A federal court has ruled in the only FDIC failed bank lawsuit pending in Florida that directors cannot be liable for ordinary negligence under Florida law. On August 8, 2012, Middle District of Florida Judge Gregory Presnell granted the motion of the director defendants to dismiss the FDIC’s claim against them for ordinary negligence. A
Securities Suit Based on Environmental Disclosures Settled
According to papers filed in the Southern District of New York on August 3, 2012, the parties to the Tronox securities litigation have agreed to settle the case for a total of $37 million. As I noted at the time that this suit was first filed back in July 2009 (here), the case
Fidelity Insurance and the Timing of the Employer’s Responsibility for an Employee Defalcation
On August 1, 2011, in a 2-1 decision characterized by a testy but interesting exchange between the majority and the dissent, the Sixth Circuit held that a fidelity policy provided coverage for nearly one million dollars a bank employee stole from client brokerage accounts. For those who (like me) are not regularly involved in fidelity
Lawsuits in the Social Networking World Recall the Days of the Dot Com Crash
In a July 27, 2012 article entitled “In Sliding Internet Stocks, Some Hear Echo of 2000” (here), the New York Times detailed how the shares of some of the hottest publicly traded social networking and Internet companies have been hammered recently. The Times suggested that as the companies’ shares dropped “there were instant
Second Circuit Revives Dismissed Securities Suit Against U.S.-Listed Chinese Company
In October 2011, when Southern District of New York Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum dismissed the securities class action lawsuit that had been filed against China North Petroleum Holdings, Ltd, it was the first of the many cases recently filed against U.S.-listed Chinese companies to be dismissed (as discussed at length here). However, in an
Corporate Officials’ Strict Liability Conviction Under the Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine Can Have “Career-Ending” Consequences
Under the Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine, corporate officials can be held liable for misconduct in which they did not participate and of which they have been entirely unaware, based on their responsibility for the corporation itself. As shown in a July 27, 2012 opinion from the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (here
Another Libor-Scandal Antitrust Lawsuit Filed, This One on Behalf of Derivatives Investors
At the risk of sounding repetitive, I must report here that there has been yet another Libor-scandal related lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York. The latest lawsuit, filed on July 30, 2012, purports to be filed on behalf of a class of investors who bought U.S. dollar Libor-based derivatives beginning August 1
New York Bank Sues Libor-Setting Banks for Fraud
In the latest lawsuit to arise from the rapidly evolving Libor scandal, a New York bank has filed a purported class action in the Southern District of New York, seeking to recover damages from the U.S. Dollar Libor rate setting banks for fraud. The complaint, which was filed July 25, 2012 and which can be
Faltering Lawsuits: Dismissal Motions Hit FCPA Follow-On Civil Actions and Say-on-Pay Suits
Among the many litigation threats companies face, a couple of specific kinds of cases have recently emerged: the civil action following on in the wake of an FCPA investigation or enforcement action, and the shareholder suit following after a negative “say on pay” vote. Many companies involved in an FCPA investigation or experiencing a negative
Wage and Hour Suit Filings at All-Time High
Lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) were at an all-time high for the year ending on March 31, 2012, according to a recent law firm study. Moreover, the wage and hour suits are up nearly 350 percent from the equivalent period ten years prior.
According to the U.S. Department of