Securities

  • February 05, 2025

    Catholic Investors Bring Smith & Wesson Suit To Fed. Court

    A group of Catholic sisters has refiled in federal court their suit accusing Smith & Wesson's directors and senior executives of placing their own "greed" and "political concerns" above the interests of the company and its stockholders by ignoring the liabilities of marketing AR-15 rifles that are used to perpetrate mass shootings.

  • February 05, 2025

    Schwab To Add Oversight To End TD Ameritrade Buy Suit

    The Charles Schwab Corp. has agreed to implement an antitrust compliance program designed by an independent consultant in order to settle claims from a proposed class of retail investors who alleged they were forced to pay increased transaction costs for trades following the Schwab-TD Ameritrade merger in 2020.

  • February 05, 2025

    EmpiresX Crypto Platform Operators Ordered To Pay $129M

    A Florida federal court has entered a default judgment against two Brazilian co-founders and the head trader of the EmpiresX trading platform, ordering them to pay more than $129 million for allegedly taking investor funds in a fraudulent commodity pool scheme and lying that their money wasn't used to trade cryptocurrencies.

  • February 05, 2025

    Wachtell, Skadden Guide Becton's Bid To Sell Diagnostics Biz

    Becton Dickinson and Co. has agreed to divest its biosciences and diagnostics unit in order to focus more resources on medical technology and maximize shareholder value, the company said on Wednesday.

  • February 05, 2025

    Judge Won't Pause Crowdfunding Case After Fraud Indictment

    A target of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's first crowdfunding enforcement action can't pause that three-year-old case to defend himself against unrelated charges that he ran a pump-and-dump scheme with a hallucinogenic mushroom company, a Michigan judge ruled Wednesday.

  • February 05, 2025

    Monolithic's Investors Say Co. Botched Nvidia Orders

    Power management component manufacturer Monolithic Power Systems Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging it hid critical defects in power modules used by its largest customer, Nvidia Corp., that led the artificial intelligence chipmaker to cancel orders, harming Monolithic's revenue.

  • February 05, 2025

    Crypto Expert Witness Ruling Flouts Precedent, Justices Told

    The founder of cryptocurrency service Tornado Cash has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to undo what he called an "unprecedented" order from a Manhattan federal judge to disclose whom he might call as an expert witness at his upcoming money laundering and sanctions-dodging trial.

  • February 05, 2025

    Judge Found 'Vertical' Mattress Deal Won't Hurt Competition

    U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge rejected the Federal Trade Commission's bid to pause Tempur Sealy's planned $5 billion purchase of Mattress Firm after finding a merger of the mattress supplier and retail chain would likely increase competition, if it has any impact at all.

  • February 05, 2025

    NJ Fraud Defendant Loses Bid To Toss 'Vindictive' Charges

    A New Jersey federal judge has rejected a bid by convicted fraudster Eliyahu Weinstein — who was later pardoned, and then charged again — to toss seven counts of a 17-count indictment on money laundering and other charges, reasoning that he and a co-defendant didn't show the new counts amounted to vindictive prosecution.

  • February 05, 2025

    Del. Justices Undo Insurance Cap Ruling In Alexion Suit

    Delaware's top court has reversed a Superior Court ruling that upheld Alexion Pharmaceuticals' claim to coverage under a $105 million "tower" of insurance for potential stockholder claims in a suit accusing the company of propping up share prices with misleading information.

  • February 05, 2025

    CVS Beats 2nd Investor Suit Over Omnicare Deal

    A Rhode Island federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a second investor suit against CVS over its Omnicare acquisition in light of a 2022 First Circuit decision in a similar suit, saying the current action should be tossed because it suffers the same pleading fatalities as the case that went before the appeals court.

  • February 05, 2025

    Chancery Tosses Challenge To $1.1B Smart & Final Sale

    Writing that nothing in a "grab bag" of stockholder claims amounted to disclosure failures, Delaware's chancellor dismissed a suit challenging the $1.1 billion April 2019 sale of Smart & Final Stores Inc. — formerly controlled by funds of Ares Management Corp. — to interests of Apollo Global Management.

  • February 05, 2025

    SEC Moves Under Trump Risk 'Chilling' Staff, Grewal Says

    The reported scaling-back of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's crypto enforcement unit by the new Republican SEC majority could make staff at the agency more fearful of doing their jobs and put investors in jeopardy, former SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal said Wednesday.

  • February 05, 2025

    Latham Adds Ex-SEC Pro, GC To NY Roster

    The former acting director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement arm and a private capital specialist with in-house and private practice experience have come aboard Latham & Watkins LLP, the firm announced Wednesday, marking the latest in a flurry of lateral hires entering Latham's New York office since fall 2024.

  • February 05, 2025

    Paxos' Top Atty Takes CLO Spot At Crypto Co. Kraken

    Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has tapped the general counsel at crypto trust company Paxos to serve as its new chief legal officer.

  • February 04, 2025

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    February is off to a rip-roaring start in several circuits, and there's plenty more action ahead, including a moment of truth for judiciary policymaking that has managed to anger both the defense and plaintiffs bars. We'll explore all that in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing, which also includes an appellate quiz pegged to recent presidential news.

  • February 04, 2025

    Del. Judge Tells Fuel Cell Co. Investors To Filter Imprecise Suit

    A Delaware federal judge on Tuesday ruled that investors of hydrogen fuel cell company Plug Power Inc. must submit more particular details to support their allegation that shareholders were damaged by the company's failure to disclose production challenges, saying it is not the court's responsibility to filter out evidence.

