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Mealey's Securities

  • April 30, 2025

    Class Certification Granted In Stock Loss Suit Over ‘Sham’ Wells Fargo Interviews

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted class certification to a group of shareholders in their suit against Wells Fargo & Co. and certain of its executives after news of the company’s practice of using fake interviews to give the impression of complying with internal diversity hiring practices led to a drop in stock value, finding that the shareholders satisfied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23’s class certification requirements.

  • April 28, 2025

    No Basis For High Court To Hear FINRA Constitutionality Case, Authority Argues

    \WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on April 25 filed a brief in opposition to a brokerage firm’s petition for certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to address the authority’s constitutionality, as well as what constitutes an irreparable injury for the purpose of a preliminary injunction, arguing that there is no split among circuit courts on either question that the firm is asking the court to address.

  • April 28, 2025

    Jury Reaches Verdict In SEC’s Advisers Act Against Investment Adviser, Firm

    BOSTON — A federal jury in Massachusetts found that an investment adviser and his advisory firm had violated Section 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act, finding the Securities and Exchange Commission proved that the adviser and firm hadn’t disclosed significant upfront commissions and other conflicts of interest.

  • April 28, 2025

    Citing Presumption Of Access, 6th Circuit Vacates Order Keeping Transcripts Sealed

    CINCINNATI — A trial court’s failure to explain why it maintained the seal on certain deposition transcripts in a settled securities lawsuit is not sufficient to overcome the presumption of openness in litigation, a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, reversing a ruling partly denying an intervenor newspaper’s motion to unseal the documents in the lawsuit, which was closed more than two years ago, and remanding for the lower court to make the proper determination “as to whether any parts of those transcripts meet the requirements for a seal.”

  • April 25, 2025

    SEC’s Fraud Case Against Investment Report Publisher, Adviser Entity To Continue

    LOS ANGELES — The Securities and Exchange Commission’s case alleging that a publisher of investment reports and the investment adviser entity he operated perpetrated a fraudulent scheme using the investment reports will continue after a federal judge in California found that, at this stage, the SEC sufficiently pleaded its fraud scheme and fraudulent statement claims.

  • April 24, 2025

    SEC Brings Claims Against Crypto Asset, Foreign Exchange Trading Company Founder

    ALEXANDRIA, Va.— The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in federal court in Virginia against the founder of a now-defunct entity that the SEC says claimed to be a crypto asset and foreign exchange trading company alleging that it orchestrated an international securities fraud scheme that raised $198 million and misappropriated more than $57 million of investor funds.

  • April 23, 2025

    Judge Allows Suit Seeking Recovery Of $47M In Short-Swing Profits To Continue

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York allowed a suit brought by the entity formerly known as Bed Bath and Beyond Inc. seeking to recover more than $47 million in short-swing profits realized by an investor and his company by selling Bed Bath and Beyond common stock in violation of federal securities laws to continue, finding that at this stage in the litigation the entity has provided sufficient evidence showing the defendants qualified as statutory insiders under a beneficial ownership theory of liability, but not under a directors by deputization theory of liability.

  • April 21, 2025

    Bank Tells High Court Certification Request In Ponzi Scheme Recovery Too Late

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a brief in opposition to a petition for writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court by a bankruptcy trustee for an entity that pleaded guilty to charges related to its involvement in a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, a bank that allegedly aided in the Ponzi scheme argued that the bankruptcy trustee should have requested certification of Minnesota law to the Minnesota Supreme Court earlier in the process.

  • April 17, 2025

    Final Approval Granted To $4.75M Plus Bitcoin Settlement In Crypto Mining Suit

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York gave final approval to a settlement in which a cryptocurrency mining company agreed to pay $4.75 million in cash and the U.S. dollar equivalent of 25 bitcoin to settle a suit brought against it, certain executives and underwriters, by shareholders who alleged that the value of the company’s stock dropped after its initial public offering because it made misstatements and omissions in its offering statements in violation of the Securities Act of 1933.

  • April 17, 2025

    Judge Declines To Reconsider Opinion In Class Action Against Crypto Platform

    NEWARK, N.J. — A federal judge denied a cryptocurrency platform’s motion for reconsideration of his opinion and order mostly denying its motion to dismiss a putative class action brought by investors alleging that the company and several of its executives and directors misrepresented material aspects of the platform’s business, holding that he did not overlook any legal issue when issuing the opinion.

  • April 16, 2025

    Federal Judge Dismisses Securities Suit Against Cybersecurity Company

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California dismissed investors’ putative class action complaint against a cybersecurity company and its executives for allegedly violating federal securities laws by making materially false or misleading statements about the company’s financials, finding that the investors failed to state a claim.

  • April 11, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Securities Case Against Gaming Company

    PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the dismissal of a pension fund’s suit alleging that a gaming company falsely inflated its share price, finding that the pension fund failed to adequately plead its securities claims.

