Nov 29
In a disappointing ruling, the Fifth Circuit concluded in Asadi v. G.E. Energy (No. 12-20522) that a whistleblower who does not file a complaint with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is not a “whistleblower” under Dodd-Frank, and thus does not have standing to obtain the protections under this law. As directly acknowledged in the Opinion, …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/11/dodd-frank-whistleblowers-must-file-their-complaint-with-the-sec/
Oct 11
…nobody knows. The recipient of a $14 million plus whistleblower award, the largest thus far, has chosen to remain anonymous and the SEC is legally obligated to protect his or her anonymity. In announcing the award, the SEC would only say that the original information and assistance provided by the whistleblower led to an SEC …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/10/and-the-biggest-whistleblower-award-goes-to/
Oct 10
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) ordered Clean Diesel Technologies Inc.(“CDTI”) to pay $1.9 million to its former chief financial officer in association with a violation of the whistleblower provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. OSHA determined that CDTI wrongfully terminated the former CFO in April 2010 after he warned the board …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/10/1-9-million-to-whistleblower-cfo/
Aug 19
A federal district court, in the matter of Bagley, No. 2:10-cv-00483-RT-FMO (C.D. Cal. 8/5/13), has determined that Richard Bagley was engaged in the trade or business of pursuing False Claims Act lawsuits against his former employer and was thereby entitled to deduct legal expenses related to that endeavor as ordinary and necessary business expenses. The False Claims Act (FCA) …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/08/whistleblowers-litigation-costs-are-deemed-deductible-business-expenses/
Aug 06
Managing a Sarbanes-Oxley compliant whistleblower hotline allows me to have significant interaction with whistleblowers. So I was very interested in the article written by Steve Kardell of Clouse Dunn LLP, which describes five of the most prominent whistleblowers of all time, as follows: “Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg was a Harvard graduate, Marine lieutenant, Pentagon official …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/08/top-five-all-time-biggest-whistleblowers/
Jul 29
In Asadi v. GE Energy (USA), L.L.C., No. 12-20522 (5th Cir. July. 17, 2013), the Fifth Circuit ruled that a whistleblower under Dodd Frank must report the complaint to the SEC to obtain whistleblower protection under Dodd-Frank. The Fifth Circuit summarized the statutory background and its ruling as follows: “Congress enacted Dodd-Frank in the wake …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/07/fifth-circuit-ruling-re-dodd-frank-whistleblowers-sets-up-supreme-court-appeal/
Jul 25
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Asadi v. G.E. Energy provides a new take on whistleblower protections under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Court found that, by definition, a whistleblower must have reported the claimed violation(s) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/07/fifth-circuit-takes-different-stance-on-dodd-frank-whistleblower-status/
Jul 17
In Lockheed Martin Corp. v. Brown, No. 11-9524 (10th Cir. Jun. 4, 2013), the Tenth Circuit supported a broad interpretation of the claims that are protected under the anti-retaliation provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Tenth Circuit broadly described the case as follows: “Lockheed Martin Corp. (“Lockheed”) seeks to set aside a decision of the …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/07/use-of-internal-personnel-for-whistleblower-reporting-costs-employer-in-tenth-circuit-case/
Jun 27
A recent decision has clarified the reach of the protections offered to whistleblowers under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”). In the matter of Lockheed Martin Corporation v. Administrative Review Board, United States Department of Labor, it has been determined that SOX whistleblower protection extends beyond employee reporting of frauds on shareholders. …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/06/whistleblower-protection-does-not-require-fraud-on-shareholders/
Jun 19
The Securities and Exchange Commission(“SEC”) announced the agency has approved its second Dodd-Frank whistleblower award since the program’s 2011 inception, this time to three individuals who were each deemed to have provided information related to a $7.5 million enforcement action that was (i) voluntary, (ii) original, and (iii) led to the successful result. The SEC’s “fact …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/06/sec-whistleblowers-rewarded/
