Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Corporate
-
April 30, 2024
Blank Rome Opens Boston Office With New 25-Atty Team
Blank Rome LLP said Wednesday that it has opened a Boston office with 25 corporate and finance attorneys from Burns & Levinson LLP, including 13 partners.
-
April 30, 2024
2nd Circ. Revives Commerzbank RMBS Suit Against US Bank
The Second Circuit on Tuesday revived part of a nearly decade-old Commerzbank AG lawsuit brought against U.S. Bank NA over its role as a trustee on a slew of pre-2008 crisis RMBS trusts, sending some of the German bank's previously dismissed claims back to district court for a "closer inspection."
-
April 30, 2024
Ex-Autonomy VP Says CEO Lynch Told Him To Lie To Investors
A former Autonomy business development executive testified Tuesday that CEO Mike Lynch directed him to lie to a hedge fund investor about prepaid royalty deals that boosted the company's upfront revenue numbers, saying at Lynch's criminal fraud trial that it was hard to say no to the "big boss."
-
April 30, 2024
Chiquita Capitalized On Colombian War, Victims' Families Say
Attorneys representing the families of 10 men killed during Colombia's civil war told a Florida federal jury Tuesday that the Chiquita banana company is liable for their deaths, saying it knowingly funded a right-wing narcoterrorist group that committed atrocities against its workers as the fruit corporation expanded its business.
-
April 30, 2024
Chancery Tosses Meta Activist Investor Suit Over Social Ills
A Delaware vice chancellor tossed a Meta activist investor's suit seeking to prioritize wider social impact over company profits, saying Delaware's single-firm corporate model assumes directors owe fiduciary duties to their company's stockholders, and there's no case law articulating that because it's "so basic," just as "fish don't talk about water."
-
April 30, 2024
Final Biden Enviro Review Regs Puts Onus On Agencies
The Biden administration on Tuesday finalized its second round of revisions to regulations governing federal agencies' environmental reviews, but how agencies weave the new guidelines into their project permitting processes will be where the regulatory rubber hits the road, experts say.
-
April 30, 2024
Atty Tells Trump Jury That Hush Money Deal Almost Tanked
An attorney who previously represented adult film star Stormy Daniels told jurors Tuesday in the New York criminal trial of Donald Trump about how the $130,000 hush money agreement at the heart of the case was nearly derailed after former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen would not close the deal.
-
April 30, 2024
Where VLSI-Intel's High-Stakes Patent Battle Stands Now
Intel has managed to turn the tide on litigation where it had faced the daunting possibility of owing VLSI Technology more than $3 billion for infringing microchip patents, with the tech company winning patent invalidations and a large verdict do-over. Here's a look at where the multifaceted litigation between the companies stands.
-
April 30, 2024
Microsoft Says Ex-Worker Made 'Trojan Horse' Patent Claims
Microsoft accused an ex-employee of staging a "Trojan horse" in a breach of contract case to get patent damages otherwise not allowed in state court, urging a Washington federal judge to keep control of the case over Xbox console patents.
-
April 30, 2024
7th Circ. Backs Costco's Win In Gas Price-Matching Feud
The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld Costco's victory against a dozen Wisconsin gas stations that claimed the warehouse giant sold regular unleaded fuel below a statutory minimum markup price that allegedly caused a decline in revenue, finding no evidence showing that Costco's pricing practices caused the stations a single lost sale.
-
April 30, 2024
3rd Circ. Preview: Kavanaugh Classmate Takes On HuffPost
The Third Circuit's May lineup will find the court weighing HuffPost's battle with an allegedly libeled former classmate of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and claims by consumers alleging they bought defective Bayer antifungal medicine.
-
April 30, 2024
Vice Media Gets OK For Ch. 11 Liquidation Plan
A New York bankruptcy judge said at a hearing Tuesday he would confirm Vice Media's Chapter 11 liquidation plan, following a $350 million sale last year.
-
April 30, 2024
Monthly Merger Review Snapshot
The U.S. Department of Justice pressured the abandonment of a nearly $1 billion insulation deal while the Federal Trade Commission challenged, scrutinized, and battled, deals in the private equity, fashion, grocery, energy and healthcare spaces. Here are some of the major merger review developments from April.