  • April 10, 2025

    4th Circuit: Investors’ Securities Fraud Claims Lack Necessary Loss Causation

    RICHMOND, Va. — A panel of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s rejection of investors’ motion to amend their putative class complaint alleging that a quantum computing company and executives made false statements about its products, leading to a stock value drop once the truth was revealed, finding that the investors had not adequately pleaded loss causation as to their security fraud claims.

  • April 09, 2025

    Federal Judge Approves Lyft Shareholder Derivative Settlement Requiring Reforms

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted final approval to a settlement in a shareholder derivative class action brought against Lyft Inc., under which the company agrees to implement several safety reforms.

  • April 09, 2025

    Federal Judge Grants Final Approval Of $433.5M Securities Fraud Settlement

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York has granted final approval of a $433.5 million settlement to end a securities fraud class action brought by investors against a Cayman Islands corporation headquartered in Hangzhou, China, and current and former executives for allegedly violating federal securities laws by making misrepresentations regarding the initial public offering of another company in which the defendant company owned a 33% equity interest and not disclosing material facts surrounding an investigation by Chinese regulators into allegedly illegal merchant exclusivity practices.

  • April 08, 2025

    SEC Division, Commissioner Voice Differences Regarding Risks Of Crypto Assets

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the latest effort to provide clarity regarding the application of securities laws to crypto assets, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance issued a statement on the commission’s website regarding stablecoins. SEC Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw issued a statement shortly thereafter, voicing concerns about the analysis division staff used to reach the conclusion that stablecoins are not securities.

  • April 07, 2025

    1st Circuit Vacates Summary Judgement, Disgorgement In SEC Enforcement Action

    BOSTON— A panel of the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated summary judgment on liability and awards totaling about $93 million in a civil enforcement action the Securities and Exchange Commission brought against a broker-dealer for failing to adequately disclose potential conflicts of interest for about four years, finding that a federal district court erred in finding the issue of materiality did not need to go to a jury.

  • April 04, 2025

    Securities Suit Over After-Acquisition Statements Dismissed For Lack Of Scienter

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York dismissed a suit against a virtual health care services provider regarding alleged misstatements the company and its executives made after its $18.5 billion merger with another health care company, finding that the investors who brought the suit had not adequately pleaded scienter.

  • April 03, 2025

    Final Approval Of Settlement Of Barclays’ Accidental Securities Sales Suit Granted

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York granted final approval to a $19.5 million settlement of a putative class action complaint filed over how Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC (collectively, Barclays) and certain of their executives responded to the accidental sale of unregistered securities.

  • April 02, 2025

    Twitter Stock Takeover Suit Against Musk Continues After Partial Dismissal

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York granted in part and denied in part Elon Musk’s motion to dismiss a securities class action against him, his trust, family office and wealth manager by a pension fund alleging that Musk illegally concealed his growing ownership stake in the company formerly called Twitter, finding that the pension fund adequately showed that Musk violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by some of his social media statements and actions, but not as to other statements and actions.

  • March 31, 2025

    SEC Votes To End Defense Of Climate Disclosure Rules, Informs 8th Circuit

    ST. LOUIS — The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted to end its defense of its rules requiring companies to disclose climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions and has informed the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that it is withdrawing its defense of the rules in a case brought against the SEC by several states challenging the rules and no longer authorizes SEC counsel to advance the arguments set forth in the commission’s brief, which was filed before the change in presidential administrations.

  • March 28, 2025

    New Civil Liberties Alliance Urges High Court To Hear FINRA Constitutionality Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) filed an amicus brief in support of a broker’s petition for certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to address the constitutionality of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA), as well as what constitutes an irreparable injury for the purpose of a preliminary injunction.

  • March 27, 2025

    Judge Denies Norfolk Southern’s Motion To Dismiss Securities Fraud Class Action

    ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern Corp. and its principal’s motion to dismiss investors’ securities fraud class action relating to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, was denied by a federal judge in Ohio, who found that the investors’ allegations raised an “overwhelming” inference of scienter.

  • March 27, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Securities Class Action Regarding Alleged Emissions Misstatements

    CLEVELAND — A federal judge in Ohio dismissed a securities fraud class action brought by investors against a company, its executives, selling shareholders and underwriters for allegedly  making a series of misstatements regarding the company’s effort to control the emission of ethylene oxide, finding that the investors failed to plead misstatements that trigger the defendants’ liability.

  • March 24, 2025

    Judge: Confidential Witnesses’ Vague Claims Can’t Keep AI Securities Case Alive

    NEW YORK — Despite a heavy reliance on them, confidential witness statements do not establish that an artificial intelligence mobile messaging and customer engagement company intentionally concealed the difficulties faced by a machine learning health care company it purchased, a federal judge said in dismissing a securities action with prejudice.