Mealey's Securities
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July 08, 2024
Federal Judge: No Class Certification In COVID Shot Stock Loss Dispute
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied a motion for class certification in a securities dispute brought by investors who claim that a biotechnology company, a hedge fund that backed it and others issued false statements about a COVID-19 vaccine in a massive stock pump-and-dump scheme, saying that both the investors and the hedge fund failed to grapple with the unique issues the case presents.
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July 02, 2024
Judge Gives First OK To $75M Settlement For Investor Suit Against Tech Firm
SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge granted preliminary approval to a proposed $75 million settlement of a suit brought by investors in Qualcomm Inc. against the company and certain of its executives alleging the company issued false claims to investors about certain company practices.
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July 02, 2024
Federal Judge: Some Crypto Tokens, But Not All, In SEC Suit Count As Securities
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An enforcement action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission against a cryptocurrency firm, its CEO and related entities largely survived a motion to dismiss, but a federal judge in the District of Columbia ruled that the commission failed to show how a “stable coin” offered by the company functioned as a security.
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July 02, 2024
Citing Prudential, Appellees Urge 3rd Circuit To Affirm Securities Row Dismissal
PHILADELPHIA — Arguing primarily that City of Warren Police and Fire Ret. Sys. v. Prudential Fin. is dispositive, a reinsurer and three former executives urge the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to uphold discovery and summary judgment rulings in a suit over allegations that they violated federal securities laws by omitting historical loss ratios from loss reserves disclosures.
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June 28, 2024
2nd Circuit: Funds Violated Investment Company Act With Acquisition Resolution
NEW YORK — A panel of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a New York federal judge’s decision to grant summary judgment to a hedge fund that owned shares in multiple closed-end funds (CEFs), agreeing with the judge’s finding that the funds violated a section of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (ICA) when they jointly resolved to opt into a provision of the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act (MCSAA) that would limit the voting rights of the hedge fund.
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June 28, 2024
Jurisdictional Challenges Meet Mixed Fate In Suit Over Alleged Fraud Scheme
NEW YORK — Largely focusing on personal jurisdiction, a New York federal judge granted one refiled dismissal motion and partly granted another in an insurer’s suit over “an alleged massive and complex fraud that resulted in losses exceeding $135 million.”
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June 28, 2024
High Court Overrules Chevron Deference, Changes Standard For Regulatory Review
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 28 voted 6-3 to overrule the doctrine of Chevron deference as incompatible with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in two cases arising out of federal fishing regulations, changing governing precedent for federal courts reviewing agencies’ regulatory actions.
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June 27, 2024
5th Circuit Finds SEC Did Not Justify Rescinding Proxy Voting Rules
NEW ORLEANS — The Securities and Exchange Commission acted arbitrarily and capriciously in 2022 when it rescinded a 2020 rule regulating proxy voting advice, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held June 26, reversing a Texas federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in the SEC’s favor in a complaint brought by two business associations that argued the commission did not provide enough of an explanation for the course change.
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June 27, 2024
Amici States Tell 8th Circuit SEC Lacked Authority To Enact Climate Rules
ST. LOUIS — The states of Florida and Kansas filed one of nearly a dozen amicus curiae briefs in support of petitioners who say the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should not allow newly announced Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure rules related to climate issues, with Florida and Kansas arguing that the SEC is seeking disclosure information it is not authorized to seek.
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June 27, 2024
Supreme Court Curtails SEC’s Ability To Use ALJs In Enforcement Actions
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A defendant accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of securities fraud has the right to a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution when the commission is seeking civil penalties, the U.S. Supreme Court held June 27, agreeing with a hedge fund manager and his hedge fund that the SEC inappropriately sought penalties before an administrative law judge (ALJ).
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June 26, 2024
California Federal Court OKs Venue Transfer For COVID Vaccine Securities Suit
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California transferred to a federal court in New York a putative class complaint brought by investors in a biotechnology company who say the company misled them by suggesting that its COVID-19 vaccine was still relevant despite not having approval from the Food and Drug Administration to target the most common subvariant at the time, after the parties stipulated to transfer the venue for the convenience of all involved.
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June 25, 2024
Judge: Securities Class Claims Against Crypto Firm Barred By Repose Statute
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California largely granted a motion from an issuer of crypto tokens and its CEO to dismiss class action securities claims against them, finding that the lead investor plaintiff failed to show that the crypto token at issue was first offered after the cutoff date for a statute of repose in the Securities Act of 1933.
