Common sense prevails once again: District Court FCA ruling serves as reminder that whistleblowers need to prove recklessness too *

USA - May 30 2013
While multi-million dollar False Claims Act (FCA) settlements paid by Government contractors get the lion's share of the press, those with an…

Co-authors: Jonathan S. Aronie.

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Another U.S. district court follows the lead of the D.C. Circuit in addressing the "first-to-file bar" circuit split and pushes back against an opportunistic relator *

USA - May 14 2012
While the False Claims Act (“FCA”) generally is understood to be a “whistleblower” statute, it has been a tool of choice in recent years for opportunistic qui tam relators who lack any inside information regarding the very companies they sue.

Co-authors: Jonathan S. Aronie.

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District of Columbia Circuit holds that certifications in financial statements do not constitute omissions that qualify for a presumption of reliance in fraud claims under Rule 10b-5 *

USA - February 2 2011
In In re InterBank Funding Corp. Securities Litigation, No. 09-7167, --- F.3d ----, 2010 WL 5299882 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 28, 2010), the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of a class action asserting securities fraud claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), and Rule 10b-5, 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5, based upon a failure to adequately plead the essential element of reliance. The sole issue before the Court was whether the fraud allegations in the complaint involved material omissions, which would allow plaintiffs to invoke the presumption of reliance established by the United States Supreme Court in Affiliated Ute Citizens v. United States, 406 U.S. 128 (1972).

Co-authors: John Stigi.

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D.C. Circuit vacates proposed fee for NYSE Arca "depth-of-book" data and remands to SEC for further review *

USA - August 23 2010
In NetCoalition v Securities & Exchange Commission, No 09-1042 (DC Cir Aug 6, 2010), the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that the Securities & Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") failed adequately to explain the basis of, and failed to provide adequate support for, its approval of a proposed fee by NYSE Arca for access by investors to its proprietary "depth-of-book" product, Arcabook.

Co-authors: John Stigi.

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District of Columbia Circuit holds that providing attorney work product to independent auditors does not per se waive the protection of the work product doctrine *

USA - July 23 2010
In United States v Deloitte LLP, No 09-5171, 2010 WL 2572965 (DC Cir Jun 29, 2010), the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held, among other things, that the provision of documents containing attorney work product to a company's independent auditor does not waive the protection of the work product doctrine.

Co-authors: John Stigi.

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