500 companies under a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule reveals that while specific provisions vary from company to company, certain common themes are emerging, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Increased IPOs In '24 Shows Importance Of Strategic Planning

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    Initial public offerings, debt issuances and M&A activity so far in 2024 have shown substantial increases over comparable periods in 2023, highlighting why counsel should educate clients on market trends and financing alternatives to proactively prepare them to be ready to take advantage of opportunities, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

  • Navigating New Enforcement Scrutiny Of 'AI Washing'

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuit against Joonko Diversity, its first public AI-focused enforcement action against a private company, underscores the importance of applying the same internal legal and compliance rigor to AI-related claims as other market-facing statements, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • How Fund Advisers Can Limit Election Year Pay-To-Play Risks

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    With Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz now the Democratic candidate for vice president, politically active investment advisers should take practical steps to avoid triggering strict pay-to-play rules that can lead to fund managers facing mutli-year timeouts from working with public funds after contributing to sitting officials, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • 'Pig Butchering': The Scam That Exploits Crypto Confusion

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    Certain red flags can tip off banks to possible "pig-butchering," and with the scam's increasing popularity, financial institutions need to take action to monitor entry points into the crypto space, detect suspicious activity and provide a necessary backstop to protect customers, say Brandon Essig and Mary Parrish McCracken at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Opinion

    Agencies Should Reward Corporate Cyber Victim Cooperation

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    The increased regulatory scrutiny on corporate victims of cyberattacks — exemplified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against SolarWinds — should be replaced with a new model that provides adequate incentives for companies to come forward proactively and collaborate with law enforcement, say attorneys at McDermott.

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