Counsel for public companies—it may be time to take another look at your litigation disclosures. A recent federal district court opinion held that one company’s use of the phrase “without merit” to describe ongoing litigation in its public filings could give rise to federal securities fraud claims. The ruling serves as the latest admonition to exercise care in crafting litigation disclosures.
The Axon Side-Step: Defendants’ New Dance to Avoid Agency Enforcement Actions
By Colin Kass, David Munkittrick & Erica T. Jones on
The FTC and SEC have their own administrative dispute resolution regime, presided over by their own administrative judges (“ALJs”). Until now, those regimes were virtually immune from attack on a constitutional basis, because any such challenge had to wait until appeal to the federal courts (which only happened after a full trial and appeal to the agency itself). No longer. On April 14, 2023, the Supreme Court held that the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Securities Exchange Act do not create an alternative review scheme in which constitutional challenges must first go through the agencies, and only later receive federal court review in a court of appeals.
Cryptic Guidance? Despite Regulatory Ambiguity, New SEC Enforcement Could Drive Increase in Cryptocurrency-Related Shareholder Class Actions
By Justin Cohen on
In late-July, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought insider trading charges against a former manager at Coinbase—the largest crypto asset trading platform in the United States. The charges are the latest move in the agency’s efforts to regulate cryptocurrency, and could spur an increase in cryptocurrency-related securities litigation.
In…
Disgorgement Continues at the SEC
By Joseph Hartunian on
On October 12, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a disgorgement order issued by the SEC, in—according to the opinion— the first appellate ruling on the topic since the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Liu v. SEC. Commercial litigators involved in securities disputes should take note that…
District Court Takes Judicial Notice of SEC Order in Denying Motion to Dismiss Shareholder Claims
By Jake R. Butwin on
In our previous post, Under Armour Inc. Pulls Sales Forward, SEC and Stockholders Push Back, we discussed Under Armour Inc.’s recent settlement with the SEC, under which Under Armour agreed to pay $9 million for alleged violations of federal securities laws. While that settlement marked the end of…
Under Armour Inc. Pulls Sales Forward, SEC and Stockholders Push Back
By Genesis Sanchez Tavarez on
As the culmination of an SEC investigation into Under Armour Inc.’s “pull forward” practice leads to charges, Under Armour agrees to cease and desist and settles for $9 million.
Following an investigation dating back to 2015, the SEC claimed Under Armour misled investors by not disclosing the reason for…
Cybersecurity: A Guide to Preparing for and Responding to a Breach
A cyber breach can have serious legal, financial, and reputational consequences for a company, as described in our previous post. As such, cybersecurity threats must be treated as business risks, not just a potential IT problem. Senior management at a company should take the lead to ensure that the company is taking appropriate actions to protect itself against cyber risks. There are several steps that senior management can guide the company to take to prevent breaches from occurring and to mitigate the impact when they do occur.