Back in June 2012, I wrote here about an interesting ruling by Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster in the case of Forsythe v. ESC Fund Management Co. To recap, in that case, the parties sought Vice Chancellor Laster’s approval of a settlement in which the defendants agreed to pay $10.25 million in cash and not pursue claims for indemnification valued at approximately $3 million. […]
Bruce Carton
Posted inFrom the Archive
Why White Is the Right Choice to Head the SEC
After a brief flirtation with naming current Commissioner Elisse Walter to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, the White House reversed course and settled instead on Mary Jo White, a litigator and former prosecutor. The announcement in January instantly set off a flurry of vibrant commentary on how astute—or misguided— the selection appeared to be. […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC Dispute With Judge Rakoff Heard by Second Circuit
As discussed here, a growing number of jurists are following the lead of Judge Jed Rakoff in refusing to approve SEC settlements in which defendants “neither admit nor deny” the agency’s charges against them. Most recently, U.S. Senior District Judge John L. Kane (D. Colo.) rejected the SEC’s proposed settlement with Bridge Premium Finance and certain of […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC’s Latest Familial Betrayal Case Slotted at ‘Counseling Required’ Level
Yesterday, the SEC filed the latest in its long line of “Familial Betrayal” insider trading cases that I have attempted to chronicle here. The case filed against James Balchan is yet another husband-betraying-wife case. After a careful review, I am placing it in the Guarded category (“Counseling Required”) on Enforcement Action’s Familial Betrayal Advisory System. In […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
‘Without Wheels’: Sometimes Circumstantial Evidence Can Be Quite Powerful
As I’ve noted here and also here, we now live in a “Pics or it Didn’t Happen” world. As such, if you are the SEC asking a jury to believe something, the jurors may reasonably expect you back it up with a recorded confession, surveillance video, evidence recovered from a hard drive, a “smoking gun” tweet […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Web Watch: Best of the Week Ending February 1
Throughout the week over at Securities Docket I highlight the most interesting columns and blog posts from around the web on the subjects of SEC enforcement and securities litigation. Here is a digest of my picks for the week ending February1. How Mary Jo White’s Connections Could Complicate Her S.E.C. Job Peter J. Henning, DealBook As […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC Names George Canellos as Acting Director of Enforcement
The SEC’s current Director of Enforcement, Robert Khuzami, has announced that he is leaving the agency on February 8. His permanent replacement as Director will be selected by Mary Jo White, President Obama’s selection to be the next SEC chairman, when she takes over. In the meantime, however, the SEC will need an Acting Enforcement […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Judge Rejects SEC Settlement With ‘Defiantly Mute’ Defendants
One more federal judge has joined the small, but growing, number of jurists who disagree with the SEC’s long-standing policy that settling defendants can “neither admit nor deny” the agency’s charges against them. Via Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” column I see that U.S. Senior District Judge John L. Kane (D. Colo.) saw fit to […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Ninth Circuit Hands Latest Loss to Madoff Investors Suing SEC
Since 2009, Madoff investors have been bringing class action lawsuits against the SEC alleging that the agency’s negligence in handling and investigating the Madoff Ponzi scheme caused their losses. And since 2010, federal district courts have routinely dismissed these cases on the ground that even assuming the SEC was negligent in its investigations of Madoff, the agency is […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Vincente Martinez to Rejoin SEC as Chief of Office of Market Intelligence
Perhaps lost a bit in the recent comings and goings of Mary Schapiro, Elisse Walter, Mary Jo White, Robert Khuzami and Lanny Breuer was the SEC’s announcement on Tuesday of this week that Vincente L. Martinez has been named Chief of the Enforcement Division’s Office of Market Intelligence (OMI). Martinez rejoins the SEC following a stint […]
