The US Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may obtain disgorgement as “equitable relief” in civil enforcement actions for securities fraud violations. This case arose when Charles Liu and his wife, Xin Wang, misappropriated most of the approximately $27 million raised from Chinese investors under an EB-5 [...]
The Kentucky Supreme Court held Thursday that a non-profit LGBTQ+ organization lacked standing to bring a suit against a print shop that refused to make Pride festival t-shirts based on religious belief. The Gay and Lesbian Services Organization (GLSO), a Kentucky non-profit organization that represents and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community, filed a complaint in [...]
The Washington State Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that there is no vested right of access to public records in the state. The Evergreen Freedom Foundation submitted a request for access to the records of individuals providing childcare for low-income families in early November, 2016. On November 8, 2016, Washington voters approved state Initiative 1501. [...]
Medical advertising company Outcome Health agreed to pay $70 million to victims Thursday in a settlement with the Department of Justice. Outcome Health places screens and tablets which display educational content into doctors’ offices and then sells advertising space on these to pharmaceutical companies. According to Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie Jr. of the [...]
The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that an agreement signed by a couple seeking in vitro fertilization to destroy the pre-embryos in the event of a divorce should be upheld as a valid contract. Timothy Goodwin and Jennifer Bilbao signed an agreement with a facility to store the remaining pre-embryos after their fertility treatment. [...]
The nation’s biggest private coal mining company, Murray Energy Holdings Co., and 98 affiliated debtors on Tuesday filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy with the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division. The company had entered into forbearance agreements on October 2 to hold outstanding loans under Superpriority Credit and Guaranty Agreement, with the forbearance [...]
Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-backed Afghan forces committed summary executions and grave offenses without accountability. Afghan paramilitary forces belong to the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS), but they have been recruited, trained, equipped and overseen by the CIA. The US provides logistical support, as well as [...]
The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit on Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Colorado on behalf of a Navy Reserve officer who was denied employment by Walmart. The DOJ claims that Walmart violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) when it denied Lindsey Hunger employment [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a settlement Wednesday in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fraud case in which Malaysian government officials allegedly siphoned money from the development bank for personal gain. The DOJ’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative department finalized a settlement agreement that recovered $700 million from Low Taek Jho, who was the [...]
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania issued an opinion on Wednesday concluding that an adult convicted of a sexual offense that was committed while a juvenile could not be required to register as a sex offender. The adult “pleaded guilty to two counts of Indecent Assault of a person less than thirteen years of age” in [...]
