Securities

  • December 16, 2024

    Ginkgo Bioworks Investors Get Final OK Of $17.8M Settlement

    Investors in biotech company Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc. have gotten final approval for their $17.75 million deal to end proposed class action claims that the company and its leaders distorted Ginkgo's finances, mischaracterizing certain related party deals, to garner shareholder support for its merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

  • December 16, 2024

    Split SEC Will Require Certain Filings Be Made Electronically

    A split U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday adopted rule amendments that require certain filings be made electronically, with Chair Gary Gensler saying the changes will streamline the commission's filing process.

  • December 16, 2024

    Texas Bitcoin Mining Enterprise's Investors Accuse It Of Fraud

    Founders of a Texas-based bitcoin mining company are being accused of fraud by several investors in a new lawsuit claiming they attempted to conceal the sale of the company's operational facilities to a competitor, which led to the company's filing for bankruptcy earlier this year.

  • December 16, 2024

    'Plans Do Matter,' Tempur Sealy Says In Final Merger Hearing

    Tempur Sealy made its final push Monday in support of its $4 billion planned Mattress Firm purchase, telling a judge during closing arguments that the Federal Trade Commission hadn't shown that the company planned to deviate from its intent for Mattress Firm to remain autonomous. 

  • December 16, 2024

    Judge OKs Par Funding Receiver's Plan To Distribute $110M

    A Florida federal judge on Monday approved a distribution plan by the receiver for Par Funding and authorized the first distribution of more than $110 million that the receiver has collected for the investors who were defrauded in a Ponzi scheme that raised nearly a half-billion dollars.

  • December 16, 2024

    Chinese Fintech 9F Partially Beats Investors' IPO Suit

    A New Jersey federal judge has partially dismissed a securities fraud class action against 9F Inc. that accused the Chinese financial technology company of hiding its financial woes and not disclosing an "illegal arrangement" that investors said it had with an insurance carrier.

  • December 16, 2024

    Global Payments' $3.6M Investor Deal Gets Judge's Final OK

    Investors in Atlanta-based Global Payments Inc. have gotten final approval for a $3.6 million deal ending claims the company harmed shareholders by allegedly misleading consumers into signing up for a program with undisclosed fees.

  • December 16, 2024

    Becton Dickinson To Pay SEC $175M Over Pump Claims

    Becton Dickinson & Co. has agreed to pay $175 million to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's allegations that the medical device manufacturer misled investors about the risks of selling its Alaris infusion pump and overstated its income, the agency announced Monday.

  • December 16, 2024

    Anchorage Digital Awarded BitLicense From NY Regulator

    Anchorage Digital said Monday it has received a BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services, allowing the cryptocurrency platform to offer regulated crypto trading to New York-based clients and giving it the ability to custody and settle trades through chartered custodian Anchorage Digital Bank.

  • December 16, 2024

    SEC Says Colo. Nonprofit Flouting Probe Into Potential Fraud

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a Colorado federal judge to order a religious-themed financial literary organization to comply with a subpoena in the agency's investigation into possibly unregistered securities and crypto assets.

  • December 16, 2024

    SEC Wants Out Of PE Firm's 'Fishing Expedition' Suit

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a Texas federal judge to toss a suit brought by a real estate-focused private equity fund alleging the SEC subjected it to an unconstitutional "fishing expedition" outside its regulatory purview, arguing that sovereign immunity bars the firm's claims and that the court has no jurisdiction over the case.

  • December 16, 2024

    Investment Pro Denies $600M 'Cherry-Picking' Fraud Charges

    A California investment executive on Monday denied cheating a group of his firm's clients by assigning them poorer-performing trades, pleading not guilty before a Manhattan federal judge to what prosecutors call a $600 million criminal "cherry-picking" fraud.

  • December 16, 2024

    Ozy Media CEO Gets Almost 10 Years For Investor Fraud

    A New York federal judge on Monday sentenced former Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson to nearly 10 years in prison following his conviction at trial for lying to banks and investors to secure tens of millions of dollars in funding for the nascent multimedia company.

  • December 16, 2024

    Justices Won't Hear 3rd Circ. CFPB Student Loan Trust Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that it would leave in place a lower court decision allowing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to sue securitization trusts over their servicers' treatment of borrowers, declining to take up a challenge to the scope of the agency's enforcement authority.

  • December 13, 2024

    Coinbase Faces $1B Antitrust Suit Over Crypto Rival's Delisting

    Coinbase was hit with an antitrust in California federal court on Friday by BiT Global, a company that "wraps" bitcoin so the cryptocurrency can be traded on decentralized exchanges, claiming Coinbase delisted its product after creating a competing knockoff.

  • December 13, 2024

    Medical Device Co. Brass Hid SPAC's True Value, Suit Says

    The executives and directors of a healthcare holding company have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in Colorado federal court alleging the company hid the financial and regulatory risks it faced to inflate its value after merging with a blank check company.

  • December 13, 2024

    Canadian Gold Mining Co. Beats Investor Suit Over M&A Plans

    A New York federal judge on Friday granted a Canadian gold mining company a summary judgment win in a securities lawsuit accusing it of misleading investors about its corporate acquisition strategy, saying statements a California investor challenged didn't exclude the possibility of acquiring another company if the right opportunity arose.

  • December 13, 2024

    Advocacy Group Has Change Of Heart On SEC Reg Challenge

    An investor advocacy organization that sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its recently adopted "tick size" rule has said it will let others take the reins of the lawsuit because it is worried that the incoming administration will not propose the stronger stock market regulations it wants.

