June 2015 archive

Supreme Court To Address Use of Statistics For Class Action Certification

The April 2013 Supreme Court decision in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, No. 11-864, was a profound change benefitting companies facing class action lawsuits.  The Court held that a plaintiff seeking certification must establish through “evidentiary proof” that damages can be measured on a class-wide basis.  Individual damage issues can defeat class certification where those issues …

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The IRS Wants More Of Your Gambling Winnings

The taxation of gambling winnings is widely misunderstood (or at least widely not followed).  Gambling gains are included in gross income, reported on “other income” on form 1040.  Losses from gambling are allowed to the extent of gambling gains, but only as an itemized deduction.  The amount spent to generate any win reduces the win.  …

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A Classic Coase Solution to a Modern Problem: The CrossFit Dispute

A recent Wall Street Journal (“WSJ”) article brought to my attention a very “2K15” problem, urbanites in many of the nation’s big cities are struggling to deal with the annoyance of living next to CrossFit gyms. CrossFit is a highly intense workout regimen which has in the last several years become hugely popular. Many of …

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Canada Audits Dubious Senator Expenses At Great Cost

The recently released report by the Canadian Auditor General details numerous incidents of inappropriate spending by members of the Canadian Senate. The report investigated 116 current and former senators and 80,000 expense items totaling CAD $45,000,000 over a period from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2013. 30 of the senators under investigation were found …

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Expert Can Still Testify, Despite Opinions Being Thrown Out

A recent case illustrated how expert testimony may still be appropriate even when all of the expert’s actual opinions are deemed inadmissible.  In Ross v. Rothstein (March 12, 2015), the Court concluded that an expert’s testimony still offered information helpful to the Court with regard to underlying facts that supported his improper (legal) opinions.  The Court cited …

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Investors Accuse Ernst & Young Accused of Being Complicit in Bribery Scandal

CtW Investments Group (“CtW”), which represents a group of minority shareholders in Wal-Mart, has accused the firm’s external auditor Ernst & Young (“E&Y) of having had early knowledge of Wal-Mart’s violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act related to bribery allegations in Mexico. In a letter to the Public Accounting Oversight Board, CtW reports that …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/06/investors-accuse-ernst-young-accused-of-being-complicit-in-bribery-scandal/