Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed the class action suit brought against Party City alleging the company failed to disclose material facts in SEC documents when it did not discuss the impact the decline in...more
4/19/2017
/ Class Action ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Material Misstatements ,
Materiality ,
Omissions ,
Prospectus ,
Registration Statement ,
Section 11 ,
Section 12 ,
Section 15(c) ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Drop Litigation
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which the plaintiff claimed Merrill Lynch acted improperly in selling shares held as collateral for a loan when plaintiff had not defaulted on the loan. The...more
3/27/2017
/ Appeals ,
Collateral ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Default ,
Dismissals ,
Loan Agreements ,
Loans ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Motion to Amend ,
Sales of Securities ,
Stocks
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which the appellate court upheld a jury verdict in favor of Plaintiff, finding commodity futures contracts are not "securities" and Plaintiff, who was trading them...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed the heightened pleading standard for claims of fraud under Rule 9(b) in an auction rate securities case....more
3/15/2017
/ Bonds ,
Dismissals ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
FRCP 9(b) ,
Interest Rate Swaps ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Omissions ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Statute of Limitations
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on a case in which a widow and one-time named beneficiary of her husband's IRA account acquired the account assets after her husband's death, although she was not...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case in which the plaintiff claimed he was wrongfully terminated from employment at Morgan Stanley after the company discovered he reported alleged illegal activities to...more
3/3/2017
/ Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Twombly/Iqbal Pleading Standard ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which the plaintiff claimed to be an employee of Northwestern Mutual and therefore protected under New York's minimum wage and overtime laws; Northwestern argued...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which objectors (a law firm, banks and accountants) opposed a bankruptcy trustee's Rule 2004 Motion requesting information related to his investigation of...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a case in which a pension fund, a "net winner" in the Madoff Ponzi scheme, filed an ERISA action against its investment adviser seeking to recover "lost opportunity"...more
2/1/2017
/ Actual Injuries ,
Article III ,
Bernie Madoff ,
Clawbacks ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Lost Profits ,
Pension Funds ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Standing
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on case in which class plaintiffs allege certain company officers knowingly made misleading statements about a drug's potential adverse effects which, when later...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a putative class action case that posed whether common questions of law or fact predominate on the reliance element of Plaintiffs' Section 10(b) claims. The court concluded...more
1/7/2017
/ Bonds ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fraud ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
FRCP 23 ,
Investment Funds ,
Predominance Requirement ,
Presumption of Reliance ,
Puerto Rico ,
Rule 10(b)
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini continues to examine an ongoing case questioning the validity of an arbitration agreement. Read Chris' earlier analysis here. In this most recent installment challenging the...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented a case in which a broker-dealer claimed the term "final judgment" in its insurance policy was ambiguous and should be construed against its insurance carrier, as is typical...more
12/12/2016
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Claims Limitations Period ,
Contract Terms ,
Final Judgment ,
Illusory Contracts ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Negligent Supervision ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Prior Wrongful Acts ,
Summary Judgment
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a case where defendant carried out a personal vendetta against the plaintiff following plaintiff's report against defendant for violations of securities laws. Following...more
12/7/2016
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Damages ,
Defamation ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Genuine Issue of Material Fact ,
Libel ,
Libel Per Se ,
Reputational Injury ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tortious Interference ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on a case revealing that while less stringent standards are often applied to pro se litigants, courts still should require them to adhere to the procedural rules....more
12/2/2016
/ Attorney General ,
Auditors ,
Class Action ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Failure To State A Claim ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
FRCP 12(b)(3) ,
Investment Companies ,
Mismanagement ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pro Se Litigants ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
State Law Claims ,
State Teachers Retirement System ,
Teachers ,
Venue
Bass, Berry & Sims Chris Lazarini analyzed a case outlining when a party is entitled to have a jury decide issues related to the making or enforceability of an arbitration agreement. ...more
11/22/2016
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Contract of Adhesion ,
Discovery ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Filing Deadlines ,
FRCP 38 ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Jury Trial ,
Mediation ,
MetLife ,
Misappropriation ,
Motion to Compel ,
Right to a Jury
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case where Plaintiff, a 61-year-old female bank employee, sufficiently pleaded constructive discharge in support of her employment discrimination claims where she was...more
11/17/2016
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Co-Workers ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Demotions ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Supervisors ,
Title VII
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which a former trader fraudulently purchased $1 billion in Apple shares that ultimately forced the closure of the trader's firm, Rochdale Securities. Rochdale...more
11/15/2016
/ American Rule ,
Appeals ,
Apple ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Clearing Agencies ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Consequential Damages ,
Contract Disputes ,
Counterclaims ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Manifest Disregard ,
Motion to Vacate ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stocks ,
Willful Misconduct
In 2008, Move, Inc., initiated a FINRA arbitration against Citigroup Global Markets, alleging that Citigroup improperly invested over $131 million of Move's assets in illiquid and unsuitable auction rate securities. The...more