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The Administrative Review Board (ARB) for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a decision regarding the scope of the whistleblower protections under Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). In Spinner vs. David Landau and Associates, SOX’s whistleblower protections were extended to employees of contractors of publicly-traded companies. The ARB specifically mentioned its disagreement with …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/11/conflicting-rulings-about-soxs-scope-cause-private-company-employees-to-stay-with-dol-adjudication/
An October 2012 PWC study indicates large private companies see widespread benefit to public company corporate governance processes. PWC surveyed 221 CEOs and CFOs from companies who were spit approximately evenly from service and product companies. The companies had average revenues of $307 million. 80% of these private companies are adopting specific corporate governance practices, …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/11/more-private-companies-are-voluntarily-adopting-improved-corporate-governance-practices/
On October 3, 2012, in Payne vs. Jones, the Second Circuit concluded that a $300,000 punitive damage award was excessive, and remanded for a new trial on punitive damages unless the Plaintiff agrees to accept a reduced award of $100,000. The compensatory damages, which remained intact, totaled $60,000, indicating a five to one ratio before …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/10/second-circuit-reduces-punitive-damages-in-a-police-brutality-case/
The SEC announced its first payout from its new whistleblower program under the Dodd-Frank Act to an unidentified person who helped stop a multi-million dollar financial fraud. The reward was $50,000, representing 30% of the amount collected in the SEC enforcement action. 30% is the maximum percentage payout allowed by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act that …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/10/first-payout-of-sec-whistleblower-program-also-provides-volume-of-complaints-received/
In re: Apple vs. Motorola, the parties sued each other for patent infringement involving smartphones. Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner, sitting by designation, threw out all damage witnesses for both parties on Daubert motions. Then, since both parties lacked damages testimony, he dismissed both cases with prejudice. Interestingly, Judge Posner did not allow either party …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/10/posner-opinion-provides-worthwhile-damage-guidance/
In October 2011, Chancellor Strine of the Delaware Chancery Court awarded more than $1.2 billion in damages to publicly-traded Southern Peru Copper Corp. (“SPCC”) against its controlling parent, Grupo Mexico . The derivative lawsuit claimed that SPCC overpaid for Minera Mexico, a Mexican mining company that its parent wanted SPCC to purchase from the controlling …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/09/entire-fairness-standard-in-fairness-opinions-requires-that-the-transaction-be-well-fair/
In LaserDynamics v. Quanta Computer, Case No. 11-1440 (Aug. 30, 2012) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned an $8.5 million lump sum jury award and remanded the case for a new damages trial. The Federal Circuit addressed three issues of interest to the calculation of reasonable royalties. See this longer article …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/09/federal-circuit-corrects-recurring-errors-with-the-entire-market-value-rule/
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released a report required by Section 917 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The study’s legislative mandate includes addressing: 1. the existing level of financial literacy among retail investors, including subgroups of investors identified by the Commission; 2. methods to improve the timing, content, …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/09/sec-report-is-relevant-to-litigators-presenting-financial-information/
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 26(b)(4) was amended in 2010 to shield from discovery (i) drafts of expert witness reports and (ii) certain pretrial communications with expert witnesses. This article provides the details of this earlier change. Effective July 2012, the U.S. Tax Court “Rules of Practice and Procedure” were amended for the same …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/08/tax-court-expert-witness-discovery-catches-up/
Recently-appointed Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz appointed a new Whistleblower Ombudsperson within the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Robert Storch, an experienced federal prosecutor, will fill the newly-created position. The announcement indicated that this is the first such position in the federal government. The OIG announcement of the new position indicates …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/08/doj-appoints-first-ever-whistleblower-ombudsperson/