-
April 30, 2024
Ex-Enforcers Back CoStar At 9th Circ. Against Antitrust Claims
Several former antitrust enforcers told the Ninth Circuit that a lower court was right to toss a rival's claims that CoStar monopolizes commercial real estate information markets despite concerns from the Federal Trade Commission about the allegations.
-
April 30, 2024
UK Fund Cites Jacobs' Qatar Oversight Failings In Del. Suit
A UK pension fund investor in the U.S.-based business that oversaw construction of 2022 World Cup soccer facilities in Qatar has sued the company's directors in Delaware's Court of Chancery, seeking recovery of damages arising from director failures to monitor human rights violations reported by workers.
-
April 30, 2024
Chancery Partially Vacates Trump Media Suit Fast-Track Order
A Delaware vice chancellor pulled the plug Tuesday on a bid to fast-track part of a suit brought by two co-founders of Trump Media & Technology Group against former President Donald Trump's Truth Social media company before it went public.
-
April 30, 2024
$626M Fee Award In BCBS Deal Is Unjust, High Court Told
A member of the class that settled multidistrict litigation with Blue Cross Blue Shield for $2.67 billion over anti-competitive practices has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his challenge to the $626 million attorney fees award in the settlement, arguing the Eleventh Circuit's approval of the award runs counter to high court precedent.
-
April 30, 2024
FTC To Help FCC Enforce 'Net Neutrality' Rules
The Federal Communications Commission has called on a sister agency, the Federal Trade Commission, to cooperate on enforcing the FCC's restored "net neutrality" rules to require the free flow of network traffic.
-
April 30, 2024
Kroger, Albertsons Say FTC Distorts Markets In Merger Case
Kroger and Albertsons told an Oregon federal court to reject a pending merger challenge by the Federal Trade Commission and a group of states, saying it distorts the competitive landscape for the grocery and labor markets.
-
April 30, 2024
FTC Continues To Target 'Junk' Drug Patents
Federal trade officials told a series of pharmaceutical companies — including the makers of the controversial diabetes and weight loss drug Ozempic — that they may have listed faulty patents in a key register of a federal drug database.
-
April 30, 2024
Customers Can't Get Ill. ComEd Bribery Suit Restored
An Illinois state appellate panel refused Monday to reinstate a putative class action accusing Commonwealth Edison of fraud in the wake of the utility's admission that it bribed the former Illinois House speaker to secure his support for favorable energy policy, saying the passage of the relevant legislation wasn't directly related to the bribes.
-
April 30, 2024
FTC Digging Into $2.3B Walmart-Vizio Deal
The Federal Trade Commission wants information about Walmart's $2.3 billion plan to take over smart television maker Vizio before it decides whether to sign off on the controversial acquisition.
-
April 30, 2024
SEIU Cites Starbucks Organizing In Push For Cemex Standard
The Service Employees International Union invoked the nationwide organizing campaign at Starbucks stores in a request for the Ninth Circuit to back a National Labor Relations Board precedent shift for bargaining orders, arguing the new standard will help deter labor law violations.
-
April 30, 2024
NY Bank Investors Spar Over Bid To Merge, Pause Suits
New York Community Bancorp Inc. shareholders traded barbs in filings this week over whether a New York federal judge should allow an individual shareholder to intervene in the larger group's attempt to consolidate and stay their derivative shareholder suits against the bank.
-
April 30, 2024
Wash. Panel Reverses Hartford Unit Fire Coverage Ruling
A Washington state appeals court reversed a trial court's ruling that a Hartford unit's policy included coverage for an electrical panel that caused a restaurant fire, instead finding that whether the electrical panel was in the care of the restaurant or its landlord remains disputed.