  • December 13, 2024

    Labaton Keller To Lead ZoomInfo Investor Class Action

    Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP and Byrnes Keller Cromwell LLP will represent a proposed class of investors in litigation alleging software and data company ZoomInfo hurt investors after making missteps in an effort to retain new pandemic-era customers and ultimately writing down $33 million because of improperly recognized revenue.

  • December 13, 2024

    SEC Sued In 9th Circ. To Move On Accredited Investor Petition

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is facing a Ninth Circuit lawsuit seeking to force it to address a proposal that would change the definition of "accredited investor" so that lower and middle-income Americans can invest in the private markets.

  • December 13, 2024

    Del. Chancellor Positions Musk Pay Fight For Likely Appeal

    Delaware's chancellor positioned for likely appeals late Friday final pieces of a landmark six-year battle over Tesla Inc.'s attempt to award CEO Elon Musk a more than $55 billion, 10-year pay package, in a trio of orders that also directed the company to pay in cash or post sufficient bond for a $345 million stockholder attorney fee.

  • December 13, 2024

    SEC's Corporation Finance Director Gerding To Step Down

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Friday that the head of its Division of Corporation Finance, who oversaw the finalization of controversial new rules covering environmental disclosures and share repurchases, will leave the agency at the end of the year.

  • December 13, 2024

    Pharma Co. Brass Face Investor Suit Over Drug Trial Probe

    Officers and directors of cancer treatment developer MacroGenics Inc. have been hit with a shareholder derivative action alleging they breached their fiduciary duties after the company announced three study participant deaths were being probed for a potential connection to the company's therapies.

  • December 13, 2024

    Insurer Argo Beats Investor Suit Over Reserve Estimate Risks

    A New York federal judge has dismissed a proposed investor class action against Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. and its executives, finding that the insurance firm adequately disclosed the risks and uncertainties in its reserve estimations and that a 2017 review of underwriting guidelines did not contradict its reserve management statements.

  • December 13, 2024

    $15M Deal To End Hemisphere Media Merger Suit OK'd In Del.

    Former public stockholders of Hemisphere Media Group Inc. secured a $15 million Delaware Court of Chancery settlement Friday for claims that former controlling investor Searchlight Capital Partners LP took the media business private in a two-step deal that undervalued the company's remaining shares.

Expert Analysis

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • Don't Phone A Friend: Disclosing Friendships With Executives

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement against a former Church & Dwight chairman for violating proxy disclosure rules by neglecting to disclose his friendship with an executive officer amid a CEO search illustrates the perils of relying solely on responses to questionnaires circulated to boards, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Why Diversity Jurisdiction Poses Investment Fund Hurdles

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    Federal courts' continued application of the exacting rules of diversity jurisdiction presents particular challenges for investment funds, and in the absence of any near-term reform, those who manage such funds should take action to avoid diversity jurisdiction pitfalls, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.

  • The Ups And Downs Of SEC's Now-Dissolved ESG Task Force

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Climate and ESG Enforcement Task Force, which was quietly disbanded sometime over the summer, was marked by three years of resistance from some stakeholders to ESG regulation, a mixed record in the courts and several successful enforcement actions, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Sound The Alarm About Lost Labor Rights

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    In the Fifth Circuit, recent rulings from judges appointed by former President Donald Trump have dismantled workers’ core labor rights, a troubling trend that we cannot risk extending under another Trump administration, say Sharon Block and Raj Nayak at the Center for Labor and a Just Economy.

  • SEC Fine Shows Risks Of Nonpublic Info In X, LinkedIn Posts

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced a settlement with DraftKings over charges arising from posting material nonpublic information on the CEO's social media accounts, highlighting that information posted to company websites and social media sites does not automatically qualify as "publicly disclosed" for purposes of Regulation FD, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • Anticipating Jarkesy's Effect On Bank Agency Enforcement

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, federal courts may eventually issue decisions on banking law principles and processes that could fundamentally alter the agencies' enforcement action framework, and the relationship between banks and examiners, says Brendan Clegg at Luse Gorman.

  • CFTC Anti-Fraud Blitz Is A Warning To Carbon Credit Sellers

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    With its recent enforcement actions against a carbon offset project developer and its senior executives for reporting false information about the energy savings of the company's projects, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is staking out its position as a primary regulator in the voluntary carbon credit market, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Unpacking State AG Approaches To Digital Asset Enforcement

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    Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor survey recent digital asset enforcement by attorneys general nationwide driven by concerns over regulatory gaps where technological developments and market changes have outpaced legislation.

  • 3 Takeaways From Navy Shipbuilder's Fraud Guilty Plea

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    Austal USA’s recent plea agreement over accounting fraud charges highlights for other companies the benefits of cooperating with government investigations, the challenges posed by senior executives’ involvement in misconduct, and the high stakes for defense contractors, say Michael DeBernardis and Shayda Vance at Hughes Hubbard.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

  • Peeling Back The Layers Of SEC's Equity Trading Reforms

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently adopted amendments lowering the tick sizes for stock trading and reducing access fee caps will benefit investors and necessitate broad systems changes — if they can first survive judicial challenges, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program

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    During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.

  • Bristol-Myers Win Offers Lessons For Debt Security Holders

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    A New York federal judge's recent dismissal of a $6.4 billion lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb, due to plaintiff UMB Bank's lack of standing, serves as an important reminder to debt security holders to obtain depositary proxies before pursuing litigation, say attorneys at Milbank.

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