  • February 04, 2025

    FINRA Fines Broker $3.2M Over Securities Lending Biz

    Broker-dealer Apex Clearing Corp. has agreed to pay the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority $3.2 million to end first-of-its-kind claims that the firm failed to abide by customer protection rules with its fully paid securities lending program, including by misrepresenting how it would compensate participants, leaving certain customers vulnerable to potential tax consequences.

  • February 04, 2025

    Calif. Partly Beats Challenge To Climate Disclosure Laws

    A California federal judge has trimmed a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups over the state's corporate climate disclosure rules, finding the groups failed to state a claim with respect to two causes of action.

  • February 04, 2025

    Wells Fargo Clears 2 More Consent Orders Amid Rehab Efforts

    The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that Wells Fargo & Co. has exited a pair of mortgage-related consent orders from more than a decade ago, another step forward in the banking giant's regulatory rehabilitation efforts.

  • February 04, 2025

    Sen. Banking Chair Sets 100-Day Dash For Crypto Legislation

    Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Tuesday that he intends to pass crypto legislation out of his chamber in the first 100 days of the new administration with the help of a working group composed of committee chairs in both chambers of Congress.

  • February 04, 2025

    Judge Explains Biogen Class Cert. Ruling After 1st Circ. Order

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday said he was reminded of a grade school lesson in long division as he explained his reasoning behind granting class certification and cutting short the class period in a suit against drugmaker Biogen Inc. on the orders of the First Circuit.

  • February 04, 2025

    Del. Justices Nix Fairness Ruling In TripAdvisor Nevada Move

    Citing in part aversion to "speculative litigation," Delaware's Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a ruling that kept in play potential stockholder damage claims in connection with the proposed reincorporation in Nevada of TripAdvisor and its parent, finding that business judgment deference should govern the court challenge.

  • February 04, 2025

    SEC Could Greenlight Crypto Trading Under New Task Force

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new crypto task force could bless the trading of certain tokens on nonregulated exchanges as the industry awaits agency rulemaking or legislation setting out the new rules of the road for crypto, the task force's leader said Tuesday in a statement laying out her agenda.

  • February 04, 2025

    AI Clean Energy Co. SPAC Suit Should Be Zapped, Judge Says

    A federal magistrate judge has recommended dismissing, without prejudice, a derivative shareholder suit accusing the top brass of Stem Inc., an artificial intelligence-driven clean energy company, of making misleading statements leading up to a conflicted merger with a special purpose acquisition company, saying no one should have to "connect the dots" to figure out what is specifically being alleged against them. 

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

    Author Photo

    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • For Accounting Integrity, Start With The Rank-And-File

    Author Photo

    Macy's acknowledgment of an employee's accounting mistake underscores a valuable lesson for company leaders in fostering compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act by cultivating a culture committed to strong accounting integrity and robust oversight, say Keerthika Subramanian and Jon Mantis at Winston & Strawn.

  • Managing Litigation Side-Switching During 2nd Trump Admin

    Author Photo

    Now that the new presidential administration is in place, the government will likely switch positions in a number of pending cases, and stakeholders should employ strategies to protect their interests, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Chancery May Have Raised Bar For Books, Records Requests

    Author Photo

    The Delaware Court of Chancery recently approved the denial of a books and records demand against Amazon, raising important questions about what evidence and purpose a stockholder is required to show to succeed on such a request, say attorneys at Selendy Gay.

  • The Blueprint For A National Bitcoin Reserve

    Author Photo

    The new administration has the opportunity to pave the way for a U.S.-backed crypto reserve, which could conceptually function as a strategic asset akin to traditional reserves like gold markets, hedge against economic instability, and influence global crypto adoption, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

    Author Photo

    Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.

  • Takeaways From SEC's Registered Investment Cos. Risk Alert

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Examinations' recent risk alert pertaining to registered investment companies provides a high-level overview of its risk-based approach to selecting RICs for examination — a potential hint that the division is investigating some of the covered topics, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

    Author Photo

    All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Small Biz Caught In Corporate Transparency Act Crossfire

    Author Photo

    Despite compliance being put on hold due to a nationwide preliminary injunction, small businesses have been caught in the middle of the legal battle over the Corporate Transparency Act — and confusion over the law's requirements could result in major penalties, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • 5 Notable Information Security Events In 2024

    Author Photo

    B. Stephanie Siegmann at Hinckley Allen discusses 2024's largest and most destructive data breaches seen yet, ranging from ransomware disrupting U.S. healthcare systems on a massive scale, to tensions increasing between the U.S. and China over cyberespionage and the control of U.S. data.

  • Series

    Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.

  • What Broker-Dealers Must Know Before Selling Bitcoin ETPs

    Author Photo

    Interest in bitcoin exchange-traded products is already high, and only expected to grow in light of the incoming Trump administration's pro-crypto stance, but broker-dealers must still consider numerous regulatory requirements before recommending a bitcoin ETP to a client, say Frank Weigand and Justine Woods at Cahill Gordon.

  • Series

    Texas Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

    Author Photo

    The fourth quarter of 2024 brought noteworthy developments to the Texas financial services sector, particularly a new state artificial intelligence bill and a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that will affect an outsize number of Texas community banks, says Tyler George at Naman Howell.

  • Cyber Disclosure Is A Mainstay In 2025 SEC Exam Priorities

    Author Photo

    Despite a new administration and a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair incoming, the SEC's 2025 examination priorities signal that cybersecurity disclosures and risk management practices will remain important due to the growing threat of cyberattacks, says Anjali Das at Wilson Elser.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Securities archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!