Wilmington Managing Partner Francis G.X. Pileggi will present on various Delaware cases on the right to bear arms at the upcoming Delaware Firearms Law Seminar on October 18, sponsored by the Delaware Association of Second Amendment Lawyers (DASAL). His 15-minute presentation will begin at 10:15 a.m. ET. 

Public companies and private securities practitioners take note: The Supreme Court has agreed to rule on a circuit split regarding whether the failure to disclose information required in a company’s Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) disclosure in its public filings (including its annual and quarterly filings, Forms 10K and 10Q) can be actionable in a private securities fraud action brought under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

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.

Wilmington Managing Partner Francis G.X. Pileggi recently spoke with the Delaware Business Court Insider (DCBI) (part of Law.com) for an article titled, “Rule Changes Address 'Huge Inconvenience' of Formatting Chancery Filings,” which discusses the consolidation of the Delaware Court of Chancery’s rules on formatting and content. 

Nashville Partner Matt Cottingham and Associate Austin Wells recently represented country singer-songwriter Matt Schuster in his record deal with Warner Music Nashville (WMN).

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.

Wilmington Partner Rafael X. Zahralddin will join a panel at the upcoming American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) Cross-Border Insolvency Program, hosted at Blank Rome LLP in New York on October 24 at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Lewis Brisbois’ Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Partners Kamran Salour, Joshua R. Hecker, Carrie C. Turner, and Associate Sarah Estephan will present a Defense Association of New York (DANY) seminar on October 3 at 5:30 p.m. ET.

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.

Tampa Partners David Harvey and Jonathan Beckerman will present a keynote address on the changing legal and political landscape of DEI at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Expo in Orlando on October 6 at 1:45 p.m.

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.

Newark Partners Malinda A. Miller and Paola A. Silverman, with Northwest Indiana Partner Ami T. Anderson will present a webinar titled “Defending Telehealth & Behavioral Healthcare Professionals,” on October 19, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. PT.