Banking & Finance
GM Accuses Bankruptcy Trust of Secret $1 Billion Stock Plot
News
As Bloomberg’s Erik Larson explains, the accord will pit GM against the “Old GM” General Unsecured Creditors Trust for the first time since the 2009 bankruptcy sale created the split to save the company.
Has the Era of the Consumer Class Action Waiver Passed?
Insight
As a result of a rule imposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, consumer contracts entered into after March 19, 2018, with a wide range of consumer financial services companies will need to be revised in regard to their agreements’ arbitration clauses.
PwC to Pay $1 Mln to Settle Merrill Lynch Audit Complaint
News
Reuters is reporting that accounting company PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP will pay $1 million to settle a civil complaint alleging it conducted a flawed audit into Merrill Lynch’s compliance with federal brokerage customer protection rules.
New U.S. Rule on Class Actions Survives First Challenge
News
Reuters reports that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule abolishing “mandatory arbitration clauses” was released on July 10, and was immediately threatened by Republicans in Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration
Wells Fargo Lawyer Accidentally Releases Trove of Data on Wealthy Clients
News
A Bressler, Amery & Ross lawyer representing Wells Fargo accidentally produced documents without redaction or confidentiality designations that revealed “billions of dollars of client account information.”
Defense Lawyer: Shkreli Would Lose $65 Million If Convicted
News
A defense lawyer says former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli would lose a $65 million stake in a drug company he founded if he’s convicted at his securities fraud trial, reports the Associated Press through ABC News.
Republicans Introduce Bills to Scrap New Bank Arbitration Rule
News
The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule would ban banks and other financial institutions from forcing arbitration clauses on customers to prevent them from bringing or joining class-action suits, reports The Los Angeles Times.
CFPB Hits Back at Efforts to Kill Rule Easing Bank Lawsuits
News
Under the new rule, financial firms are restricted from forcing consumers to resolve their disputes through arbitration, a practice that has been used by the industry for years to keep grievances tied to payday loans, credit cards and other products out of courts, reports Bloomberg.
My Smart Contract Just Ate $14 Million – Now What?
InsightM
A digital currency exchange reported recently that a malfunction in a smart contract is responsible for a $14 million dollar loss of the cryptocurrency ether, reports Jared Butcher in the Steptoe Blockchain Blog.
HSBC, UBS Settle U.S. Rate-Rigging Litigation; 10 Banks’ Total Payout Tops $408 Million
News
If approved by the judge overseeing the case, the settlements would boost the total payout from 10 settling banks to $408.5 million. HSBC and UBS denied wrongdoing.
Wells Fargo’s $142-Million Sham Accounts Settlement: What You Need to Know
News
The Los Angeles Times offers some answers to typical questions that consumers may have about the settlement and what it can mean for the customer individually.
Consumer Watchdog Makes It Easier to Sue Banks and Other Companies
News
The government’s consumer watchdog has finalized a rule that will make it easier for people to challenge financial companies in court, reports The Washington Post.
Fiduciary Rule Creates Breach of Contract Claim, No Private Right of Action
Insight
A private right of action cannot exist under the BIC exemption because the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sandoval only allows a private right of action to be created by Congress.
Ex-American Realty CFO Convicted of Falsifying Company’s Accounts
News
American Realty shares lost about $4 billion in market value on one day in 2014 after the company said employees intentionally concealed accounting errors, reports Reuters.
Law Firm Not Liable for $1.5B Loan Gaffe
News
A recent ruling means that entities that loaned General Motors $1.5 billion before it went bankrupt cannot sue GM’s law firm, Mayer Brown, for accidentally canceling the collateral on the loan, Courthouse News Service is reporting.
Shkreli Described by Prosecutors as Spinning ‘Lies Upon Lies’
News
Shkreli is accused of fraud in relation to his control of two hedge funds he ran as well as Retrophin Inc., a pharmaceutical company he founded in 2011. Prosecutors characterize him as a con man.
Prominent California Lawyer Convicted of Embezzling $300,000
News
A federal jury convicted California lawyer James R. Miller of embezzlement and tax evasion for stealing more than $300,000 from the internet sales company he oversaw as president from 2009 to 2012, reports The Beach Reporter.
MetLife General Counsel to Step Down After Beating U.S. in Court
News
Bloomberg reports that MetLife Inc. General Counsel Ricardo Anzaldua is stepping down after he helped win a court battle that reversed the government’s designation of the insurer as too big to fail.
Lawsuit in U.S. Accuses 12 Big Banks of Credit Default Swap Collusion
News
A small trading exchange on Thursday filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing Bank of America Corp , Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and nine other banks of conspiring to shut it out of the $9.9 trillion credit default swap market, reports Reuters.
It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Sues for Breach of Contract
Insight
A recent federal court case analyzed the ability of a lender to act upon stock pledged to secure a loan, and provides insight into valuable language to be included in the loan documentation, explains Loeb & Loeb LLP.
