Key Points -
- The SEC’s Crypto Task Force acknowledges past hostility toward digital assets and aims to create more sensible regulations.
- Tokenized securities face complex regulatory challenges, including compliance...more
5/28/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Energy Sector ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Healthcare ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Retail Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Tokens ,
Technology
Key Points -
- In 2024, securities litigation remained consistent with historical averages, with a slight increase in core filings and cases related to COVID-19 and artificial intelligence.
- The U.S. Supreme Court had an...more
2/27/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Automotive Industry ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Assets ,
Filing Requirements ,
Item 303 ,
Macquarie Infrastructure Corp v Moab Partners LP ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ,
PSLRA ,
Real Estate Market ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Technology Sector
The U.S. Supreme Court will likely decide before the end of its current term whether the failure to make a disclosure pursuant to Item 303 of Regulation S-K can serve as the basis for a securities fraud claim under Section...more
12/5/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Security ,
Dismissals ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Life Sciences ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Mergers ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Regulation S-K ,
Scams ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Token Sales
On February 7, 2023, Ishan Wahi (Ishan), a former Coinbase product manager, pled guilty to wire fraud charges in an indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY)....more
Cornerstone Research reports that during the first six months of 2022, plaintiffs filed 110 securities class actions, a pace that is generally in line — 2.8% higher — with what we saw in the second half of 2021. Looking...more
12/5/2022
/ Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinTech ,
Futures ,
Healthcare ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Life Sciences ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Stock Options
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February and April 2022. Cryptocurrency Derivative Litigation Fiduciary Duties – Bylaws Material...more
5/24/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Material Misstatements ,
Mergers ,
Pleading Standards ,
PSLRA ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation
Class Certification -
Central District of California Denies Class Certification in Securities Fraud Action Concerning Company’s Purchase of ADRs -
Stoyas v. Toshiba Corp., No. 2:15-cv-04194 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 7, 2022) -...more
3/2/2022
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Derivative Suit ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Forum Selection ,
Loss Causation ,
Pleading Standards ,
Scienter ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Standing
This quarter’s issue of Inside the Courts — An Update From Skadden Securities Litigators includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided in May-August 2021....more
10/22/2021
/ Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Derivative Suit ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Loss Causation ,
Mergers ,
Pleading Standards ,
PSLRA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statute of Repose
Books and Records - Court of Chancery Orders Production of Emails, Denies Production of Privileged Communications in Books and Records Action - Emps.’ Ret. Sys. of R.I. v. Facebook, Inc., C.A. No. 2020-0085-JRS (Del. Ch....more
6/9/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Pleading Standards ,
PSLRA ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
SLUSA
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between July and October 2020.
Class Certification
- Cryptocurrency – Definition of a Security
- Derivative...more
12/11/2020
/ Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivative Suit ,
EBITDA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Loss Causation ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Material Misstatements ,
Mergers ,
Pleading Standards ,
PSLRA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Standing ,
Whistleblowers
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February and June 2020....more
8/27/2020
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Board of Directors ,
Bylaws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forum Selection ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Judicial Notice ,
Loss Causation ,
Material Misstatements ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
PLSRA ,
Scienter ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Settlement ,
Short-Swing Trading ,
Summary Judgment
This issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between October 2019 and January 2020. ...more
4/6/2020
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Bylaws ,
CEOs ,
Civil Liability ,
Collateral Estoppel ,
Criminal Convictions ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
False Statements ,
Federal Pleading Requirements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Injunctions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Item 303 ,
Lack of Particularity ,
Mergers ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Price-Fixing ,
PSLRA ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Registration Statement ,
RICO ,
Scienter ,
Scope of Discovery Requests ,
Section 11 ,
Section 220 Request ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Summary Judgment
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between August and October 2019. The cases address developing trends in the definition of a security, fiduciary...more
11/27/2019
/ Appeals ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Loss Causation ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Materiality ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Scienter ,
Securities ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May and August 2019....more
10/2/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Deal Price ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fair Value Standard ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forfeiture ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Market Manipulation ,
Materiality ,
Mergers ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Offering Documents ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Standing
In one of the first decisions to interpret and apply the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Lorenzo v. Securities and Exchange Commission, on April 11, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York...more
4/20/2019
/ Civil Liability ,
Class Action ,
Failure To Disclose ,
False Statements ,
Lorenzo v SEC ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Nasdaq ,
Public Offerings ,
Registration Requirement ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Underwriting
In this issue, we examine the release of the much-anticipated Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) guidance for analyzing how U.S. federal securities laws apply to initial coin offerings, the...more
4/16/2019
/ Advertising ,
Blockchain ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
CNIL ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Default ,
Digital Assets ,
Discovery ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Division of Corporate Finance ,
Ethereum ,
EU ,
FinHub ,
France ,
Frozen Assets ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Contract ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
No-Action Letters ,
NYDFS ,
Offerings ,
Payment Tokens ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Plea Agreements ,
Popular ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Profits ,
Public Comment ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Tokens ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement ,
Smart Contracts ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between December 2018 and February 2019....more
3/14/2019
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Loss Causation ,
Mutual Funds ,
Nutraceutical Corp v Lambert ,
Omnicare v Laborers District Council ,
Pleading Standards ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
PSLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
SLUSA ,
Standing
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between September 2018 and October 2018. ...more
12/7/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Appointments Clause ,
Breach of Duty ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Class Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Damages ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Partnerships ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Funds ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Material Adverse Effects ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Merger Agreements ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Misrepresentation ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
PSLRA ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Scienter ,
Section 11 ,
Securities ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Squeeze-Out Mergers
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May 2018 and August 2018....
US Supreme Court -
Supreme Court Holds That SEC Administrative Law Judges...more
9/28/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Appraisal ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Class Certification ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Deal Price ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
False Statements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Insider Trading ,
Lorenzo v SEC ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Mergers ,
Misleading Statements ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Pleading Standards ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
TRO
On September 11, 2018, Judge Raymond J. Dearie of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a new decision in U.S. v. Zaslavskiy, No. 1:17-cr-00647-RJD-RER, Dkt. No. 37 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 11, 2018),...more
9/21/2018
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Criminal Procedure ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Notice Requirements ,
Question of Fact ,
Sales of Securities ,
Securities Fraud ,
Vagueness
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February 2018 and May 2018.
...more
7/3/2018
/ China Agritech Inc v Resh ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Members ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
Derivative Suit ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Etsy ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraudulent Inducement ,
FRCP 23 ,
Loss Causation ,
Materiality ,
Misrepresentation ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Price-Fixing ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reversal ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
SolarCity ,
State Law Claims ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
TD Ameritrade ,
Tesla
Recent events relating to the fixed-income markets — including volatility in the high-yield markets and the high-profile closings of a number of funds invested in high-yield and distressed assets — have raised concerns among...more