Demands to Improve Diversity in the Practice of Law
In January of this year, more than 170 general counsel and corporate legal officers signed an open letter demanding that big law firms improve diversity or risk losing their business. The letter noted signatories' disappointment that "many law firms continue to promote partner classes that in no way reflect the demographic composition of entering ...
Supreme Court of the United States Reaffirms Direct Purchaser Rule
On May 13, 2019, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Apple Inc. v. Pepper, No. 17-204, -- S.Ct. --, 2019 WL 2078087 (2019) affirming the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal's finding that iPhone owners who purchased iPhone applications directly from Apple Inc. ("Apple") were direct purchasers under Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois, ...
Judge Preliminarily Approves a $240 Million Wells Fargo Derivative Settlement
On May 14, 2019, U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar of the Northern District of California preliminarily approved a proposed $240 million cash settlement that would resolve shareholder derivative litigation over Wells Fargo's illicit account creation scandal. The settlement resolves claims against 20 current and former directors and officers, ...
SUPREME COURT ISSUES PRO-CONSUMER RULING LIMITING REMOVAL OF CLASS ACTIONS
On May 28, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling in Home Depot v. Jackson, prohibiting third-party defendants from removing class actions from state court to federal court. In a 5-4 decision authored by Justice Thomas, the Supreme Court held that the term "defendant" in the context of the removal statutes did not encompass ...
Congress Seeks to Ban Pay-For-Delay Deals
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have recently proposed bills that would effectively ban pharmaceutical companies from engaging in "pay-for-delay" deals that block generic drug entry and harm consumers. Pay-for-delay arises during the course of patent litigation settlement, when a brand pharmaceutical company pays off a generic ...
The SEC’s Recent ICFR Enforcement Actions Remind Companies To Take Timely Remedial Action Upon Finding Internal Control Weakness
On May 22, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had settled internal control over financial reporting ("ICFR") violations with four companies charged with violating Section 13 of the Exchange Act and the rules promulgated thereunder. The SEC's announcement provides an important reminder that companies must not ...
Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Chancery Finding that Board had no Duty to “Repackage and Restate” Information Found in a Simultaneously Provided Public Filing
On May 16, 2019, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery's prior decision finding that the Board of Directors (the "Board" or "Defendants") of Equus Total Return, Inc. ("Equus" or the "Company") did not breach its fiduciary duties when seeking shareholder approval of an equity incentive compensation plan (the "Plan"). Plaintiff ...
Supreme Court Affirms That Dissemination of False and Misleading Statement Can Result In Liability Under Subsections (a) and (c) of SEC Rule 10b-5
On March 27, 2019, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Lorenzo v. Securities and Exchange Commission, No. 17-1077, -- S. Ct. --, 2019 WL 1369839 (2019) affirming the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals' and the Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") finding that "by knowing disseminating false information to prospective investors, ...
Faruqi & Faruqi Scores Win for Investors Before Supreme Court of the United States
On April 23, 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed as improvidently granted the writ of certiorari granted in Emulex Corp. v. Varjabedian, No. 18-459. The case originated in the Northern District of California where shareholders had asserted claims under Section 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to challenge the Recommendation Statement ...
Federal Grand Jury Validates Allegations in In re: Suboxone (Buprenorphine Hydrochloride and Naloxone) Antitrust Litigation
A federal grand jury indicted Indivior Inc. and Indivior PLC for fraudulently marketing its blockbuster drug, Suboxone. The indictment echoed the same allegations made by plaintiffs in In re: Suboxone (Buprenorphine Hydrochloride and Naloxone) Antitrust Litigation, No. 2:13-md-02445, a civil case that plaintiffs have been litigating in the ...