Posts Tagged ‘business law’
How Social Media Influencers may be Violating Depression-Era Securities Laws
By: Seth Bilbrey With venture capital firms and other investment companies flocking to social media to promote investment projects, courts are being forced to look at a depression era securities law to determine what exactly a “seller” is.[1] The 1933 Securities Act (“Securities Act”) has allowed investors who have purchased unregistered securities, or who were…
Read MoreCourtroom Showdown: Potential Game Changer for Securities Fraud Claims and Disclosure Practices – the Moab v. Macquarie case
By: Cassy Sulzer On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to hear the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) disclosure liability case of Moab Partners, L.P. v. Macquarie Infrastructure Corp.[1] The Supreme Court will consider whether a failure to make a disclosure required under Item 303 of Regulations S-K of the Securities Act…
Read MoreCareful How You Use Your AI: How the NO FAKES ACT Can Alter the Digital Landscape for Celebrities
By: Hannah Lief The Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2023, also known as the NO FAKES ACT, is a bipartisan proposal that is designed to create a uniform right to publicity, protecting a celebrity’s voice, image, and visual likeliness.[1] It was introduced by four U.S. senators in a draft federal…
Read MoreTexas’s Online-Age Check and What It Could Mean for Businesses
By: Sophie Ossip On August 31, 2023, U.S. District Judge David Ezra declared a Texas online-age requirement bill unconstitutional in Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Colmenero.[1] The Texas Attorney General’s Office appealed to the Fifth Circuit and a three-judge panel took up the case on October 4, 2023.[2] The bill required businesses that host adult…
Read MoreThe Monopoly Man Runs Free: How the Financial Industry Could Lose One of Its Biggest Regulators
By: Rafael Andino The Supreme Court recently heard arguments that could threaten the existence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), one of Congress’ responses to the 2008 financial global crisis.[1] This case not only threatens the regulatory landscape of the financial industry, but also affects other federal agencies who receive funding in a…
Read MoreGrappling with the Implementation of the SEC’s New Cybersecurity Disclosure Requirements
By: Olivia Woodmansee In July 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) voted to adopt a final rule on cybersecurity disclosure for public companies.[1] The rule is predicted to fundamentally alter most, if not all, public companies’ incident response processes.[2] The SEC now requires companies to disclose material cybersecurity incidents via Form 8-K within four…
Read MorePrime Target: FTC Takes Aim at Amazon in Antitrust Claims
By: Caitlyn Lindstrom On September 26, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission. (“FTC”), along with seventeen states, filed suit against Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”), claiming Amazon’s business practices violate Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)[1] and Section 2 of the Sherman Act, 15, U.S.C. § 2[2], in addition to state competition and consumer…
Read MoreSlow Times for Solar in the Golden State: California Court of Appeal Will Hear Challenge to the State’s Slash in Subsidies
By: Gustav Gulmert The California Public Utility Commission (“CPUC”) previously incentivized Californians to use rooftop solar panels by financially crediting users at a market rate for the excess power their panels sent back onto California’s electricity grid.[1] Under the Million Solar Roofs Initiative of 2006, California’s solar credit system, called “net-metering,” quintupled in participants and…
Read MoreBed Bath & Beyond Unreasonable: Two Ways the Law Stops Ocean Carriers from Sinking U.S. Businesses and One Way It Falls Short
By: Patrick Rogers Bed Bath & Beyond, one of the United States’ most prominent retail brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year.[1] In a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission (“FMC”) last Tuesday, Bed Bath & Beyond alleged that the ocean carrier Yang Ming violated the Shipping Act and contributed to the…
Read MoreTo Be or Not to Be? Second Circuit Affirms Notes Issued in Syndicated Loans are Not Securities
By: Elizabeth Sloop When a borrower requires a loan too large for a single lender’s capital base, a group of lenders, or syndicate, may step in to provide funds.[1] By participating in syndicated lending, the lenders, typically banks and non-bank financial institutions,[2] are able to distribute the risk of default among themselves.[3] Because of the…
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