“2021 will see a sharp rise in climate change litigation against companies and their executives around the world as cases begin to impact more individuals across a broader range of sectors,” writes Emma Ager in Clyde & Co’s Insights.

“Underpinning the rising concern around climate change are a range of cases – in the US more filings by cities and states seeking remediation from companies considered to be contributing to climate change impacts such as rising sea levels or increasing flood risks. In the UK, European, Canadian and Australian courts, by contrast, we are seeing more human rights cases typically brought by young people seeking to hold businesses and governments to account for failing to protect and preserve the environment for their and future generations.”

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“Facebook’s purchases of photo service Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp have helped fuel the social media giant’s massive growth. They’ve also prompted concerns from federal and state authorities about Facebook’s dominance in social networking,” reports Queenie Wong in CNET Daily News.

“The uneasiness with Facebook’s power bubbled over on Wednesday as the Federal Trade Commission and 48 attorneys general filed separate lawsuits in federal court accusing Facebook of illegally stifling its competition by snapping up its rivals.”

“The lawsuits are the latest sign that lawmakers and regulators are ratcheting up their scrutiny of the power that tech giants wield. In addition to Wednesday’s actions, the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division has been talking to developers about their interactions with Oculus, the virtual reality headset maker Facebook owns, Bloomberg reported last week. In October, the Justice Department filed a landmark lawsuit against Google for allegedly holding monopolies in both search and search advertising.”

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“Salesforce.com Inc. is preparing to close what would be its biggest deal ever—and it plans to do so with a new finance chief,” report Nina Trentmann and Mark Maurer in The Wall Street Journal’s CFO Journal.

“San Francisco-based Salesforce, which built a reputation around its customer relationship management software, Tuesday said President and Chief Financial Officer Mark Hawkins intends to retire from his role, effective Jan. 31.”

“The company on Tuesday also confirmed it would buy collaboration platform provider Slack Technologies Inc. in a $27.7 billion transaction.”

“Amy Weaver, president and chief legal officer at Salesforce.com Inc., will become chief financial officer of the company on Feb. 1.”

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“Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors’ U.S. units on Friday agreed to a record $210 million civil penalty after U.S. auto safety regulators said they failed to recall 1.6 million vehicles for engine issues in a timely fashion,” reports David Shepardson in Reuters’ Autos.

“Hyundai agreed to a total civil penalty of $140 million, including an upfront payment of $54 million, an obligation to spend $40 million on safety performance measures, and an additional $46 million deferred penalty if it does not meet requirements.”

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Revlon released that enough bondholders had taken part in its debt restructuring program for the cosmetics maker to stave off bankruptcy.

The company warned that it may be forced to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection if a certain amount of its bonds worth $342.8 million were still outstanding by mid-November, as it would trigger the accelerated repayment of other debts.

Holders of about $236 million, or 68.8%, of the company’s outstanding bonds that mature in February had been tendered into an exchange offer by the end of Tuesday.

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“Purdue Pharma’s massive settlement over claims that it helped spark the opioid crisis is facing pushback in federal court, creating a potential stumbling block for the landmark deal,” reports Bloomberg in the Los Angeles Times’ Business.

“Purdue has agreed to plead guilty to three felonies and pay $8.3 billion to settle federal investigations of how it marketed the painkiller OxyContin. But the deal violates bankruptcy rules because it locks in details of Purdue’s future and forces the hand of other creditors, according to court papers filed by a group of U.S. states and bankruptcy professors.”

“States and cities suing Purdue have been in talks with the bankrupt pharmaceutical giant for months over how to settle thousands of opioid lawsuits. The settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled last month dictates that Purdue will be repurposed as a public trust after it emerges from bankruptcy, which creditors haven’t agreed to.”

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Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that Theodore H. Cominos Jr. has joined the firm’s M&A and Private Capital teams in the Chicago office as partner. Cominos is the sixth partner to join the firm in Chicago and the third M&A partner added there since the office opened in May 2019. Additionally, Cristina Audran-Proca has joined Eversheds Sutherland in the Paris office as counsel.

Cominos, who joins from Faegre Drinker, advises domestic and international clients on complex M&A, private equity, venture capital, corporate commercial, commercial real estate and debt-finance transactions. He has more than 20 years of experience as lead counsel on mergers and acquisitions, asset sales and dispositions, restructurings, joint-venture, co-investment, strategic collaboration, profit-participating and licensing/royalty arrangements. His clients include public and private companies, private equity funds, venture funds, seed and angel investors on all stages of private investment.

