Regulatory Enforcement

This month’s indictment of two former executives of Bristol-Myers Squibb highlights the government’s increasing use of “deferred prosecution agreements,” under which companies insulate themselves from criminal liability by agreeing to assist in the prosecution of employees. On the same day that federal prosecutors announced that they were pursuing ex-CFO Frederick Schiff and Richard Lane, who […]

Mirant Corp. and its creditors committee have filed a lawsuit against its former parent, Southern Co., asserting, in effect, that the Atlanta-based holding company played a role in Mirant’s bankruptcy due to the way it structured the spin-off of Mirant in April 2001. The plaintiffs are seeking to recover at least $2 billion in connection […]

Asecurities fraud suit might be able to go forward under Sarbanes-Oxley even though it clearly would have been barred under the pre-SOX law, a federal appellate court has ruled. The decision could potentially open the courthouse doors to many securities lawsuits presumed dead. Several appellate courts have held in recent months that SOX—which expanded the […]

Wal-Mart Stores is the subject of a whistleblower complaint for the second time in three weeks. A complaint filed Friday with the U.S. Labor Department asserts that Rickey Armstrong, a quality auditor in Wal-Mart’s Dallas Optical Laboratory, was fired by the retailing giant on March 12 in violation of Section 806 of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act […]

As an officer or director of a public company, there are few things that will impact your professional life more profoundly than an investigation by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement. As an SEC investigation is launched, it is critical that you do not become lost among the frenzy of external and […]

When the Securities and Exchange Commission recently settled charges against Tyson Foods and its former chairman and CEO Donald Tyson—stemming from $3 million in perquisites and personal benefits paid out to Tyson and other family members—it marked the second case related to how companies dole out perks, and how they disclose them to investors. The […]

An individual who acquires more than 5 percent of a company’s stock can’t be sued for failing to file a detailed disclosure form with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a federal appeals court has ruled, finding that such disclosure is only required when there is a tender offer or an accumulation of stock that affects […]

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in the criminal prosecution of Arthur Andersen—a case which many see as an example of prosecutorial zeal that leaves companies in the dark about whether actions that are common practice today might be seen as unlawful tomorrow. Andersen was convicted of witness tampering for conduct that took […]