“Boeing will pay more than $2.5 billion to settle a criminal charge related to the two 737 Max plane crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people,” reports David Schaper in NPR’s Business.

“The Justice Department has announced that it has reached a deferred prosecution agreement with Boeing to resolve a charge of criminal conspiracy to defraud the FAA.”

“Boeing admits to criminal misconduct for misleading regulators about the safety of the troubled jetliner, but the airplane manufacturer is not pleading guilty to the charge. If Boeing complies with the terms of the settlement, in three years the government will drop the criminal charge. That’s important for Boeing, a huge federal defense contractor, because a criminal conviction would prohibit the company from getting future government contracts.”

Read the article.

“The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that General Electric Co. … has agreed to pay a $200 million penalty to settle charges for misleading investors regarding the profitability and risks to some of its core business lines, the agency said.” reports Chris Matthews in MarketWatch’s Economy & Politics.

“The order found that the company misled investors in 2016 and 2017 about the source of profitability in its GE Power business, and failed to inform investors of risks relating to its portfolio of long-term health insurance liabilities between 2015 and 2017.”

“General Electric stock fell 75.7% from the beginning of 2016 through the end of 2018, according to FactSet.”

Read the article.

“Southern California Edison will pay over $1 billion to settle litigation over the 2017 Thomas and Koenigstein fires and subsequent mudslides that followed in the community of Montecito, the utility giant announced Wednesday,” reports Nathan Solis in Courthouse News Service.

“SCE did not acknowledge liability in the settlement, although its equipment sparked the massive wildfire.”

“The Thomas Fire burned nearly 282,000 acres across multiple counties in late 2017, killing two people and destroying over 1,000 structures. Heavy rain the following year on the fire scar led to a mudslide above the community of Montecito in Ventura County that killed 21 people when debris flowed over homes.”

Read the article.

“Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, has preliminarily approved a class action settlement reached between Defendants BASF Catalysts, LLC (“BASF”) and Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP (“Cahill”) and Plaintiffs to resolve claims relating to prior Emtal Talc litigation by creating a non-reversionary fund of $72.5 million to pay up to 19,000 potential claimants and agreeing to pay fees and other expenses as described in the Settlement Agreement,” reported by the Emtal Talc Settlement Notice Agent in The Central Virginian.

“Emtal Talc was used in the manufacturing of industrial products … The settlement resolves a class action lawsuit in which Plaintiffs claim that from 1984 until 2009 Engelhard (BASF acquired Engelhard in 2006), its former national law firm Cahill, and employees of the two companies, made misstatements or concealed evidence about the existence of alleged asbestos in Emtal Talc and failed to disclose related information to plaintiffs, their lawyers, and courts in the Underlying Lawsuits.”

Read the article.

OneSpan has published a white paper titled “Beyond Business Continuity, The New Normal in Remote Banking and Insurance” and made it available for downloading at no charge. (See the download form below.)

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated trends toward remote banking, digitization, and remote work as the world embraced new technologies and processes to keep our financial institutions, businesses, and society functional. Around the world, people now rely more than ever on digital solutions for interactions and transactions that have traditionally involved a visit to the branch or a face-to-face meeting with an advisor.

In this paper, we explore the top financial processes to digitize with e-signatures and digital identity verification technology – as well as key security considerations to support the rise of the digital-first financial services provider.

The new normal is here, and electronic signatures are key to continued success.

In this white paper, you will learn:

• Global regulatory responses shaping the new normal
• The top financial processes to digitize with e-signatures
• How to determine your organization’s readiness to deploy e-signatures