Audran-Proca, also joining from Faegre Drinker, advises clients on private equity, venture capital and other cross-border M&A and corporate transactions in Europe and beyond. She has over fifteen years of experience advising private investment funds of all sizes, consortia of funds, management teams, entrepreneurs seeking venture or private equity backing, and corporates on various international transactions and projects, across a multitude of sectors and jurisdictions.

Together, they have over 15 years of cross-border transactional collaboration as a team, across a wide array of geographies, sectors and industries.

“Johnson & Johnson has been defending against claims its talc-based powders cause cancers for years, and, with a new ruling against the drugmaker in Missouri, it’s preparing to challenge a massive verdict at the U.S. Supreme Court,” reports Eric Sagonowsky in Fierce Pharma.

“After a Missouri appeals court this summer lowered a 2018 talc verdict against the drugmaker to $2.11 billion, J&J pledged to appeal to the state’s Supreme Court. That court has now refused to take up the appeal—and J&J says it’ll take its case higher.”

“But it’s far from certain to get a hearing at the U.S. Supreme Court, either. Of the 7,000 cases it’s asked to review each year, the high court takes up 100 to 150 of them, according to U.S. government figures.”

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“… a jury in Tyler, Texas, ordered Apple to pay $502.8 million in royalties for infringing on VirnetX’s patented virtual private network (VPN),” was posted on PYMNTS.com’s Apple.

“The original lawsuit, filed Aug. 11, 2010, alleged that Apple’s FaceTime and VPN On Demand features were using its patented technology. Over the years, VirnetX won various monetary awards, all of which were appealed by Apple, the report stated.”

“Initially, Nevada-based VirnetX was asking for about $700 million in royalties. Apple, however, was looking to pay no more than $113 million, the report stated.”

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“Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton announces a $1,498,750 settlement against New Jersey-based Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (‘Bed Bath & Beyond’) as part of a settlement of a civil environmental prosecution,” was posted in East County Today’s California.

“The judgment is the culmination of a civil enforcement lawsuit filed last month in Ventura County Superior Court claiming that more than 200 Bed Bath & Beyond stores throughout the state (including Cost Plus, buybuy BABY, Harmon, Harmon Face Values, World Market, and Cost Plus World Market stores) unlawfully handled, transported and disposed of batteries, electronic devices, ignitable liquids, aerosol products, cleaning agents, and other flammable, reactive, toxic, and corrosive materials, at local landfills that were not permitted to receive those wastes.”

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“Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in creating the nation’s opioid crisis and will pay more than $8 billion and close down the company,” reports Chris Isidore in CNN Business.

“The money will go to opioid treatment and abatement programs. The privately held company has agreed to pay a $3.5 billion fine as well as forfeit an additional $2 billion in past profits, in addition to the $2.8 billion it agreed to pay in civil liability.”

“The company doesn’t have $8 billion in cash available to pay the fines. So Purdue will be dissolved as part of the settlement, and its assets will be used to create a new ‘public benefit company’ controlled by a trust or similar entity designed for the benefit of the American public. The Justice Department said it will function entirely in the public interest rather than to maximize profits. Its future earnings will go to paying the fines and penalties, which in turn will be used to combat the opioid crisis.”

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“The U.S. sued Google on Tuesday, accusing the $1 trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals in the biggest challenge to the power and influence of Big Tech in decades,” reports Diane Bartz and David Shepardson in Reuters U.S. Legal News.

“The Justice Department lawsuit could lead to the break-up of an iconic company that has become all but synonymous with the internet and assumed a central role in the day-to-day lives of billions of people around the globe.”

“The lawsuit marks the first time the U.S. has cracked down on a major tech company since it sued Microsoft Corp for anti-competitive practices in 1998. A settlement left the company intact, though the government’s prior foray into Big Tech anti-trust – the 1974 case against AT&T – led to the breakup of the Bell System.”

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“A finance manager at a used car dealership in Portland was fired by his boss during a staff meeting for questioning the company’s alleged cover-up of a coronavirus cluster, a lawsuit claims,” reports Maxine Bernstein in The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Coronavirus.

“Shawn McCrary, 41, of Portland, sued Lapin Motor Co. and owner Leo Lapin in a wrongful discharge and whistleblower suit this month, seeking $1.4 million in damages.”

“McCrary alleges Lapin berated, assaulted and fired him in an ‘alcohol and drug-induced rage’ during an all-staff meeting on July 31.”

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“Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation … announced that it has entered into a plea agreement with the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division in respect to its investigation into the sales of broiler chicken products in the United States,” posted Pilgram’s Investor Relations.

