Flying Pop-Tart Cats and Million Dollar Tweets: What on Earth are NFTs?
In March, a collage of images by an artist named Beeple sold at Christie's for $69.3 million, the third-highest price achieved by a living artist. This was notable not just because of the eye-popping price, but because the collage is "entirely digital." The buyer bought, in essence, a JPG file. What is special about this file is that it is ...
F&F Defeats Motion To Dismiss In Case Against Tortilla Company
On April 22, 2021, Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP scored a big win in a case against Olé Mexican Foods, the maker of the popular tortilla brand La Banderita. The suit alleges that the company mislead consumers into believing its tortillas are made in Mexico, when in fact, they are not. In the decision denying the motion to dismiss in its entirety, ...
Can Businesses Require Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccination?
As offices start to open back up, businesses must implement COVID-19 protocol to keep spaces and employees safe. In addition to distancing desks, building plexus glass barriers, and providing hand sanitizer in the office, business can go one step further and require employees to be vaccinated to return to the office. Government guidance says ...
Unions Increase Pressure on U.S. Senators to Pass the PRO Act—A Boon to All Workers, Not Just Unions.
On Friday, April 9, 2021, the AFL-CIO—the largest federation of unions in the United States—led a national day of action to urge U.S. Senators to back the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or "PRO Act." The PRO Act has already passed through the House of Representatives, but does not presently have the 60 votes necessary to pass through ...
Securities Fraud Claims Sustained Against OSI Systems, Inc.
In a recent decision by United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin, OSI Systems, Inc. ("OSI") lost its motion to dismiss a securities fraud class action that was lodged against it after Muddy Waters Research published two research reports questioning whether the company had misled investors. According to the complaint, a significant portion ...
Bristol-Myers Squibb to Pay $75 Million to Settle False Claims Act Case Litigated by Faruqi & Faruqi on Behalf of Industry Whistleblower
On April 1, the Department of Justice announced that pharmaceutical manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb ("BMS") would pay $75 million "to resolve allegations that it knowingly underpaid rebates owed under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program." This settlement concludes a False Claims Act case first brought by whistleblower Ronald J. Streck in 2008, ...
The Goldman Sachs Case Could Break In A Number of Different Directions
On Monday the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the long-running securities class action filed in 2010 against Goldman Sachs. The case stems from a collateralized debt obligation transaction that Goldman underwrote in 2007 that lost CDO investors $1 billion. Goldman allegedly helped one client short the CDO while simultaneously selling ...
Shkreli, Vyera Withdraw Jury Demands in FTC Suit, as States Agree to Forego Civil Penalties/Forfeitures
In a recently filed joint stipulation, Vyera Pharmaceuticals, its former CEO, Martin Shkreli, and other defendants agreed to withdraw their demands for a jury trial in a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission and seven state attorneys general, alleging that Shkreli and his company Vyera engaged in a scheme to protect its monopoly ...
U.S. SUPREME COURT LIMITS REACH OF TCPA
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 ("TCPA") was passed by Congress to restrict unsolicited telemarketing communications sent by businesses to consumers. The question before the Supreme Court of the United States in Facebook v. Duguid was whether the TCPA only prohibited businesses from sending calls and text messages to phone numbers ...
Santa Clara University Defeats Claims Alleging It Failed to Provide In-Person Instruction
On March 29, 2021, Judge Lucy H. Koh of the Northern District of California dealt a major blow to the putative class action brought against Santa Clara University, where students sought a refund of tuition and fees after classes were moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case was brought by three law students alleging that the university ...
DELAWARE COURT OF CHANCERY REJECTS UNREASONABLY BROAD “POISON PILL”
On February 26, 2021, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a stockholder rights plan adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic by the board of directors of The Williams Companies, Inc. ("Williams" or the "Company") was unenforceable. See The Williams Companies Litigation, C.A. 2020-0707-KSJM (Del. Ch. Feb. 26, 2021). Stockholder rights plans, ...
Wynn Las Vegas Pays $5.6 Million to Resolve Tip Misappropriation Claims
On March 26, 2021, the renowned casino Wynn Las Vegas agreed to pay $5.6 million to a collective of Nevada table game dealers, resolving claims that the casino improperly forced dealers to share their tips with their managers and supervisors. The settlement provides relief to approximately 1,000 current and former dealers who worked at the ...
SEC Shareholder Proposal Amendments Challenged by Senate Democrats
On March 25, 2021, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, introduced a joint resolution disapproving several recent amendments to Rule14a-8, which significantly raised the holding and time requirements in order to have a shareholder's proposal included in proxy materials. Under the "Congressional Review Act", "[a] rule shall not take effect (or continue), ...
Salmon Producers Face Upstream Fight as Court Denies Motion to Dismiss
Four of the world's largest salmon-farming companies, and several of their affiliates, must face allegations of price-fixing by a proposed class of direct purchasers, as the District Court for Southern District of Florida denied the defendants' joint motion to dismiss the claims. The direct purchasers plaintiffs allege that the defendants ...
The Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act Will Provide Additional Protections Related to Requests for Workplace Accommodations
A. Current Protections Under Federal Law for Pregnant Employees Who Need Accommodations are Inadequate A pregnant employee may be able to prove that her employer discriminated against her in violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act ("PDA") by showing that her employer provided most non-pregnant employees with an accommodation (i.e. a ...
Legislation Limiting Use of Non-Compete Agreements Reintroduced in House and Senate with Bipartisan Support
On February 25, 2021, Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) reintroduced the "Workforce Mobility Act," which limits the use on non-compete agreements in employment. Senators Murphy and Young previously introduced the same legislation in late 2019, though with the little success. This time, however, the Workforce Mobility ...
CEO PAY CONTINUES TO RISE, WILL SHAREHOLDERS STOP IT?
On February 25, 2021, As You Sow, a non-profit that strives to promote social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, released their seventh annual report entitled The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs. According to the report, executives at some of the world's largest companies pulled in record compensation for the fifth straight year, ...
Senator Klobuchar Introduces New Antitrust Bill that May Spell Trouble for Tech Giants
Last year, Congress made it clear that tech giants such as Apple, Facebook, and Google will face growing antitrust scrutiny. In October 2020, the Department of Justice sued Google for alleged anticompetitive tactics, such as using tying arrangements that force preinstallation of Google's search applications on mobile devices. And now United ...
Will Biden’s SEC Adopt A Uniform Set Of Rules Directing Public Companies To Enhance Climate-Related Disclosures?
Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee (a Trump appointee to the SEC who was designated as acting chair by President Biden until his nominee Gary Gensler - known in the industry as the "Money Cop" – is confirmed) directed SEC staff at the Division of Corporation Finance to "enhance its focus on climate-related disclosures in public company ...
SEC URGES ADDITIONAL RISK DISCLOSURES FOR “MEME STOCKS”
In the wake of the Game Stop trading frenzy fueled by a social media meme, the SEC has posted new guidance for companies facing unusual periods of extreme price volatility in their securities, such as so-called "meme stocks." The guidance, posted on Monday, February 8, essentially asks companies to put potential investors on notice that a ...