var gform;gform||(document.addEventListener("gform_main_scripts_loaded",function(){gform.scriptsLoaded=!0}),window.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){gform.domLoaded=!0}),gform={domLoaded:!1,scriptsLoaded:!1,initializeOnLoaded:function(o){gform.domLoaded&&gform.scriptsLoaded?o():!gform.domLoaded&&gform.scriptsLoaded?window.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",o):document.addEventListener("gform_main_scripts_loaded",o)},hooks:{action:{},filter:{}},addAction:function(o,n,r,t){gform.addHook("action",o,n,r,t)},addFilter:function(o,n,r,t){gform.addHook("filter",o,n,r,t)},doAction:function(o){gform.doHook("action",o,arguments)},applyFilters:function(o){return gform.doHook("filter",o,arguments)},removeAction:function(o,n){gform.removeHook("action",o,n)},removeFilter:function(o,n,r){gform.removeHook("filter",o,n,r)},addHook:function(o,n,r,t,i){null==gform.hooks[o][n]&&(gform.hooks[o][n]=[]);var e=gform.hooks[o][n];null==i&&(i=n+"_"+e.length),gform.hooks[o][n].push({tag:i,callable:r,priority:t=null==t?10:t})},doHook:function(n,o,r){var t;if(r=Array.prototype.slice.call(r,1),null!=gform.hooks[n][o]&&((o=gform.hooks[n][o]).sort(function(o,n){return o.priority-n.priority}),o.forEach(function(o){"function"!=typeof(t=o.callable)&&(t=window[t]),"action"==n?t.apply(null,r):r[0]=t.apply(null,r)})),"filter"==n)return r[0]},removeHook:function(o,n,t,i){var r;null!=gform.hooks[o][n]&&(r=(r=gform.hooks[o][n]).filter(function(o,n,r){return!!(null!=i&&i!=o.tag||null!=t&&t!=o.priority)}),gform.hooks[o][n]=r)}});

/* = 0;if(!is_postback){return;}var form_content = jQuery(this).contents().find('#gform_wrapper_44');var is_confirmation = jQuery(this).contents().find('#gform_confirmation_wrapper_44').length > 0;var is_redirect = contents.indexOf('gformRedirect(){') >= 0;var is_form = form_content.length > 0 && ! is_redirect && ! is_confirmation;var mt = parseInt(jQuery('html').css('margin-top'), 10) + parseInt(jQuery('body').css('margin-top'), 10) + 100;if(is_form){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_44').html(form_content.html());if(form_content.hasClass('gform_validation_error')){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_44').addClass('gform_validation_error');} else {jQuery('#gform_wrapper_44').removeClass('gform_validation_error');}setTimeout( function() { /* delay the scroll by 50 milliseconds to fix a bug in chrome */ jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery('#gform_wrapper_44').offset().top - mt); }, 50 );if(window['gformInitDatepicker']) {gformInitDatepicker();}if(window['gformInitPriceFields']) {gformInitPriceFields();}var current_page = jQuery('#gform_source_page_number_44').val();gformInitSpinner( 44, 'http://generalcounselnews.com/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.svg', true );jQuery(document).trigger('gform_page_loaded', [44, current_page]);window['gf_submitting_44'] = false;}else if(!is_redirect){var confirmation_content = jQuery(this).contents().find('.GF_AJAX_POSTBACK').html();if(!confirmation_content){confirmation_content = contents;}setTimeout(function(){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_44').replaceWith(confirmation_content);jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery('#gf_44').offset().top - mt);jQuery(document).trigger('gform_confirmation_loaded', [44]);window['gf_submitting_44'] = false;wp.a11y.speak(jQuery('#gform_confirmation_message_44').text());}, 50);}else{jQuery('#gform_44').append(contents);if(window['gformRedirect']) {gformRedirect();}}jQuery(document).trigger('gform_post_render', [44, current_page]);gform.utils.trigger({ event: 'gform/postRender', native: false, data: { formId: 44, currentPage: current_page } });} );} ); /* ]]> */

 

 

“Simon Property Group, Inc. (“Simon”) wants out of a deal to acquire its competitor, Taubman Centers, Inc. (“Taubman”), due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” reports Amy E. Lott and Lynsey J. Hyde in Gray Reed’s M&A Insights.

“Simon, the buyer, is an Indiana-based company that owns malls, outlets, and shopping centers. Its last 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission states that it had an interest in more than 200 properties in the United States. For example, in Texas, Simon owns The Galleria in Houston, Katy Mills, Grapevine Mills, Houston Premium Outlets in Cypress, and The Domain in Austin, among others.”

“Taubman, the seller, is a Michigan-based company that also owns malls, outlets, and shopping centers. Its portfolio includes shopping centers in the United States and Asia, including the Beverly Center in Los Angeles, the International Place Market in Waikiki, the Starfield Hanam in South Korea, and The Mall of San Juan in Puerto Rico.”

Read the article.

“A unit of UBS Group AG is paying $10 million to settle charges with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that it broke rules concerning giving priority to small investors in the purchase of municipal bonds,” reports Shivdeep Dhaliwal in Benzinga.

“The SEC said Monday it found that UBS Financial Services Inc. allocated municipal bonds meant for retail investors to so-called ‘flippers,’ who then immediately resold the bonds to other broker-dealers for gain between 2012 to 2016.”

