On September 19, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges against Concord Management LLC (“Concord”), a Delaware limited liability company based in New York, and its principal Michael Matlin (“Matlin”) for operating as unregistered investment advisers to a single client described in the SEC’s complaint as a “wealthy former Russian political official living outside the United States.” Although not specifically named by the SEC, according to recent media reports Concord’s client is alleged to be Roman Abramovich (the “Client”), a Russian oligarch with ties to Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation.

In a huge win for freight brokers, a panel of the Appellate Court of Illinois on Thursday reversed a jury verdict, including an $18,150,750 award, against a broker. The panel reached its conclusion after finding that all the evidence presented at trial, viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, overwhelmingly favored the conclusion that a driver and motor carrier were not agents of the freight broker.

On September 21, 2023, the Treasury Department announced that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) had reached a settlement with Emigrant Bank (“Emigrant”), a commercial bank located in New York, related to 30 apparent violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (“ITSR”) for $31,868. The announcement stated that while the “statutory maximum civil monetary penalty in the matter is $9,928,410,” the base civil monetary penalty in this case is $45,526. Because the apparent violations were non-egregious and were voluntarily self-disclosed by Emigrant, the final settlement amount was significantly reduced from even the minimum penalty.

Our New York office continues its efforts to expand the playbook for successfully defending claims brought by plaintiffs who undergo surgery following motor vehicle accidents. In many motor vehicle cases, it is very questionable whether any post-accident surgery was medically necessary, and/or causally related to the alleged impact from the accident. In New York, practitioners sometimes overlook the “serious injury” defense of NY Insurance Law § 5102(d) when it comes to claims where the plaintiff undergoes a discectomy, laminectomy or a fusion after the accident. Under NY Insurance Law § 5104(a), a plaintiff who has not sustained a “serious injury” (as defined in Insurance Law § 5102(d)) has no private cause of action for non-economic loss; rather, they must pursue No-Fault insurance as their sole remedy.

On September 15, 2023, three Russian businessmen were removed from the European Union (EU) sanctions list following the end of an EU sanctions renewal period.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which covers Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, recently held that employers may be required to provide accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for employees to safely commute to work.

In a move aimed at undermining Russia's workarounds to evade sanctions thus far, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently imposed nearly 100 new sanctions on Russia's industrial base, financial institutions, and technology suppliers. The Department of State has also designated more than 70 individuals.

Lewis Brisbois has commented extensively on the conflicts between aircraft lessors and insurance companies related to aircraft detained in Russia due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The sixth part of this series looks at Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot’s plans to buy the detained airplanes.