In a landmark decision issued last week, SEC v. Jarkesy, the Supreme Court held that the Seventh Amendment guarantees a defendant a jury trial when the SEC seeks civil penalties against the defendant for committing securities...more
Last week, the Fifth Circuit handed down an across-the-board rejection of four constitutional challenges raised by gene sequencing company Illumina in defending against the Federal Trade Commission’s merger challenge. Bah!...more
A panel of the D.C. Circuit recently relied on Lucia and Cochran to enjoin a FINRA regulatory enforcement action pending appeal of an Appointments Clause challenge....more
In a landmark decision, the Fifth Circuit struck down the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) primary mechanism for enforcing the nation’s securities laws. In Jarkesy v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a...more
When Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act, it expanded the SEC’s power to use its in-house administrative forum to bring enforcement actions. Supporters said this change promoted investor protection by giving the SEC a more...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a major decision on May 18, 2022 holding Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) administrative adjudications unconstitutional on multiple...more
In Jarkesy v. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a remarkable opinion holding numerous aspects of the SEC’s administrative enforcement regime are unconstitutional. The May...more
Perhaps the single most appropriate word to describe the current state of the civil and criminal healthcare fraud enforcement environment is uncertainty. From changes in personnel and policy at the highest levels of...more
The Supreme Court is considering a cert petition requesting that it hear the Lucia case, which we have blogged about extensively due to its potential impact on the outcome of the PHH case. Significantly, the DOJ recently...more
On Thursday, November 30, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) took action to settle an issue that had been impacting its enforcement efforts for some time: whether its administrative law...more
The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals’ earlier decision in Lucia v. SEC that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) administrative law judges (ALJs) are employees who are not subject to the Appointments...more
On Monday, May 22, the SEC stayed all its administrative proceedings assigned to an ALJ in which a Respondent has an option for review by the 10th Circuit. (Securities laws provide appellate review of SEC administrative...more
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Bandimere v. SEC, recently held that the SEC’s administrative law judges (ALJs) are “inferior officers” whose appointments violate the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution...more
2016 was an active year in securities litigation. In the first half of 2016 alone, plaintiffs filed 119 new federal class action securities cases. It was also a busy year for SEC enforcement proceedings, with a record 868...more
The Tenth Circuit recently held that the SEC’s in-house judges are “inferior officers” hired in violation of Article II’s Appointment Clauses, creating a split with the D.C. Circuit over the issue. The Tenth Circuit held...more
Previously, we advised that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s increased preference for bringing enforcement actions in its in-house court had triggered jurisdictional and constitutional challenges to SEC administrative...more
The D.C. federal district court has rejected the plaintiffs’ attempt in State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, et al. v. Lew, et al. to invalidate the actions taken by Director Cordray while he was a recess appointee. The...more