“This practice allowed the Swiss bank to obtain bonds for its own inventory in an improper way that violated rules concerning the priority of orders.”

“The federal agency has imposed a $1.7 million penalty, $6.74 million in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and $1.5 million in prejudgement interest along with a censure on UBS.”

Read the article.

“The Tezos (XTZ) class-action lawsuit from law firm Block & Leviton will likely conclude in a $25-million settlement on August 27. Tezos, like many initial coin offerings (ICO) from 2017, has come under scrutiny from both investors and regulators alike alleging that its token sale constituted an illegal offering of securities,” reports Osato Avan-Nomayo in Coin Telegraph.

“Indeed, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has come down hard on numerous 2017-era ICOs demanding penalties for securities violation. Even distributions to non-U.S. citizens have also come under the SEC’s radar, as was the case with Telegram.”

“The SEC has consistently maintained that most ICOs are indeed unlicensed securities offerings despite pushback from stakeholders in the country to exempt a wider range of tokens from securities regulation. With more jurisdictions paying greater attention to crypto-based fundraising, the ICO model appears to be a thing of the past with more focus on regulated token sales.”

Read the article.

“Attorney General Maura Healey has reached a $380,000 settlement with a Canton-based building contractor accused of falsely claiming they had hired minority- and women-owned subcontractors as required on a $15 million dollar state project,” reports Paul Singer and Chris Burrell in WGBH’s local news.

“The company, ENE Systems, Inc. — a systems engineering firm that has worked on major building projects across the region — denies any wrongdoing, and said it tried to meet the hiring goals, but it agreed to pay $300,000, give up another $81,000 remaining on the contract and conduct an annual review of its own compliance with state requirements for hiring minorities and women. The settlement is the seventh “false claims” case brought by the AG’s office over the past decade against companies accused of failing to meet minority hiring commitments, and is the second largest. Six of these cases have been brought by a new false claims division created by Healey in 2015.”

“Earlier this year, an investigation by WGBH’s New England Center for Investigative Reporting showed that minority-owned businesses — black owned businesses in particular — receive only a tiny fraction of the billions of dollars state agencies spend each year on contractors, and their share of state contracts and discretionary agency spending has declined over the past 20 years.”

Read the article.

“Equifax will pay Massachusetts $18.2 million and change its security practices as part of a settlement between the credit reporting agency and the state stemming from a major 2017 data breach, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Friday,” reports Chris Lisinski in WBUR’s Bostonomix.

“Healey sued Equifax shortly after the company’s alleged missteps exposed personal data, including Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers, of 147 million Americans and 3 million Massachusetts residents. The attorney general said the company also failed to notify consumers in a timely manner once the breach occurred.”

“Her office reached its own settlement with Equifax about nine months after declining to join other states in July 2019 agreements, which the attorney general told reporters allowed Massachusetts to secure a larger payment and more strict conditions on the company.”

Read the article.

“On April 9th, 2020 the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed the trial court’s decision in Nemeth v. Brenntag North America, et al., Case No. 9765, New York County Index No. 190138/14, denying the defendant’s post-trial motions,” reports Levy Konigsberg LLP in Benziga’s PRNewsWire.

“The plaintiffs, Florence and Frank Nemeth of Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, sued several manufacturers and distributors of asbestos-containing products, including a distributor of talcum powder named Whittaker Clark & Daniels, Inc. (“WCD”), after Florence was diagnosed with mesothelioma following years of using talcum powder in a product called Desert Flower, the talc for which WCD had sourced from asbestos-containing mines.”

“Florence succumbed to the disease before trial, and was survived by her husband Frank and their two children and four grandchildren.”

Read the article.

“The three giant drug distributors are negotiating a deal with the states to end thousands of opioid lawsuits nationwide, in which they would pay $19.2 billion over 18 years and immediately submit to stringent monitoring requirements to assure that suspicious orders for prescription opioids would be halted,” reports Jan Hoffman in The New York Times’ Health.

“So far, 31 states plus the District of Columbia have tentatively agreed to the deal, while 19 states, including Florida, Connecticut and West Virginia, have not.”

Read the article.

“A $143 million settlement between Columbia Gas and thousands of people affected by the company’s 2018 pipeline disaster in the Merrimack Valley received final approval from a state judge on Thursday,” reports Callum Borchers in Bostonmix.

