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It has been nearly a year since the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. first led to widespread closures and disruptions. Throughout that time, plaintiffs’ lawyers have continued to file securities class actions and other claims against companies affected by the pandemic. On February 12, 2021, in the latest of these COVID-19-related securities lawsuits, a plaintiff […]
The recent settlement that Cheesecake Factory paid to the Securities and Exchange Commission was relatively small, but it conveyed a big message: Public companies must accurately disclose the current and anticipated material impacts of COVID-19 on their operations and financial condition. Source: The SEC fires a warning shot about COVID-19 disclosures | Accounting Today
On Dec. 4, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought its first enforcement action charging a public company, The Cheesecake Factory Inc., with misleading investors about the financial effects of the pandemic.[1] The case is significant because it shows that the agency is moving past its initial bout of enforcement activity targeting blatantly fraudulent activity […]
During a discussion of red flags that should draw directors’ attention, Ms. Stone noted that the SEC may take a magnifying glass to disclosures involving significant judgements and estimates, particularly in the current economic conditions. She quoted her former colleague Steven Peikin, previous Co-Director of the Division of Enforcement, who stated in a speech at […]
Remember back in mid-March, when the stock market was gyrating and businesses were just beginning to reckon with COVID-19 lockdowns? Corporate defense firms warned that opportunistic shareholders’ lawyers were poised to pounce. Plaintiffs’ lawyers said at the time that they were in no rush to bring class actions against companies that failed to anticipate the […]
As we enter the fifth month of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., the COVID-19-related D&O claims continue to accumulate. There have now been a total of 16 COVID-19-related securities class action lawsuits filed. The lawsuits filed so far fall into three basic categories: (1) cases involving companies that experienced COVID-19 in their facilities (such […]
In early June, federal agencies brought some of the first enforcement actions against COVID-19 securities fraudsters, involving over $100 million in fraudulent claims and profits, making good on their promise to investigate and prosecute those seeking to fraudulently capitalize on the COVID-19 crisis. The cases generally involve misleading claims about companies’ ability to supply COVID-19 […]
Please join Marion Duffy, Keith Halverstam, Alok Khare, Ryan Maierson, Rob Malionek, and Todd Rahn for this free webcast.
Securities litigation and enforcement activity often surge in times of crisis. Indeed, bedrock federal securities regulations were borne out of an extended crisis: the stock market crash of 1929 and the decade-long Great Depression that followed. COVID-19 has already set off a wave of securities litigation. These private lawsuits and putative class actions have been […]
The Coronavirus health crisis has wrought many changes in the business world and corporate compliance. Over the next few blog posts, I want to explore in some depth what I see are the key changes for the Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), compliance professional and compliance programs as we move to reopening the country and world […]