In light of the US Supreme Court’s decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum Co., the attorney for GE Energy (USA) wants the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to dismiss would-be whistleblower Khaled Asadi’s appeal to have his lawsuit, contending that his firing violates the protections provided…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is alerting broker-dealers that the way they market certain non-traded real estate investment trusts could be misleading investors. The regulator said its recent reviews of brokerage firm communications with the public about these investments showed “deficiencies.” The SRO has been trying to improve the sales…
Investor Korine Brown is seeking class action status on behalf of those that also participated in General Motors Inc.’s Personal Savings Plan for hourly employees in her securities case against Fidelity Investments Institutional Operations Co. Inc. and Fidelity Management and Research Co. She is alleging breach of fiduciary duty. This…
At a hearing in the US House of Representatives about putting the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act into effect, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) expressed worry that the Securities and Exchange Commission has lost the power to enforce the private offerings general solicitation ban because the rulemaking for the statutory deadline…
Fluvanna County, VA Can Sue Over Bond Offering Advice, Says Supreme Court of Virginia Virginia’s highest court has reinstated a securities fraud lawsuit filed by Fluvanna County, Virginia Board of Supervisors against Davenport & Co. The county claims that the investment concern gave it faulty bond offering advice about the…
The SEC has filed securities fraud charges against the city of Victorville, CA, one of the city’s officials, the Southern California Logistics Airport Authority, and Kinsell, Newcomb & DeDios, which underwrote the bonds. The SEC claims that they bilked investors by inflating valuations of property that secured a 2008 municipal…
According to Securities and Exchange Commissioner Luis Aguilar, the growing number of registered investment advisers, the increasing complexity of the financial instruments they use, and the recent trends in securities examinations show that there is a need for the regulator to up the vigorousness of its investment adviser examinations and…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s board of governors has a plan that could radically modify the way brokerage firms report illiquid investments’ value on the account statements of clients. The SRO, which wants to give investors more transparency in regards to the actual value of such investments, has been trying…
The US Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year in Amgen, Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds (and also in Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co.) decreases the tools that defendants of federal securities fraud lawsuits have to win against the class certification of weak claims. In…
According to bankruptcy trustee Louis Freeh, former MF Global Holdings (MFGLQ) CEO Jon Corzine and other former executives did not act in good faith when they were in charge of the company. The ex-FBI director is suing them in bankruptcy court for gross negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. (Corzine…