“In the plea agreement, which is subject to the approval of the United States District Court of Colorado, Pilgrim’s and the Antitrust Division agreed to a fine of $110,524,140 for restraint of competition that affected three contracts for the sale of chicken products to one customer in the United States. The agreement does not recommend a monitor, any restitution or probationary period, and provides that the Antitrust Division will bring no further charges against Pilgrim’s in this matter, provided the company complies with the terms and provisions of the agreement. Pilgrim’s expects to record the fine as a miscellaneous expense in its financial statements in the third quarter of 2020.”

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Cedar Lane Technologies filed a complaint for patent infringement against Dish Network alleging infringed patents-in-suit through its Movies for Purchase feature, reports Kirsten Errick in Law Street Media’s Tech.

“The patents relate to playback of network audio on demand, creating and managing playlists, management of owned and unowned inventory, and translating a device command.”

“Dish Network purportedly infringed the ’443 patent by “making, using, offering to sell, selling and/or importing” its exemplary accused products, such as its Movies for Purchase feature as part of the Video on Demand menu.”

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“Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced Monday that the generic opioid manufacturer Mallinckrodt has agreed to a $1.6 billion settlement to resolve a host of lawsuits that arose in response to tens of thousands of deadly opioid overdoses nationwide fueled, in part, by prescription drugs,” reports Nicholas Rondinone in Hartford Courant’s Breaking News.

“Exactly how the money will be distributed remains under negotiation, Tong said, but the settlement and pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic led the drug maker, one of the largest supplier of generic opioids, to file bankruptcy this week.”

“In the settlement framework, Mallinckrodt has agreed to pay the money into a trust, which will go toward response to the opioid epidemic and help address individual claims against the company for its role in the crisis, Tong’s office said.”

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“Johnson & Johnson will pay out over $100 million to settle more than 1000 lawsuits that claim the pharmaceutical giant’s baby powder caused cancer,” reports Daniel Cassady in Forbes’ Breaking News.

“The settlement is the first in four years of litigation and nearly 20,000 lawsuits that allege Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and talc products caused cancer due to asbestos contamination, according to the report.”

“In 2018, a New York Times investigation found Johnson & Johnson had for at least 50 years been aware of possible asbestos contamination in its talc products without telling consumers. Test results detected no greater than 0.00002% of “chrysotile asbestos” in the talc products that were recalled in October. Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against the company by people who claim to have developed mesothelioma and ovarian cancer, both of which are linked to asbestos exposure, after using the company’s talc products.”

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“A Florida attorney and former outside counsel for 1 Global Capital LLC (1 Global), has been charged today with conspiring to commit wire fraud and securities fraud in connection with an investment fraud scheme that, as alleged, impacted more than 3,600 investors in 42 different states, and involved him personally and fraudulently raising more than $100 million from investors,” released the Department of Justice in The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

“Andrew Dale Ledbetter, 78, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is charged in an information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles of the Southern District of Florida.”

“According to the allegations in the information, 1 Global was a commercial lending business based in Hallandale Beach, Florida, that made the equivalent of “pay day” loans with high interest rates to small businesses, termed merchant cash advance loans (MCAs). To fund these loans, 1 Global obtained funds from investors nationwide, offering short-term investment contracts that promised to “place” the investors’ money onto MCAs.”

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“Google’s parent company has reached a $310 million settlement in a shareholder lawsuit over its treatment of allegations of executives’ sexual misconduct,” reported by Associated Press in Boston Herald’s Business.

“Alphabet Inc. said Friday that it will prohibit severance packages for anyone fired for misconduct or is the subject of a sexual misconduct investigation. A special team will investigate any allegations against executives and report to the board’s audit committee.”

“Thousands of Google employees walked out of work in protest in 2018 after The New York Times revealed Android creator Andy Rubin received $90 million in severance even though several employees had filed misconduct allegations against him. Shareholder lawsuits followed, and in 2019 Google launched a board investigation over how it handles sexual misconduct allegations.”

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“JPMorgan is set to pay nearly $1 billion to settle with US authorities investigating whether the bank manipulated the metals and Treasury markets, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday,” writes Ben Winck in Business Insider’s Markets.

“The sum would set a record for spoofing-related settlements and could be announced as soon as this week, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The payment would be in line with other market-manipulation sanctions but surpass previous spoofing fines.”

“The payment would resolve investigations by the Justice Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the report. The agencies have been looking into whether traders on JPMorgan’s metals-futures and Treasury desks interfered with the respective markets.”

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