Civil Procedure › Business Torts › Criminal Law

Defrauding Facebook: How One Man Almost Stole The World’s Largest Social Network

In October 2012 Paul Ceglia of New York was arrested on charges he forged documents in a multibillion-dollar scheme to defraud Facebook and its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. Mr. Ceglia had brought a much publicized lawsuit...more

Supreme Court in Gabelli: Clock Starts Ticking When Fraud Occurs, Not When It's Discovered

The law requires the SEC to bring enforcement actions seeking penalties against individuals who violate the securities laws within five years. The Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling today that rejects the SEC’s argument...more

Sharon Bell v. Igal Feibush

Opinion -- California Court of Appeal Permits Treble Damages for Failure to Repay Loan

Court of Appeal affirmed trial court's determination that making a loan based on a false promise to repay amounted to theft by false pretense, and Penal Code 496 therefore applied, entitling the victim to recover treble...more

Useless Attorneys’ Fees – The Importance of Understanding Florida’s Rules of Civil Procedure

On September 19, 2012, the Third District Court of Appeals decided that a first party plaintiff could not prosecute a claim against a third party defendant in Brady v. P3 Group (LLC) and Hypower, Inc....more

Federal Court Declines to Enjoin AG Prosecution of Claims Subject to Class Settlement

On August 22, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida denied a major bank’s motion to enjoin prosecution by two state attorneys general of claims related to the bank’s credit card payment protection...more

Appeals Court Casts Doubt on Acceptability of ‘Obey-the Law’ Injunctions

We recently blogged about the recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Goble, 2012 WL 1918819 (11th Cir. May 29, 2012). There, we discussed the appeals...more

E.D.N.Y. Judge Highlights SEC’s Limited Enforcement Powers

In November 2009, a federal jury in Brooklyn acquitted Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin of securities fraud charges arising from the failure of their hedge fund at Bear Stearns. The case was noteworthy because it was one of...more

Guggenheim Capital v. Toumei

Brief for Defendant-Appellant David Birnbaum

This appeal concerns the question of whether it is proper for a court to enter, as a sanction for litigation non-compliance, a default judgment and a seven-figure statutory damages award against a penurious individual who...more

Paris International Litigation Bulletin no. 3

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS French legislative and regulatory developments Page 4 French proceedings Page 7 UPDATES The dematerialisation of French civil procedure: More than ever a reality Page 9 Reform of the French Blocking...more

Business Litigation Report -- March 2012

In This Issue: Firm Awards: Legal Business Names Quinn Emanuel "US Law Firm of the Year" QE's Appellate and Antitrust Practices Ranked Top in the Nation Firm News: Star Trial Lawyer William Burck...more

Criminal Code Used in Civil Action to Recover Triple Damages and Attorney Fees

When is a breach of contract also fraud? When the party never intended to perform. So how do you get into the mind of the defendant to determine if he intended to perform when he signed the agreement? Thankfully,...more

SEC Changes Policy on Admitting Guilt in Settlements of Enforcement Actions

On January 6, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it has modified its settlement policy for enforcement actions that also involve a criminal conviction or admissions by a defendant of criminal...more

New Trend Admitting Wiretap Evidence in Insider Trading Cases

Until recently, the use of wiretap evidence was limited to the prosecution of crimes that are specifically enumerated in Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, codified at 18 U.S.C. 2510-2522....more

Keep the wolves of embezzlement away.

Information on how to keep an embezzlement from taking place....more

Verizon Wireless Files RICO Suit against Mobile Marketers, Alleges Deception and Fraud in Evasion of MMA Guidelines Requirements...

Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, filed a lengthy complaint on March 7, 2011, against mobile marketing entities that have conducted short code marketing campaigns on its network. The complaint alleges...more

Illinois Rules of Evidence

2011 Illinois Rules of Evidence contrasted with the 2010 Federal Rules of Evidence

A color-coded guide containing the new Illinois Rules of Evidence, the Committee's General and Specific comments, A comparison with the Federal Rules of Evidence and additional commentary....more