The Mysterious Boundary Beyond Which “Personal” Relationships Jeopardize a Director’s Independence -
In a recent enforcement action, the SEC concluded that the relationship between James Craigie and an officer of Church &...more
2/11/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Board of Directors ,
BSA/AML ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Corporate Governance ,
EFTs ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Investment Contract ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Variable Insurance
ERISA class action litigation against retirement plan fiduciaries remains a prominent feature of the legal landscape this year. These lawsuits typically involve allegations that plan fiduciaries acted imprudently in...more
1/27/2025
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Class Action ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
cunning ,
Cunningham v Cornell University ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Oral Argument ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS
Funds Not Caged by SEC Names Rule Amendments: Roaming Room Remains -
The SEC recently adopted amendments to its investment company “names” rule that apply to most SEC-registered funds, including underlying funds in which...more
1/11/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Life Insurance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Whistleblowers
Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications -
Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more
10/11/2023
/ Annuities ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
COBRA ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Contracts ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Health Insurance ,
Insider Trading ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
Money Market Funds ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
No-Action Letters ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement ,
Robocalling ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
Not many general counsels will tell you that their company’s COBRA notice is what keeps them up at night. But recent class action litigation highlights challenges to COBRA notices and issues that can be easily addressed to...more
The Texas Supreme Court reinforced common law precedent that insurers cannot avoid liability under an insurance policy based on a misrepresentation in an insurance application unless the insurer can establish that the insured...more
10/6/2023
/ Applications ,
Breach of Contract ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Code ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Liability ,
Misrepresentation ,
Policy Terms ,
TX Supreme Court
Multidistrict litigation (MDL) is a special federal legal procedure designed to efficiently process multiple civil cases involving one or more common questions of fact. These cases typically involve hundreds to thousands of...more
For broker-dealers distributing and selling variable annuities, examinations will test for compliance with Reg BI and FINRA Rule 2330 because both standards apply to variable annuity sales. Firms distributing and selling...more
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in North American Company for Life and Health Insurance v. Caldwell that the beneficiaries of two life insurance policies were not entitled to the policies’ death benefits...more