Regulatory Enforcement

The Securities and Exchange Commission is getting tough on serial late filers and delinquent filers. The Delinquent Filings Branch of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement has revoked the securities registrations of more than 90 companies in a little more than one year, and has sent a warning that there will be many more in the […]

The U.S. Supreme Court handed a big victory to the Securities and Exchange Commission this month when it refused to review a lower court’s ruling that the Commission has broad power under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to freeze “extraordinary payments” to company officers that are made when the SEC is investigating possible wrongdoing. A three-judge panel […]

JPMorgan Chase is defending a claim that it violated Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which protects individuals who report conduct that might constitute a violation of securities laws or rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The giant financial services firm received a letter in May from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration—which enforces […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking a court of appeals to delete a footnote ruling that most legal experts expected would prompt changes in the way the Commission crafts civil injunctions, one of its most widely used enforcement tools, Compliance Week has learned. NOTE Update According to an email received the morning this story […]

When Manhattan federal judge Denise Cote last month gave final approval to the $6.1 billion class-action settlement with WorldCom investors, it seemingly closed the books on the largest fraud in US history. Not so fast. According to several sources, a significant private settlement with WorldCom will be formally announced on or about Oct. 15. The […]

Arecent flurry of class action lawsuit dismissals might lead you to believe that federal judges have become fed up with seemingly frivolous lawsuits. But the overall trend for dismissals is still down, and the “types” of the latest dismissals provide that the plaintiffs can—and likely will—refile their cases. In the past few weeks alone, at […]

Reports this month that the Securities and Exchange Commission is threatening to fine Morgan Stanley more than $10 million for failing to keep certain email highlights the perils that exist for companies that fail to manage electronic communications properly. Yelton The risks that organizations face when it comes to email retention—or failing to have and […]

Arecent ruling by a federal appeals court provides a pointed reminder to companies that they need to be careful when conducting investigations to ensure that they don’t give up the flexibility to fully cooperate with regulators and prosecutors. Although it has become commonplace for companies to agree to cooperate with government investigators, that pledge can […]

Afederal judge in New York has issued the first rebuke of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s efforts to enforce Regulation Fair Disclosure—which bars U.S. companies from selectively disclosing to securities analysts material information that has not been made available to the public. Under “Reg. FD,” an issuer making an intentional disclosure of material, nonpublic information […]