Securities

A table of proposed rule comment dates and final rule effective and compliance dates for SEC and CFTC rulemaking. Recent SEC activity includes the following: Climate disclosure comments. The SEC extended the comment period for proposed rule amendment...

Bank of America can, at trial, introduce evidence showing a mere contractual relationship with the plaintiff but cannot rely on the contract at the motion to dismiss stage. The District of Columbia District Court denied defendant Bank of America’s (B...

Generally, an omission is actionable only where there is an affirmative duty to disclose. Santander Securities was under no duty to disclose information which was readily accessible to municipal bond investors. The First Circuit Court of Appeals uphe...

Regulator charges Oregon and Illinois residents and a Florida company misappropriated millions of dollars in digital asset investments and operated an illegal commodity pool. Defendants Sam Ikkurty, Ravishankar Avadhanam and Jafia, LLC, a Florida com...

The SEC filed an emergency action against a self-described business consultant and his alter-ego company alleging a multi-year, multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme by defendants. The SEC complaint alleges that, since 2019, a Charlotte, North Carolina-b...

Plaintiffs seek damages for alleged material misstatements and omissions and clarification that the unregistered BLOCK Exchange Traded Index products purchased by the class are “securities” under federal law. A complaint filed in a California distric...

A weekly roundup of other items of interest to the securities, commodities, and corporate governance communities. BLOCKCHAIN— In its first criminal prosecution involving the alleged use of cryptocurrency to evade U.S. economic sanctions, the U.S. Jus...

The district court’s analysis of the fee award was incomplete as it failed to consider several factors. The Seventh Circuit has vacated and remanded a class-action settlement against Stericycle following a challenge to the 25 percent attorney fee awa...

Affiliated broker received third-party compensation from advisory client investments without fully disclosing its conflicts of interest. The SEC has ordered First Republic Investment Management, Inc. to pay more than $1.8 million in disgorgement, int...

The complaint failed to plead misrepresentations concerning Monsanto's science-based trial defenses with particularity, but the case can proceed on other theories. A federal district court in California has denied the motion to dismiss filed by Bayer...

The District Court said the sale of interest in an oil well partnership met the requirements of an investment contract and so violated state and federal securities laws. When granting the investor’s motion for a summary judgment, the Texas District C...

The week’s most insightful, intriguing, and entertaining blog posts from the securities, commodities, and corporate governance communities. Proskauer, SEC Issues New Guidance Regarding Russia Sanctions and Public Company Disclosures , by Frank Zarb, ...

Digital engagement practices in finance can be powerful but raise important questions about conflicts of interest and bias, said the SEC chair at NASAA's Public Policy Symposium. The use of predictive data analytics and other digital engagement pract...

In prepared remarks, SEC Chair Gary Gensler asserted that the agency’s staff had shrunk even though the markets it oversees have grown significantly; meanwhile, the agency’s formal FY23 request cited looming appeals cases a partial justification for ...

The scheme defrauded at least 50 pool participants of approximately $3.4 million through the use of non-existent accounts, false account statements, misappropriation of funds, and Ponzi-like payouts. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a c...

Group also emphasizes the importance of pre-trade and post-trade data in promoting transparency of trading. In a final report that was 17 months in the making, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has offered several recom...

The conduct set forth in the newly adopted model rules is not inclusive and engaging in other conduct such as non-disclosure, incomplete disclosure, or deceptive practices shall be deemed an unethical business practice. The North American Securities ...

California’s S.B. 826 mandating the number of females on corporate boards violated the Equal Protection Clause, and the legislature was without compelling state interest in remedying generalized discrimination through the use of gender-based classifi...

A snapshot of the week’s IPO activity, including completed deals, new preliminary filings and IPO withdrawals. Much has been made of the dramatic slowdown in SPAC registrations and offerings this year, and rightly so as SPAC withdrawals currently out...