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Report Indicates FDIC Suing Bank Directors And Officers At Record Pace

On May 8, an economic and financial analysis and consulting firm issued a report that indicates the FDIC is on pace to file more suits against bank directors and officers in 2013 than it has in any year since the start of the...more

VERONICA GUTIERREZ, ERIN WALKER, and WILLIAM SMITH v WELLS FARGO BANK N.A.

CLASS ACTION FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AFTER BENCH TRIAL AWARDING $203 MILLION TO WELLS FARGO'S CALIFORNIA CUSTOMERS

CLASS ACTION FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AFTER BENCH TRIAL AWARDING $203 MILLION TO WELLS FARGO'S CALIFORNIA CUSTOMERS. A California judge ordered Wells Fargo to pay California customers $203 after finding that...more

Why Should an Investor or Business Conduct an Asset Search?

If used properly and if conducted by a reputable asset search company, asset searches can be used as a valuable pre-investment tool for an investor, partnership, joint venture or other business entity before entering into a...more

Best Laid Plans Gone Awry: Practices for Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans

Rule 10b5-1 trading plans are in the limelight due to investigations initiated by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the SEC into possible abuses by corporate executives of such plans. Now, more than ever, companies and their boards...more

DOJ and SEC Scrutinize Potential Misuse of Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans by Corporate Directors Affiliated with Investment Advisers

Over the past four years, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) have focused on insider trading involving private funds as one of their key targets in the fight against...more

Capital Infusion - May 2013: Case Spotlight

Down-Round Equity Financings and Subsequent Exit Transactions - Best Practices for Preferred Investors and their Board Designees - Today’s middle market private equity landscape is as diverse and varied as it has ever...more

Delaware Court Opens the Door to Private Dilution Claims Against Venture Capital Firms

The Delaware Court of Chancery’s recent opinion in Carsanaro v. Bloodhound Technologies is a wake-up call to venture capital firms. In a nearly 40 page opinion, Vice Chancellor Laster held that VCs are not necessarily immune...more

National Consumer Law Center Re: Restoring the Wisdom of the Common Law: Applying the Historical Rule Against Contractual Penalty...

NATIONAL CONSUMER LAW CENTER (NCLS) Banks Raking In Billions In Profits From Overdraft Fees The notion behind an overdraft fee — in which a bank customer is charged a penalty for overdrafting his account — is twofold:...more

Don’t Lie About Assets Under Management

Umesh Tandon, president, chief compliance officer, and sole owner of Simran Capital Management, recently agreed to a settlement with the SEC relating to alleged violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the...more

“Plan B” for Rule 10b5-1 Plans?

Companies and their executives who utilize “Rule 10b5-1 Plans” to reduce the risks from insider trading claims when trading in company securities should evaluate plan use given recent increased scrutiny by the media and...more

Second Circuit Reverses Class Certification Order, Holding That a Clearing Broker's Alleged Knowledge of Fraud Against...

In Levitt v. J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc., No. 10-4596, 2013 WL 1007678 (2d Cir. Mar. 15, 2013), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a district court order certifying a class of shareholder...more

Corporate Communicator - Spring 2013: Rule 10b5-1 Plans Under Scrutiny

There has been renewed focus on Rule 10b5-1 Plans following an article in the Wall Street Journal, published on November 27, 2012, entitled “Executives’ Good Luck in Trading Own Stock,” which reported that executives who...more

Broken Dealer Audits: Accounting Deficiencies Uncovered By The PCAOB

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the United States audit industry regulator, is supervised by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year, the PCAOB established an interim program to inspect the...more

Community Banking Excellence - First Quarter 2013

In This Issue: - Conversation with a Community Banking Professional: Ginger Salt of First Community Bank - Are You Using Your Holding Company? - Shifting Winds? Two N.C. Courts Uphold Fiduciary Duty...more

Can Feds Force Companies to Disclose Political Spending?  [Video]

Jan. 31 (Bloomberg Law) -- The SEC is considering a proposal by Robert Jackson, associate professor at Columbia Law School, that public companies be required to disclose their political spending. SEC staff members have said...more

"Executive Compensation and Benefits Alert: Annual Meeting Litigation: How to Prepare"

As the 2013 proxy season is now underway, companies should be aware of the recent wave of lawsuits alleging breaches of fiduciary duties by management and directors in connection with compensation-related decisions. These...more

The Second Circuit Finds No Section 16(b) Violation Where Different Securities of the Same Issuer Are Bought and Sold

In Gibbons v. Malone, No. 11-3620-cv, 2013 WL 57844 (2d Cir. Jan. 7, 2013), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the “short-swing profits rule” imposed by Section 16(b) of the Securities...more

District of Colorado Dismisses, in Part, Securities Fraud Claims in Ponzi Scheme Suit

The US District Court for the District of Colorado considered several motions to dismiss a class-action suit filed by plaintiff Touchtone Group, LLC to recover damages resulting from a Ponzi scheme devised by Mantria...more

SEC Accuses Fund Directors of Breaching Their Valuation Duties

In a case involving fair valuation of structured notes, the SEC signaled that when investment company fund boards delegate the responsibility to fair value portfolio securities, they must provide “meaningful substantive...more

SEC Charges Eight Mutual Fund Directors for Failure on Valuations

On December 10, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against eight former member of the boards of directors overseeing five mutual funds for violating their asset pricing responsibilities under the federal...more

President Signs H.R. 4367 Eliminating the Requirement of Exterior Fee Disclosure Signage on ATM’s

On December 20, 2012, President Obama signed H.R. Bill 4367, which became effective upon his signing of the bill, and which eliminates the mandatory requirement that signage be placed on the exterior of Automated Teller...more

Court Rules Law Firm That Drafted Documents Was Not A Seller Of Securities

Section 25400(d) of the California Corporations Code declares it unlawful for any broker-dealer or “other person selling or offering for sale” to make a false or misleading statement for the purpose of inducing the purchase...more

SBA Rules Changes – Definition of a Small Business

In the quest to compete and survive, small businesses should embrace all opportunities for revenue growth available to them. One of the largest potential customers in the world is the US Government. Small businesses have a...more

Remote Tippee Issues Hang over SEC/Wells Fargo Insider Trading Case

The SEC brought a big insider trading case against a number of individuals in the Western District of North Carolina yesterday. The complaint alleges $11 million in illicit profits. The complaint calls it an insider...more

Trust in On-Line Advertising

It’s no surprise that people trust online reviews from consumers more than traditional advertisements. After all, advertisements are created by the company selling a product of service, whereas third party reviews are by...more