SEC Signals Interest In Novel ETF Rulemaking

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could soon ask the public what it thinks about new types of exchange-traded funds that some companies have proposed, potentially moving a step closer to writing rules for the fund industry as prediction market ETFs await the agency's approval.

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Penny Stock Trader Loses Bid For New 'Scalping' Trial

By Hailey Konnath

A New York federal judge has rejected a penny stock trader's request for a new trial after he was found liable for a $2.5 million fraud scheme known as scalping, ruling that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had plenty of evidence backing its allegations.

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CFTC Seeks Input On Energy Perpetual Contracts, 24/7 Trading

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is asking for public input on how it should address around-the-clock trading and perpetual contracts in the energy industry, asking how the industry developments could impact the price of commodities like crude oil.

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Cassava Investors Ink $31M Drug Suit Deal Alongside Appeal

By Bonnie Eslinger

Cassava Sciences investors have asked a Texas federal judge to preliminarily approve a $31 million settlement that ends their claims the pharmaceutical company inflated its stock prices with misleading information about its Alzheimer's drug research, a deal that could be upended if the court's class certification order is reversed on appeal.

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Zymergen Investors Get First OK For $125M Settlement

By Sydney Price

Former executives, underwriters and large investors of now-defunct biotechnology company Zymergen received initial approval on Monday of a $125 million deal to end claims that they misled shareholders ahead of the company's initial public offering by approving misstatements about Zymergen's commercial product pipeline.

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OCC Pitches Anti-Illicit Finance Rules For Stablecoin Issuers

By Sarah Jarvis

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a plan Monday to implement Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance standards for stablecoin issuers, folding in a past plan from Treasury Department regulators and marking the latest regulatory proposal under the federal stablecoin framework known as the Genius Act.

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Cuomo To Lead OKX-NYSE Parent Crypto Joint Venture

By Hailey Konnath

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will co-chair a joint venture between cryptocurrency exchange OKX and New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange, a partnership aimed at developing infrastructure for "tokenized and digitally native financial products," according to an announcement made Monday.

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Bitcoin Miner Hut 8, Investors Ink $2.3M Merger Settlement

By Katryna Perera

A proposed class of investors in Hut 8 Corp. has reached a $2.3 million settlement with the bitcoin miner to resolve claims that it overpaid for a company with severe operational issues and misled investors about energy and connectivity failures at a Texas facility that was part of the merger.

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Traders Plead Guilty In NY To $1M Insider Trading Scheme

By Bonnie Eslinger

Two traders involved in a multi-year insider trading scheme with a former Joseph Gunnar & Co. broker who used confidential information about upcoming secondary stock offerings to make over $1 million in illicit profits pled guilty Monday to securities fraud, according to the federal government.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled disputes involving executive compensation, take-private transactions, books and records demands, tender offers and alleged insider misconduct.

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TerraForm Attys Get $23M Fee In Brookfield Settlement

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court awarded plaintiffs' attorneys more than $23 million in fees and expenses for securing an $83.8 million settlement that resolved long-running shareholder litigation over Brookfield Asset Management's 2020 take-private merger with renewable energy company TerraForm Power Inc.

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Uber Board Spawned 'Serial Compliance Offender,' Suit Says

By Linda Chiem

Uber Technologies Inc. executives and board directors have fostered a culture of noncompliance and lax safety that has exposed the ride-hailing giant to thousands of sexual harassment and disability discrimination lawsuits, according to a new shareholder derivative suit in California federal court Monday.

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Coffee Chain's New Openings Guzzled Revenue, Investor Says

By Sydney Price

Arizona-based coffee chain Black Rock Coffee, its executives and initial public offering underwriters were hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging they failed to disclose ahead of the offering that the company's rapid expansion was negatively impacting sales at existing stores.

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Mich. Appeals Court Affirms $3M Award In Equity Dispute

By Susan Smiley

The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a $3 million award to a former employee of a wealth management company, saying Monday that enough evidence supported a jury's finding that CIG Capital Advisors deliberately misled the plaintiff about his ownership status and diverted revenue to hide profits.

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Sorrento RICO Case Naming Jackson Walker Gets Axed

By Alex Wittenberg

A Texas bankruptcy judge blocked a lawsuit in California federal court alleging Jackson Walker LLP and executives at Sorrento Therapeutics and M3 Partners conspired to forum shop in Texas so the drug developer could seek Chapter 11 protection in an "ethically compromised" bankruptcy court, ruling the suit's claims are barred by Sorrento's bankruptcy plan.

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Holland & Knight Adds Jones Day Atty To Atlanta, DC Teams

By Emily Johnson

Holland & Knight LLP has bolstered its ranks in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., by adding an attorney from Jones Day with experience helping clients navigate investigations brought by enforcers including the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

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Securities Class Cert., 5 Years After Goldman Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2021 decision in Goldman Sachs Group v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System has not only armed defendants in securities cases with more arguments in individual class certification fights, but may also be providing greater certainty and finality in class certification battles, say attorneys at Skadden.

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Recent Cases Clarify When Risk Disclosures Trigger Liability

Several recent decisions highlight circumstances where risk disclosures can constitute actionable misrepresentations, providing clarity on how the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act's safe harbor and the common-law bespeaks caution doctrine apply to risk disclosures, and how publicly traded companies can guard against such claims, say attorneys at Katten.

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What Fed's Fast Track To Account Access Means For Fintechs

Fintechs, stablecoin issuers and other nonbank entities should assess eligibility, compliance demands and operational limits ahead of the Federal Reserve's potential finalization of a payment account framework proposing a faster path to direct access to key payment rails, says Stephen Aschettino at Fox Rothschild.

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Responding To US Labeling Brazilian Gangs As Terrorist Orgs

The Trump administration's recent designation of two Brazilian criminal organizations as foreign terrorists affects companies in multiple sectors that must now assess their exposure and enhance their sanctions, know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering screening programs, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

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Attorney Reprimanded In $256M Defamation Case

By Rachel Rippetoe

A former Conrad & Scherer LLP managing partner must pay an Alabama coal company's attorney fees after being publicly reprimanded by an Alabama federal judge, who found he lied to the court and paid witnesses to change their testimony in his repeated lawsuits against the company.

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NJ Firm Accused Of 'Double-Dipping' On Pelvic Mesh Fees

By Daniel Connolly

Four women allege in a recently filed lawsuit that a New Jersey law firm overcharged them on legal fees related to a settlement in pelvic mesh litigation, and the recent lawsuit also relates to a long-running conflict between lawyers who formerly worked together.

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Justices Seek Input On NJ State Bar Diversity Challenge

By George Woolston

The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the federal government to weigh in on a Garden State appellate court's decision that approved a New Jersey State Bar Association system for fostering diversity in its leadership that was accused of being discriminatory.

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Blanche, Pirro Can't Be DQ'd From Trump DC Shooting Case

By Craig Clough

A D.C. federal judge held Monday that the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner can't disqualify U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche from prosecuting him because of their presence at the dinner.

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