On June 26, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court held 6-3 in Snyder v. United States that a federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B), does not criminalize “gratuities” to state and local officials—i.e., payments made to those...more
Key Points -
On August 24, 2023, a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit unanimously held that the syndicated term loans at issue were not “securities” under the test articulated by the Supreme Court in Reves v. Ernst &...more
Key Points -
A judge in the Southern District of New York recently held that (i) the crypto asset XRP is not, on its own, a security and, (ii) as a result, the determination of whether an offer or sale of XRP required SEC...more
Key Points-
In two landmark decisions, the Supreme Court and the 1st Circuit significantly pared back the scope of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes. In Ciminelli v. United States, a political corruption case, the...more
Key Points -
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s “Bridgegate” decision in Kelly v. United States, a divided panel in the 2nd Circuit reversed its prior decision in United States v. Blaszczak, and held that a federal...more
- In Liu v. SEC, No. 18-1501, the Supreme Court upheld the SEC’s ability to obtain disgorgement as a form of equitable relief in civil actions in federal court, pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5).
- However, the Court...more
6/30/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- The Supreme Court has unanimously reversed the convictions of the state officials in the “Bridgegate” scandal.
- This decision will have broader implications beyond the context of political corruption and will also...more
5/15/2020
/ Appeals ,
Bridgegate ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Federal-Program Fraud ,
Governor Christie ,
Intent to Obtain Money or Property ,
Kelly v United States ,
Political Scandals ,
Public Officials ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Wire Fraud
• The Supreme Court will review whether the SEC has the authority to obtain disgorgement in actions to enforce the federal securities laws.
• Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Kokesh v. SEC, 137 S. Ct. 1635 (2017),...more
11/12/2019
/ Administrative Authority ,
Certiorari ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Penalties ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations
• SEC ALJs are “Officers of the United States” within the meaning of the Appointments Clause and therefore must be appointed directly by the SEC. The Court’s decision may permit litigants in prior and pending administrative...more
6/26/2018
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Officers of the United States ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Special Trial Judges (STJs)
This week, the Supreme Court in Kokesh v. SEC unanimously held that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) equitable disgorgement remedy is subject to a five-year statute of limitations because it is a “penalty”...more
On December 6, 2016, in an opinion written by Justice Alito, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Salman v. United States, a closely-watched insider trading tipping case. Salman builds upon...more
As predicted in this previous AG Deal Diary post, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in United States v. Salman, No. 14-10204 (9th Cir. July 6), cert. granted (U.S. Jan. 19, 2016), an important insider-trading...more