“The resolution of a class action civil case comes two weeks after Columbia Gas agreed to plead guilty in a criminal proceeding, acknowledging it violated the federal Pipeline Safety Act. The plea deal included a $53 million fine and required Columbia’s parent company, NiSource, to sell its Massachusetts business. NiSource quickly found a buyer in Eversource.”

“Anyone who lived in Lawrence, Andover or North Andover at the time of widespread fires and explosions in September 2018 can apply for compensation. The deadline to file a claim has been extended to April 27.”

Read the article.

Read the article.

Jason Reeves and Helen Campbell of Zelle LLP offer some advice on commercial property insurance contracts in the firm’s Articles.

“Over the past decade, as commercial property insurance rates softened, so too have terms and conditions. In some instances, attempts to broaden coverage have also had the effect of diluting the clarity and consistency of manuscript forms. The role that underwriters’ contract wordings managers once played in tidying up such issues was weakened when the new imperative was to sign up to a policy wording as presented or risk not having an offered line taken up.” they write.

“The market is changing. As the property market continues to show signs of hardening,” he offers some fixes underwriters should consider.

Read the article.

A former solar company executive pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of $1 billion, leaving in the company’s wake a string of lawsuits from buyers, suppliers and fired employees, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

DC Solar Solutions of California made solar generators mounted on trailers that provided event lighting and emergency power for communications companies, writes the Chronicle‘s Mallory Moench.

She explains the scheme: “Prosecutors allege DC Solar sold the generators through special funds for investors to get federal tax credits. The company then purported to lease those generators to third parties to generate revenue, little of which it actually made, prosecutors say; instead, they say, early investors were paid with funds from later investors — a classic Ponzi scheme.”

Read the  SF Chronicle article.

 

 

HP Inc. was awarded $439 million in damages against Quanta Storage Inc. and its U.S. subsidiary after a federal judge tripled a jury’s 2019 award for damages caused by a widespread scheme to inflate the price of optical disk drives, Bloomberg reports.

Sony, Panasonic and some other disk-drive makers settled with HP over the past decade. Only Taiwan-based Quanta chose to go to trial.

Quanta lost that trial in October when a Houston jury ordered Quanta to pay HP $176 million in damages. Now the federal judge in the case has tripled the damages award, as authorized under antitrust law, to $528 million before deducting $89 million in settlements paid by the other companies.

Read the Bloomberg article.

 

 

James M. Wicks of Farrell Fritz writes about a recent breach of contract case in which a court found that an unsigned termination agreement between a real estate broker an another party was enforceable even though it never was signed.

He explains that the court focused its analysis on two questions: Is there evidence supporting a finding of an intent to be bound?, and if so, is there evidence that the parties “positive[ly] agree[d] that it should not be binding until so reduced to writing and formally executed”?

The ruling is a reminder that written agreements without the “not bound until signed or executed” clause is risky business, Wicks writes.

Read the article.

 

 

The Supreme Court will hear a slate of highly charged disputes when the justices return to the bench in the new year and resume one of the most politically volatile terms in recent memory, reports The Hill.

The court already has heard high-profile fights over LGBT rights in the workplace, the scope of the Second Amendment and the deportation status of nearly 700,000 young undocumented immigrants. But the remaining cases on the court’s docket are no less explosive, write The Hill‘s John Kruzel and Harper Neidig.

The top seven cases to be heard this session involve a separation of powers fight over President Trump’s financial records, Louisiana’s abortion law, religious school scholarships, religious exemptions from discrimination suits, the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a fight over how copyright law treats software interfaces, and Bridgegate and public corruption.

Read the Hill article.

 

 

Two Gray Reed lawyers give their take on a recent Texas appellate court’s ruling in Mesa v. Deep Energy, an opinion that will have profound impacts on mineral liens and contractual provisions purporting to waive mineral liens.

Writing on the firm’s website, Ethan Wood and Joe Virene describe the case in which Mesa sued Deep Operating for failing to pay fully for work Mesa performed on three wells. Deep Operating’s parent company claimed that Mesa contractually waived its right to assert liens against Deep Operating’s wells and waived its right to seek payment on the contract from any entity other than Deep Operating, which at that point was in bankruptcy.

“Relying on a 2012 case out of the Dallas Court of Appeals and a 2015 decision from the Texas Supreme Court, the Houston Court concluded that when a party to a contract agrees to seek payment or damages only from one source to the exclusion of all others, that party has effectively waived its rights to such payment or damages from other parties,” the authors write.

Read the article.