CAREMARK CLAIMS AGAINST DIRECTORS & OFFICERS OF KANDI TECHNOLOGIES GROUP SURVIVES MOTION TO DISMISS
On April 27, 2020, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied defendants' motion to dismiss because a demand on Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. ("Kandi") board of directors would have been futile. In doing so, the Vice Chancellor found that plaintiff's complaint supported "a reasonable pleading-stage inference ...
Faruqi & Faruqi Files Shareholder Derivative Lawsuit Against the Directors and Officers of LabCorp
On April 23, 2020, Faruqi & Faruqi commenced a shareholder derivative lawsuit against the board of directors and certain executive officers of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings ("LabCorp" or the "Company"). The lawsuit seeks to redress and remediate breaches of fiduciary duties by the board of directors and certain executive officers. ...
Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Wins Class Certification For Nestle Consumers
On April 29, 2020 the Honorable Daniel J. Buckley of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles granted Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP's class certification motion in a consumer class action against Nestle USA, Inc. The motion sought to certify a class of California consumers alleging that Nestle misleads consumers into believing that its ...
Essential Workers Nationwide Participate in May Day Strike for Improved Working Conditions During COVID-19 Outbreak
As most citizens across the United States continue to shelter in place to slow the spread of the novel Coronavirus, workers at grocery stores, department stores, pharmacies, parcel delivery services, and other essential businesses have been forced onto the frontlines, constantly putting their health at risk. These essential workers assume ...
Six States Join Antitrust Action Against Vyera Pharmaceuticals and Martin Shkreli for Daraprim Scheme
The FTC and New York State Attorney General recently amended their original January 2020 complaint against Vyera Pharmaceuticals and its now-infamous CEO, Martin Shkreli, to include six additional states as plaintiffs. The coalition of antitrust enforcers allege that Vyera engaged in an elaborate scheme to protect its monopoly on Daraprim ...
Rep. Ro Khanna and Sen. Elizabeth Warren Fight to Include an ‘Essential Workers’ Bill of Rights in Next Stimulus Package
On April 16, 2020, Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) unveiled a proposal for an Essential Workers Bill of Rights that would provide essential workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic with robust protections. The two lawmakers are calling for the bill to be included in the next COVID-19 relief ...
Covid-19 Affecting ESG Scores
ESG investment scores, which derive from the environmental, social and governance standards that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments, are being impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a recent Bloomberg report, the pandemic is "awakening fund managers who consider [ESG] issues when investing to blind spots ...
Opioid Litigation Watch: Purdue Pharma
Purdue Pharmaceutical—maker of the popular painkiller OxyContin—filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after an onslaught of lawsuits accused the company of contributing to the nation's opioid crisis. Because of its bankruptcy, these lawsuits were stayed (i.e., paused) for six months. During this time, Purdue proposed a global settlement that "could ...
Baseball Umpire Calls Out Systematic Discrimination in Major League Baseball
On April 24, 2020, Major League Baseball ("MLB") Umpire Angel Hernandez filed a motion for partial summary judgment against the professional baseball league, arguing that the MLB's promotion and postseason assignment policies for umpires are discriminatory. As outlined in Hernandez's motion, prior to the filing of his lawsuit in 2017, the ...
Stockpiling Sneaker Seller Slips-up
In a first of its kind case, the office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York has brought criminal charges against a Long Island entrepreneur under the Defense Production Act. The defendant owns several New York based businesses that sell sneakers and apparel. After a search of defendant's warehouse, investigators ...
SEC Establishes Cross-Divisional COVID-19 Market Monitoring Group
On April 24, 2020, the United States Securities Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced its formation of a cross-divisional COVID-19 Market Monitoring Group (the "Group"). The Group will be focused on the following tasks: (1) SEC and staff actions and analysis related to the effects of COVID-19 on markets, issuers, and investors; and (2) responding ...
The SEC Halts Trading Of More Than 20 Stocks Due To COVID-19 Claims
As a result of the influx of fraudulent activity stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, in April the Enforcement Division of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") suspended trading for more than 20 publicly-traded companies, including 16 penny stocks on the OTC market. The SEC explained that it has concerns that these ...
Price Gouging Tests the Limits of Free Competition
Last month, a pair of brothers in Tennessee made headlines for stockpiling hoards of hand sanitizer and bacterial wipes purchased from retailers during a "1,300-mile road trip across Tennessee and into Kentucky". The entrepreneurs then listed the items on Amazon, often for many times the original purchase price. Throughout March, similar stories ...
EEOC to Allow Employers to Test Employees for COVID-19 Upon Return to Work
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") provided further guidance on how far employers can go to screen workers for health risks before returning to the workplace. Specifically, the EEOC stated that employers may administer COVID-19 tests of employees upon returning to work without contravening the Americans with Disabilities ...
Musk’s “Funding Secured” Tweet Found To Be Actionable
On April 15, 2020, Northern District of California Judge Edward Chen denied Tesla, Inc.'s ("Tesla") motion to dismiss the consolidated class action lawsuit regarding Elon Musk's tweet to take Tesla private for $420, finding that the tweet and several related statements were false and misleading. The Court found that the specific words and ...
Volkswagen Characterizes SEC Emissions Fraud Suit as “Me Too Litigation”
Volkswagen has taken the unusual step of arguing that a case brought by the SEC on behalf of defrauded bond investors is "me too" litigation and that the SEC claims are "inequitable." In 2015, the EPA determined that the huge auto maker installed "defeat devices" in millions of "clean diesel" vehicles that were specifically engineered to cheat ...
The U.S. Is Awash in Coronavirus Scams
A pandemic of consumer fraud has followed in COVID-19's wake. Since the beginning of this year, the FTC has received more than 7,800 reports of scams related to COVID-19. Among these scams, many had focused on so-called "miracle" cures.Recent miracle cure scams include: • Vital Silver essential oil products, which the FTC and FDA allege ...
Consumers Seek Revival of the Parmesan Cheese False Advertising Case in the Seventh Circuit
Last week, plaintiffs in the In Re: 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese Marketing And Sales Practice Litigation filed their opening brief in the Seventh Circuit, asking the panel to revive their dismissed false advertising claims. The plaintiffs' claims seek to hold different manufactures and sellers liable for falsely claiming their grated parmesan ...
Rise of Mass Arbitration Tactics Defeats Corporations at Their Own Game
In 2011, the United States Supreme Court transformed the field of class action litigation in the landmark case AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that agreements requiring consumers' and employees' claims to be arbitrated individually, as opposed to a class-wide basis, were enforceable and preempted state ...
CORONAVRIUS TRACKING PLAN HAS SECURITY RISKS
Contact tracing, along with widespread testing and effective quarantine measures, is seen as critical to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The ambitious Covid-19 contact tracing plan that is being developed by Apple and Alphabet Inc.'s Google has great potential. However, it will undoubtably create a tempting target for cybercriminals looking ...