450 results for 'cat:"Securities"'.
J. Rowland partially grants the defendant real estate investors’ motion to dismiss a fraud complaint brought by one of their former business partners, the plaintiff real estate investor. During a fight over the partner’s shares of their mutually owned business, the sued investors began to box plaintiff out of communications and financial documents, and using financial maneuvers to ensure he didn’t receive payouts from the company’s general partners. The court finds the plaintiff investor has sufficiently alleged this constituted securities fraud, shareholder oppression and fraudulent concealment as to one account, but dismisses his breach of fiduciary duties claims and his fraudulent concealment claims as they regard another account.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Rowland, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv5628, NOS: Stockholders’ Suits - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Real Estate, securities
J. McKeown denies a petition for panel rehearing and issues an amended opinion affirming in part a district court’s dismissal of a securities fraud action against Facebook. The complaint involves improperly harvested personal data from millions of unwitting Facebook users by Cambridge Analytica. Facebook allegedly retained copies of the data beyond Facebook’s control and knew of the misconduct for over two years but failed to inform affected users. Facebook shareholders filed suit, alleging that Facebook violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by making materially misleading statements and omissions regarding the risk of improper access to Facebook users’ data. The shareholders did not adequately plead facts giving rise to "a strong inference of scienter" as to investigation statements offered by Cambridge Analytica. The district court did not err in dismissal for those statements. However, the dismissal is reversed as to other statements related to Facebook stock price drops. Affirmed in part.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: McKeown, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 22-15077, Categories: securities, Privacy
J. Chun dismisses without prejudice the shareholders' consolidated amended complaint accusing Amazon and six of its corporate executives of not telling them that Amazon's sales figures were not sustainable. The shareholders do not present any direct evidence about the corporate executives' states of mind nor do they present substantial circumstantial evidence to prove that the corporate executives did what is alleged in the shareholders' complaint.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Chun, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv617, NOS: Stockholders’ Suits - Contract, Categories: securities
J. Wesley finds that the district court properly held that a mutual fund violated the Investment Company Act by amending bylaws to discourage activist investors. The amendment limited shareholders who possessed more than 10% of any closed-end investment fund to vote on the purchase of additional shares, while the Act requires equal voting rights for every share of common stock. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Wesley, Filed On: November 30, 2023, Case #: 22-407, Categories: securities
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
Vice Chancellor Fioravanti grants Venezuela's state-owned oil company the right to a replacement stock certificate for its shares in a Delaware holding company that owns one of the largest operating petroleum refiners in the U.S. The holding company lacked good cause to decline the issuance as long as the oil company posts an unsecured bond of $10,000.
Court: Delaware Chancery Court, Judge: Fioravanti, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 2023-0778-PAF, Categories: securities
J. Bishop finds the trial court properly determined the amount of the former company vice president's interest in the company in an employment contract action. The court denied the company's motion for a directed verdict seeking declaratory judgment in favor of its determined amount of $410,000 and found the fair market value was $2 million. An independent expert business valuator noted the company's analysis lacked independence and consideration of future projects, while it also used an excessive discount rate and subtracted future debt. Furthermore, the former vice president testified his IRS filing reflects a $2 million closeout of the account. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bishop , Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: A-22-892, Categories: Employment, securities, Contract
J. Quraishi rules in part for the commodity futures trading commission in claims contending a foreign exchange company refused to allow customers to withdraw accounts before dissolving. The complaint adequately alleges the manager made misrepresentations to entice investors to deposit funds which he appropriated for his own use. However, the claims fail to allege he advised others on the value of trading forex or that he qualified as a registered commodity trading advisor.