Expert Analysis
-
Tenn. Law Protecting Artists From AI Raises Novel Issues
Tennessee recently enacted a law that extends the right of publicity protection to individuals' voices in an attempt to control the proliferation of artificial intelligence in the music industry, presenting fascinating questions about the First Amendment, the fair use doctrine and more, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
-
Consumer Privacy Takeaways From FTC Extraterritorial Action
With what appears to be its first privacy-related consent agreement with a non-U.S. business, the Federal Trade Commission establishes that its reach is extraterritorial and that consumer internet browsing data is sensitive data, and there are lessons for any multinational business that handles consumer information, say Olivia Greer and Alexis Bello at Weil.
-
Assessing Work Rules After NLRB Handbook Ruling
The National Labor Relations Board's Stericycle decision last year sparked uncertainty surrounding whether historically acceptable work rules remain lawful — but employers can use a two-step analysis to assess whether to implement a given rule and how to do so in a compliant manner, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
-
FDIC Bank Merger Reviews Could Get More Burdensome
Recently proposed changes to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. bank merger review process would expand the agency's administrative processes, impose new evidentiary burdens on parties around competitive effects and other statutory approval factors, and continue the trend of long and unpredictable processing periods, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
-
Series
Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Whether it's seeing clients and their issues from a new perspective, or staying nimble in a moment of intense challenge, the lessons learned from whitewater kayaking transcend the rapids of a river and prepare attorneys for the courtroom and beyond, says Matthew Kent at Alston & Bird.
-
A Key Pitfall Of Restricted Subsidiaries In Loan Agreements
In loan agreements, the treatment afforded to non-loan party restricted subsidiaries' EBITDA presents subtle, but serious threats to lenders that require thoughtful attention in underwriting and drafting, say David Ebroon at JPMorgan Chase and Jared Zajac at Cadwalader.
-
Del. Lessons For Director-Nominees On Sharing With Activists
The Delaware Chancery Court's recent decision in Icahn Partners v. deSouza finding that a director wasn't permitted to share certain privileged information with the activist stockholders that nominated him shows the need for companies to consider imposing appropriate confidentiality requirements on directors, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.
-
3 Lessons From Family Dollar's Record $41.7M Guilty Plea
Family Dollar's recent plea deal in connection with a rodent infestation at one of its distribution facilities — resulting in the largest ever monetary criminal penalty in a food safety case — offers key takeaways for those practicing in the interconnected fields of compliance, internal investigations and white collar defense, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
-
This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
-
Opinion
Anti-DEI Complaints Filed With EEOC Carry No Legal Weight
Recently filed complaints against several companies' diversity, equity and inclusion programs alleging unlawful discrimination against white people do not require a response from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and should not stop employers from rooting out ongoing discriminatory practices, says former EEOC general counsel David Lopez.
-
New Proposal Signals Sharper Enforcement Focus At CFIUS
Last week's proposed rule aimed at broadening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' enforcement authority over foreign investments and increasing penalties for violations signals that CFIUS intends to continue expanding its aggressive monitoring of national security issues, say attorneys at Kirkland.
-
Oracle Ruling Underscores Trend Of Mootness Fee Denials
The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent refusal to make tech giant Oracle shoulder $5 million of plaintiff shareholders' attorney fees illustrates a trend of courts raising the standard for granting the mootness fee awards once ubiquitous in post-merger derivative disputes, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
-
Traversing The Web Of Nonjudicial Grievance Mechanisms
Attorneys at Covington provide an overview of how companies can best align their environmental and human rights compliance with "hard-law" requirements like the EU's recently approved Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive while also navigating the complex global network of existing nonjudicial grievance mechanisms.
-
Questions Persist After Ruling Skirts $925M TCPA Award Issue
After an Oregon federal court's recent Wakefield v. ViSalus ruling that the doctrine of constitutional avoidance precluded it from deciding whether a $925 million Telephone Consumer Protection Act damages award was constitutionally sound, further guidance is needed on when statutory damages violate due process, says Michael Klotz at O'Melveny.
-
An NYDFS-Regulated Bank's Guide To Proper Internal Audits
As certification deadlines for compliance with the New York State Department of Financial Services’ transaction monitoring and cybersecurity regulations loom, lawyers should remember that the NYDFS offers no leeway for best efforts — and should ensure robust auditing and recordkeeping processes for clients, say attorneys at Arnall Golden.