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June 25, 2024
2nd Circuit Affirms Investor’s Standing To Bring Short-Swing Disgorgement Suit
NEW YORK — A 2021 Supreme Court ruling did not abrogate a finding from the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals holding that a violation of Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 inflicts an injury, a Second Circuit panel held June 24, ruling that a New York federal magistrate judge incorrectly found that a shareholder lacked standing to file a shareholder derivative complaint seeking disgorgement of short-swing profits from a capital management company.
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June 25, 2024
Liquidating Trustee Answers Insurer’s Counterclaim In Breach Of Contract Suit
CINCINNATI — A viatical settlement provider’s liquidating trustee who sued a life insurer in Ohio federal court for breach of contract, seeking reimbursement from the insurer, has filed his answers to the insurer’s counterclaim.
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June 24, 2024
High Court Again Extends Response Deadline In Review Of 9th Circuit FCA Reversal
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 21 granted a district court qui tam plaintiff’s second request for additional time to respond to pharmaceutical companies’ petition that seeks review of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling reversing the district court’s dismissal of a suit accusing the companies of violating the False Claims Act (FCA) by artificially inflating drug prices.
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June 19, 2024
SEC Says Founder Of AI Hiring Company Lied To Investors About Capabilities
NEW YORK — The founder and former chief executive officer of an artificial intelligence company that claimed to use AI capabilities to help companies hire better candidates issued materially misleading statements regarding the AI’s capabilities and how many customers it had and falsified both bank statements and customer testimonials to raise investor funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission says in a suit filed in a New York federal court.
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June 19, 2024
Judgment Issued Against Former Exec SEC Said Faked Financial Documents
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York entered final judgment against a former executive whom the Securities and Exchange Commission accused of falsifying public investment materials with her employer, ordering her to pay more than $430,000 in reimbursement to her employer and $125,000 in civil penalties to the SEC.
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June 19, 2024
Federal Judge: Employee’s Suit Alleges ‘Securities Claim’ Under D&O Policy
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California partly granted a biopharmaceutical company insured’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in a directors and officers liability coverage dispute, finding that a lawsuit brought by the insured’s former employee asserts a “securities claim” based on the policy’s clear language.
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June 19, 2024
SEC: Fund Manager Misappropriated Millions In Investor Funds
TRENTON, N.J. — An investment fund and its founder and chief investment officer led a three-year scheme that bilked investors out of at least $3 million, the Securities and Exchange Commission says in a suit filed in a New Jersey federal court, claiming that the man at the heart of the scheme lost millions of dollars of investors’ money in high-risk trades and then falsified documents to hide the losses.
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June 18, 2024
Judge Finds Exxon’s Claims Against Activist Shareholder Mooted
FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal judge in Texas on June 17 dismissed without prejudice a suit brought by Exxon Mobil Corp. against two activist shareholder groups after the only shareholder group remaining as a defendant agreed to stop making climate change proposals for the company’s proxy statements.
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June 17, 2024
Supreme Court Won’t Consider SEC Disgorgement For Venture Capitalist
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear arguments over whether a cross-appeal requirement was triggered before the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals remanded the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement action against a venture capitalist for re-calculation of disgorgement after amendments to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, denying on June 17 the venture capitalist’s petition for a writ of certiorari and one from his wife in a related proceeding.
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June 17, 2024
Supreme Court To Consider PSLRA Scienter Standards, Granting Certiorari To NVIDIA
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 17 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a computer manufacturer and its CEO, who argue that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals enlarged a split over the legal standard for alleging scienter under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) by allowing retirement funds to rely on the findings of experts to show falsity.
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June 14, 2024
Judge: Medical Company Can’t Bring Claims Against Shareholders Over Board Vote
DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas dismissed a biopharmaceutical company’s complaint against certain of its own investors, alleging that they issued false statements in an attempt to elect outside director candidates onto the company’s board, finding that the company lacked standing to bring certain federal securities claims as the issuer of the stock in question and that other claims were mooted by the investors filing amended disclosure statements.
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June 14, 2024
Judge Approves Nearly $4.5B Penalty Against Terraform In SEC Enforcement Action
NEW YORK — Crypto asset firm Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd. will pay nearly $4.5 billion in disgorgement and penalties after it and its CEO were found liable in April for claims brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing the company and its owner of issuing false statements about crypto assets, a New York federal judge ordered.
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June 14, 2024
Nevada High Court: Investors Lack Standing; Company Allowed Attorney Fees
LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Supreme Court held that a state judge was correct to grant judgment in a case brought against a technology company by investors who say they were harmed by additional shares being issued in the wake of the company’s merger, finding that the shareholders failed to bring direct claims and lacked standing to bring derivative claims; the Supreme Court also held that the judge erred by granting presuit costs and denying attorney fees to the company and its new ownership.