Features
Closing the Profit Motive in the CAN-SPAM Act
Recently, a number of small entities and e-mail service providers have sought to use the CAN-SPAM Act to profit from the receipt of spam, but have faced increased scrutiny from federal courts. This article discusses the CAN-SPAM Act generally, some notable spam judgments, and recent decisions interpreting the standing requirements under the federal statute.
Features
FDA Enforcement Against Pharmaceutical Companies in the Product Promotion Arena
In his "Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason (Vol. 1)", George Santayana wrote: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." We all can benefit from reviewing the lessons learned from past mistakes, whether committed by ourselves or others. The medical device industry would be well-served in heeding Santayana's warning; review of the Food and Drug Administration's enforcement in the pharmaceutical promotion area could offer insight into how it might minimize…
Features
A Refresher on USERRA with Recent Developments
It remains to be seen how the Supreme Court will rule on its first USERRA case this spring, but a review of compliance with USERRA should be every employer's priority.
Features
DOL Issues Final Regulations on Mandatory Fee-Disclosures
On Oct. 14, 2010, the Department of Labor (DOL) finalized its regulations concerning the fee and investment-related disclosures that must be provided to participants in 401(k) plans and other defined contribution plans with participant-directed investments.
Features
New Law Cracks Down On Deceptive Third-Party e-Commerce Practices
A new layer of federal oversight should help protect consumers and ethical e-commerce companies against misleading and name-tarnishing activities of outlaw e-tailers who have ripped off thousands of U.S. consumers. On Dec. 29, President Obama signed the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act, introduced in the Senate early last year by Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Features
Is Anyone Not a Foreign Official Under the FCPA?
The DOJ has brought cases against companies and individuals in relation to their dealings with state-owned enterprises based on a broad reading of the term "instrumentality," a term not otherwise defined in the statute prohibiting corrupt payments to "foreign officials.
Features
Practice Tip: The SPILL Act
Thanks to a recent act of Congress, the oil spill may be seeping into product liability law. Meet the SPILL Act.
Features
Sentencing of Individuals in FCPA Cases
The DOJ exercises virtually unlimited discretion in deciding who gets charged in FCPA cases and, for all practical purposes, in deciding the amount of the financial penalty imposed against corporate violators. But sentencing of individual defendants is ultimately a matter of judicial, not prosecutorial, discretion.
Features
NLRB Action in the Age of Facebook
Questions of discoverability in litigation of social media interactions are constantly evolving. A look at a recent, disturbing case.
Features
<b>BREAKING NEWS:</b> SEC Proposed Rule 21F-13: A Hidden Whistleblower Tax?
Corporate Counsel take note: on Nov. 3, the SEC published proposed Regulation 21F, establishing a program designed to reward individuals who provide the SEC with information leading to successful enforcement actions. The proposal was mandated by Dodd-Frank and sets out procedures under which whistleblowers could qualify for significant monetary awards by providing information to the SEC regarding violations of the federal securities laws.
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- Private Equity Valuation: A Significant DecisionInsiders (and others) in the private equity business are accustomed to seeing a good deal of discussion ' academic and trade ' on the question of the appropriate methods of valuing private equity positions and securities which are otherwise illiquid. An interesting recent decision in the Southern District has been brought to our attention. The case is <i>In Re Allied Capital Corp.</i>, CCH Fed. SEC L. Rep. 92411 (US DC, S.D.N.Y., Apr. 25, 2003). Judge Lynch's decision is well written, the Judge reviewing a motion to dismiss by a business development company, Allied Capital, against a strike suit claiming that Allied's method of valuing its portfolio failed adequately to account for i) conditions at the companies themselves and ii) market conditions. The complaint appears to be, as is often the case, slap dash, content to point out that Allied revalued some of its positions, marking them down for a variety of reasons, and the stock price went down - all this, in the view of plaintiff's counsel, amounting to violations of Rule 10b-5.Read More ›
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