A recurring issue in FDIC litigation against the former directors and officers of failed banks has been whether the business judgment rule insulates the defendants from claims of ordinary negligence. This question has been particularly important in Georgia, where there were more bank failures than any in other state and consequently more failed bank litigation.
SEC Commissioner Aguilar Addresses Cybersecurity Oversight Responsibilities of Corporate Boards
In a June 10, 2014 speech entitled “Boards of Directors, Corporate Governance and Cyber-Risks: Sharpening the Focus” delivered at the New York Stock Exchange, SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar highlighted the critical importance of the involvement of boards of directors in cybersecurity oversight. In his speech, Aguilar stressed that “ensuring the adequacy of a company’s
Guest Post: Cyber Security, Cyber Governance, and Cyber Insurance: What Every Public Company Director Needs to Know
As I have frequently noted on this site (refer, for example, here), cyber security issues increasingly are a board level concern, and indeed, recent shareholder litigation has shown that investors intend to hold board members accountable when data breaches cause problems for their companies. In the following guest article, which was previously published
Environmental Liability and D&O Exposure
Duke Energy, the largest provider of electricity in the United States, faces a number of challenges as it struggles to deal with the consequences of the February 2, 2014 coal ash spill at its Dan River Steam Station in Eden, North Carolina. In addition to the environmental remediation issues facing the company, two of its
Looted Art, Provenance, and D&O Claims
The recent discovery in the Munich apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt of a massive trove of Nazi-looted art has drawn renewed attention to the fraught and murky world of art provenance – that is, the ownership history of art works, which can be critical for determining who holds proper title to the art. Provenance questions frequently
Wyndham Worldwide Board Hit with Cyber Breach-Related Derivative Lawsuit
In what is the latest example of the potential cybersecurity-related liability of corporate boards, a shareholder for Wyndham Worldwide Corporation has initiated a derivative lawsuit against certain directors and officers of the company, as well as against the company itself as nominal defendant, related to the three data breaches the company the company and its
Liability Exposures of Audit Committee Chairs
One frequently asked question is whether members of a corporate board’s audit committee face heightened liability exposures. Two recent SEC enforcement actions seem to underscore that audit committee chairs do face liability exposures. Though both cases involve somewhat unusual circumstances, they seem to suggest that the “gatekeepers” on which SEC has said it will be
Guest Post: Social Media and D&O Liability Exposures
Earlier this week I published a post on this site about the employment practices liability exposures that the social media may present for employers. After seeing my post, D&O maven Dan Bailey of the Bailey Cavalieri law firm send me a note pointing out that the social media also present D&O liability exposures for companies
Antitrust Enforcement and Corporate Risk Exposure
As a result of heightened regulatory scrutiny and changing enforcement priorities around the world, “cartel enforcement is a hot topic in boardroom,” according to a March 29, 2014 Economist magazine article entitled “Just One More Fix” (here). According to the article, antitrust enforcement authorities are getting “better at detecting cartels and bolder in
Why Did the Bank Fail?: Defending Failed Bank Directors and Officers
Since the early stages of the financial crisis, nearly 500 banks have failed across the U.S., and even though we are now well past the peak of the financial crisis, banks continue to fail. Yet during the same time as scores of banks were failing, many more banks did not fail – which raises the