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The $26 million settlement between Universal City Studios and a class of Hollywood filmmakers has been tentatively approved. The filmmakers believed they had been underpaid based on miscalculated royalties associated with profits from home-video sales. Unfortunately underpayment of royalties is all too common and many fail to properly manage their agreements. One critical tool against …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/08/26-million-settlement-to-hollywood-filmmakers-over-home-video-royalties/
A federal appeals court has agreed with an unmarried California couple that they should not be treated as married with regard to mortgage interest deductions limits. Bruce Voss and Charles Sophy are co-owners of real property. Each claimed a home mortgage interest deduction in reliance on Section 163(h)(3) of the Tax Code, which allows for …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/08/appeals-court-provides-tax-benefit-to-unmarried-couples-with-high-mortgage-debt/
The Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has announced an approximately $3 million whistleblower award to an unnamed company insider who provided information to the SEC regarding a complex fraud that would otherwise been difficult to uncover. Whistleblowers who provide the SEC such information are eligible for awards of 10 to 30 percent of the money …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/07/another-whistleblower-gets-multi-millions/
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has opened the door significantly wider for those who wish to pursue qui tam False Claims Act suits by reversing a dismissal of two such matters. Ruling en banc in United States ex rel. Hartpence v. Kinetic Concepts, Inc., the Ninth Circuit has removed a prior …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/07/ninth-circuit-invites-more-qui-tam-cases/
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced its first fraud charges derived from tracking behavior using data analytics of large volumes of investment advisors’ trade allocation detail. The enforcement target is Welhouse & Associates Inc. and its owner Mark P. Welhouse. Mr. Welhouse is accused of “cherry-picking”, a practice whereby one improperly allocates option trades …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/07/sec-utilizes-big-data-and-statistics-to-target-trading-fraud/
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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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/06/supreme-court-to-address-use-of-statistics-for-class-action-certification/
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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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/06/the-irs-wants-more-of-your-gambling-winnings/
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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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/06/expert-can-still-testify-despite-opinions-being-thrown-out/
A recent case addressed the interesting question of whether a corporation could serve as an expert witness. The matter involved a breach of fiduciary duty case coordinated with an appraisal proceeding, in re Dole Food Company (“Dole”). The defendants designated Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (“Stifel”), a corporation, to serve as their expert witness regarding …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/05/court-requires-expert-witness-to-have-a-body-and-a-brain/
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), a government watchdog group, recently reported the results of its 2014 audit of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) financial statements. The findings included (i) troubling reports of internal control failures at the very agency tasked with policing the reporting activities of others and (ii) warnings of vulnerability to …
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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/05/gao-tells-sec-to-look-in-the-mirror-regarding-internal-control-failures/