Topic: Cross border issues

Subscribe to Cross border issues RSS feed

U.S. Supreme Court Holds SEC Administrative Law Judges Improperly Appointed

By Robert A. Schwinger on June 27, 2018 Posted in Cross border issues, Securities regulatory decisions

On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that administrative law judges (ALJs) at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had been improperly appointed because they qualified as “Officers of the United States” under the “Appointments Clause” of the U.S. Constitution, who under the Constitution may be appointed only by the President, a … Continue reading

New York Highest Court Imposes Three Year Limitations on State Attorney General Securities Actions

By Thomas J. Hall on June 20, 2018 Posted in Cross border issues, White collar crime

On June 12, 2018, New York’s highest court issued a ruling that a three year statute of limitations, not the six year statute applicable to fraud claims, applies to claims brought under New York’s Martin Act. People v. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, et al. The Martin Act is the New York State Blue Sky … Continue reading

The Importance of Materiality in Secondary Market Misrepresentation Claims: Paniccia v. MDC Partners Inc. Securities Class Action

By Linda Fuerst and Danny Urquhart on June 18, 2018 Posted in Civil claims, Class actions, Cross border issues

In the recent decision of Paniccia v MDC Partners Inc., Perell J. refused to grant leave to proceed with a putative secondary market securities class action under Part XXIII.1 of the Ontario Securities Act (OSA) against MDC Partners Inc and certain of its officers on the basis that the alleged misrepresentations were not material. The … Continue reading

US Supreme Court puts an end to untimely piggyback class actions

By Darryl Anderson (US), Dan McClure, Geraldine Young and Lauren Brogdon on June 15, 2018 Posted in Class actions, Cross border issues, Other developments

Companies confronting serial class actions won much needed relief from the US Supreme Court yesterday, in a decision that held that a class action tolls statutes of limitations only for putative class members’ individual claims, and not for later-filed class actions. A second class action must be filed within the limitations period, or it is … Continue reading

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Proposes “Best Interest” Standard for Retail Broker Dealers

By Thomas J. Hall on April 26, 2018 Posted in Cross border issues, Legislation, rules and policies, Securities regulatory decisions

On April 18, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced proposed rules that would require broker-dealers to act in the best interests of their retail clients when recommending investments. The SEC opened the proposed rules to a 90 day comment period. This announcement follows a March 15, 2018 decision by the U.S. Fifth … Continue reading

Federal court holds that CFTC can regulate virtual currencies as commodities

By Robert A. Schwinger on March 16, 2018 Posted in Cross border issues, Other developments, Securities regulatory decisions

On March 6, 2018, in a fraud proceeding involving a virtual currency product, a New York federal court held that virtual currencies can be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as commodities. Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. McDonnell (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 6, 2018).[1] This ruling marks the first federal judicial endorsement of the CFTC’s … Continue reading

Supreme Court Holds Individuals Must Report to the SEC to Qualify as Whistleblowers under Dodd-Frank

By Mark Oakes, Carlos R. Rainer, Kevin James Harnisch, Gerard G. Pecht, Steve Dollar and Ilana Beth Sinkin on February 28, 2018 Posted in Cross border issues, Legislation, rules and policies, Other developments

On Wednesday, February 21, 2018, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split by unanimously holding that an employee must report suspected securities law violations to the SEC in order to qualify as a whistleblower entitled to protection from retaliation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank”). Dodd Frank’s anti-retaliation … Continue reading

CBA Proposal for a Framework to Facilitate Court to Court Communication and Coordination of Overlapping Class Actions Clears the First Hurdle

By Linda Fuerst on February 16, 2018 Posted in Class actions, Cross border issues, Other developments

(The author was a member of the CBA National Class Actions Task Force 2016-2017) At the CBA Annual Meeting on February 15, 2018, a resolution to approve, as best practices, a revised Canadian Judicial Protocol for the Management of Multi-Jurisdictional Class Actions was approved. The resolution also urges Canadian courts that administer class actions to … Continue reading

Ontario Court confirms jurisdiction over claims of all Canadians who purchased shares on NASDAQ and TSX: Paniccia v. MDC Partners Inc. et al, 2017 ONSC 7298

By Kaitlin Smiley on December 20, 2017 Posted in Class actions, Cross border issues

Plaintiffs in class action claims for misrepresentation in the secondary market recently scored a victory when the Ontario Superior Court of Justice determined[1] that not only does it have jurisdiction over these claims brought by Canadians who purchased shares of a company registered in Canada on a foreign stock exchange, but that Canadian securities and … Continue reading

SEC takes action in respect of rogue Canadian ICO issuer

By Linda Fuerst and Andrew McCoomb on December 5, 2017 Posted in Cross border issues, Other developments, White collar crime

On December 1, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commenced a civil action in the U.S. District Court against PlexCorps (also known as PlexCoin and Sidepay.ca) and its principals, Dominic Lacroix and Sabrina Paradis-Royer, seeking civil remedies including injunctive relief, an order freezing all of the defendants’ assets and disgorgement. The SEC alleges that … Continue reading

When is a Foreign Issuer a “Responsible Issuer” for the Purpose of Part XXIII.1 of the Ontario Securities Act?

By Linda Fuerst on September 20, 2017 Posted in Cross border issues, Shareholder disputes

In Yip v. HSBC Holdings plc et al., 2017 ONSC 5332, Justice Perell was called upon to determine the jurisdictional reach of the Ontario courts to protect Canadian and foreign investors when the defendant is a foreign corporation whose shares do not trade on a Canadian stock exchange. Yip, an Ontario resident who purchased shares … Continue reading

The Privilege Against Self-Incrimination in U.S. Criminal Proceedings: What the Decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in United States of America v. Allen and Conti Means for Canadians

By Linda Fuerst on July 25, 2017 Posted in Cross border issues

On July 19, 2017 the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition on the use of compelled testimony in American criminal proceedings applies even when a foreign sovereign has compelled the testimony. The US. Department of Justice (DOJ) laid criminal fraud charges against the Defendants, both former … Continue reading