Court: USDC New Jersey, Judge: Quraishi , Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv17776, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: securities
J. Wilder-Domes grants a request by an investment firm and orders Louisiana’s largest public retirement system to respond to discovery requests by a private foundation in Austria seeking evidence for a criminal investigation of the foundation’s alleged loss of hundreds of millions of dollars by fraudulent purchases. The Louisiana pension system was one of several passive investors in a private equity fund that indirectly owned an Austrian company where three named executives are accused of misappropriating corporate funds. The Austrian foundation has filed similar discovery requests related to the international criminal probe with other passive investors in the federal Southern District of New York and Wisconsin.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Wilder-Doomes , Filed On: November 24, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv365, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Fraud, International Law, securities
Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court properly dismissed class securities fraud claims contending the Boston Beer company made misleading statements about the potential for future sales of a hard seltzer product line, which plateaued after precautions for the Covid-19 pandemic loosened, because the optimistic statements either constituted inactionable opinions or were "literally true without being otherwise misleading." Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 22, 2023, Case #: 23-8, Categories: Fraud, securities, Class Action
J. Shah denies a capital fund’s motion to dismiss a securities fraud complaint for lack of jurisdiction, but partially grants its motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. Investors in the fund say they lost $1.3 million to the fund, and after its managers gave them misleading reports about its, in reality, poor performance. The court finds it has jurisdiction over the suit but dismisses most of the investors’ state-level claims and their federal securities claims. The state law negligence charge survives.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Shah, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1010, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Fraud, securities, Negligence
J. Buchanan finds that the trial court properly refused to dismiss a white-collar enhancement that contributed to defendant's 23-year sentence for grand theft and securities fraud. Dismissal of the enhancement was discretionary and did not become mandatory upon a finding that dismissal would not endanger public safety. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Buchanan, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: D081331, Categories: Fraud, Sentencing, securities
J. Hightower denies a self-described crypto influencer’s motion to exclude expert testimony in a lawsuit brought by the SEC seeking to penalize the influencer for selling securities without a registration statement. The influencer has not shown that the expert, a professor who specializes in crypto markets and blockchain technology, plans to offer testimony that is overly opinionated or outside his area of expertise.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Hightower, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv950, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Government, securities, Experts
[Consolidated.] J. Childs denies petitions for review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's orders concerning a regional transmission organization's request for revisions to its open access transmission tariff for the planning of end of life needs. Contrary to the consumer-side stakeholders' claims, the commission reasonably explained its decisions, and it did not act arbitrarily or capriciously.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Childs, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: 20-1449 , Categories: Energy, securities
J. Livingston finds that the district court properly remanded class fiduciary duty and tortious interference claims shareholders brought against a company and its merger partner. An exception to the Class Action Fairness Act applied since the merger involved securities that allegedly shortchanged shareholders from owning preferred stock.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Livingston, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 23-1262, Categories: securities, Fiduciary Duty, Class Action
J. Smith finds that the district court improperly imposed a purpose-specific approval requirement in a derivative action brought by a shareholder. However, the district court properly held that the board was aware that an individual defendant had an indirect interest in the challenged transactions when it approved them. A Securities and Exchange Rule does not require the board of directors to approve a transaction for the specific purpose of exempting it from liability. This is the rare case where all parties involved agree that the court must reverse. Both plaintiff individual and the SEC—which filed an amicus brief in this case—acknowledge that the Securities and Exchange Rule lacks a purpose-specific approval requirement. Affirmed in part.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 22-16632, Categories: securities
J. Wright, in this accelerated interlocutory appeal, finds the trial court improperly denied the law firm’s motion to dismiss this suit alleging legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty filed by a minority shareholder in a company against the law firm hired to represent the company against the shareholder. Claims made by the shareholder on behalf of the company arise out of and relate to the firm’s legal representation of the majority shareholder and company, and fall within the scope of the arbitration clause of an agreement entered into by the law firm and majority shareholder and company. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00342-CV, Categories: securities, Fiduciary Duty, Legal Malpractice
J. Wright grants final approval to a class action settlement in an action alleging securities law violations by a smart-home tech company. The relief provided by the settlement, which provides that the company spend $300,000 yearly for the next five years to improve its risk management practices and implement other terms designed to protect its shareholders, is adequate. Attorney fees of $1,600,000 and service awards of $15,000 to named plaintiffs are also appropriate.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv1965, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: securities, Attorney Fees, Class Action
J. Jackson-Akiwumi finds that the lower court properly dismissed a securities fraud suit alleging that a proxy statement disclosing the terms of a merger contained materially misleading statements. The proxy statement contained all required disclosures, and the shareholders cannot save their claims by arguing that the disclosures were not emphasized enough. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Jackson-Akiwumi, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 21-3234, Categories: Fraud, securities
J. Wicks partially grants the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s motion to strike a former software consultant’s reply to the agency’s lawsuit against him for his role in an apparently fraudulent commodities pool. His reply asserts violations of attorney-client privilege and Sixth Amendment violations on the part of the commission, and was filed past deadline; these allegations are scandalous, unsubstantiated and irrelevant to the underlying lawsuit. His motion to compel an attorney to give the consultant all records related to the lawsuit fails because he has not demonstrated a good cause to reopen discovery.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Wicks, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: 2:17cv4087, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Sanctions, securities, Privilege
J. Kovner dismisses all securities claims against an e-wallets company and their officers, who claim the company made false and misleading statements related to Russian regulation compliances. Some of the accounting information given during earnings calls could be considered somewhat inconsistent, but there is no evidence that this correlated to any losses to investors or served as a violation of securities laws. The court grants leave to the international company for an amended complaint.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Kovner, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv6054, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Fraud, securities
J. Maddox denies a self-represented citizen’s renewed motion for default judgment, for lack of personal jurisdiction, in his trademark suit against two financial companies that created a cryptocurrency called Dibcoin. The citizen fails to show that the reversal decision arises from a specific Dibcoin transaction, and the trademark registration makes no mention of these transactions. The citizen has 30 days to file a motion for transfer.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Maddox, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv2504, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: securities, Trademark, Jurisdiction