On March 20, 2025, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) made a number of changes to the Division’s Compliance and Disclosure...more
On March 19, 2025, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed with prejudice a putative class action asserting claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934...more
The Division’s statement specifically addresses the mining of crypto assets that are intrinsically linked to the programmatic functioning of a public, permissionless network. These assets, referred to by the Division as...more
On March 3, the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance announced that it is expanding the accommodations available to issuers submitting nonpublic draft registration statements for staff...more
On February 26, 2025, Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald of the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted a motion to dismiss a putative class action against a producer of plant-based meat...more
On February 26, 2025, Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, sitting by designation in the District Court for the District of Delaware, granted a motion for summary judgment in a securities action brought by an investment firm...more
As a follow-up to our prior discussion in this area, this article addresses a recent exemption issued to the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") that allows for increased trading...more
The SEC announced the expansion of the availability of confidential submission of draft registration statements for various new registrations, including initial registration of securities on Form 10; initial registration of...more
The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance has clarified that meme coins are not considered securities under federal securities laws, and that transactions involving meme coins do not require SEC registration. Meme coins,...more
The annual DGCL amendments this year carry a little more urgency than before. SB21 was rushed through to the Delaware Senate in mid-February, bypassing the normal process that involves recommendation by the Council of the...more
StraightPath Venture Partners, LLC and PMAC Consulting have recently reached settlements with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following SEC enforcement actions against them....more
The SEC is set to hold an open meeting on February 26, 2025, to discuss extending compliance deadlines and granting temporary exemptions for covered clearing agencies (CCAs) handling U.S. Treasury securities. This review...more
Cornerstone Research recently issued its 2024 Year in Review report examining recent trends in securities class action filings. For the second year in a row, the number of securities class action filings saw an uptick,...more
A Delaware court recently found for the policyholders in determining that a directors and officers (D&O) liability policy covered the settlement of an underlying action alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of...more
On February 6, 2025, the SEC announced that it was providing a temporary exemption from compliance with Rule 13f-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), which establishes a mandatory short reporting...more
February 2025 Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split Interest Charitable Trusts - The February applicable federal rate (“AFR”) for use with a sale to a defective grantor...more
On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Presto Automation Inc. (Presto) with violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for misleading artificial...more
On January 16, 2025, Judge Trina L. Thompson of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion to dismiss a securities action asserting claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the...more
On January 23, 2025, Judge James C. Dever III of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina dismissed a putative securities class action against an auto parts retailer (the “Company”) and...more
On January 20, 2025, President Trump began his second Administration with an unprecedented wave of twenty-six (26) Executive Orders, including several that directly affect the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)....more
On December 11, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lacked statutory authority to approve Nasdaq’s board diversity rules. Subject to certain exceptions,...more
On December 11, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) vacated the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) approval of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC’s (“Nasdaq”) Board Diversity Rules....more
Seward & Kissel is reminding its clients about the recent January 2, 2025 compliance date for new Rule 13f-2 (the “New Rule”) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), as well as related reporting on...more
Last November, Nasdaq proposed a rule change that would lengthen the notification period for companies conducting reverse stock splits from five business days to 10 calendar days. The rule change became effective immediately...more
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was enacted in 2010 in response to the 2008 financial crisis, added protections for whistleblower activity to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange...more