On April 2, 2019 the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Jumio Inc., Daniel Mattes, agreed to settle with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for more than $17 million for defrauding investors. (Govind, Bloomberg). According to the SEC, Mattes “grossly overstated” Jumio’s 2013 and 2014 revenues before selling his personal shares to private investors. (Press Release, SEC). Mattes’ settlement with the SEC followed shortly after another SEC settlement with Jumio’s former Chief Financial Officer, Chad Starkey. Starkey also settled charges for failing to exercise reasonable care concerning the company’s financial statements and signing stock transfer agreements that falsely implied Jumio’s board of directors had agreed to Mattes’ sale of his private shares. Id. After Mattes’ shares were sold, Jumio restated its financial results in 2015, which showed depleted revenues and led to the company filing for bankruptcy. (Govind, Bloomberg).
Read MoreIn Freedom Watch, Inc. et al., v. Google, Inc. et al, No. 1:18-cv-02030, 2019 WL 1201549 (D.C. Cir. 2019), Freedom Watch, Inc., a non-profit public interest organization (“Freedom Watch”) and Laura Lommer, a social media user (collectively, the “Plaintiffs”) brought an action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against Google, Inc., Facebook, Inc., Twitter, Inc., and Apple, Inc. (collectively, the “Defendants”) alleging that Defendants worked together to intentionally and willfully suppress politically conservative content. The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss for lack of standing and for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” The court granted the motion, stating that the Plaintiffs have failed to tie their concerns to colorable legal claims.
Read MoreAre the search results we see on the Internet the actual result of our inquiry, or is each search curated to the individual’s preferences and beliefs? Biased Google searches and social media ads, and the power of Big Tech to influence results became a concern in the wake of the 2016 presidential election after reports surfaced that Russia pushed propaganda to social media users to influence voters. (NBC News). Further, politicians from Ted Cruz to Elizabeth Warren have also voiced broader concerns about Big Tech being able to silence free speech and suppress freedom of information by selectively targeting users with ads biased toward their beliefs. (The Verge). Public officials and social media moguls recognize there is a problem, but the question is how to regulate this data that is collected from users to create biased ads. Proposals have ranged from creating consumer privacy regulations to breaking up Big Tech’s market power or regulating them like utilities. Much of the focus in recent years has been on the former.
Read MoreOn March 11, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint containing a multitude of charges related to an alleged illegal stock distribution and market manipulation scheme against David Foley and others. See complaint. The complaint identifies four groups of defendants: David R. Foley, Lisa L. Foley, and Jeffrey A. Foley (collectively, the “Stock Issuers”); Nanotech Entertainment, Inc. (“NTEK”) and Nanotech Gaming, Inc. (“NTGL”), affiliates of the Stock Issuers; Bernnie L. Blankenship (the “Stock Promoter”); and River North Equity LLC, Edward M. Liceaga, and Michael A. Chavez, the unregistered broker-dealers.
Read MoreOn March 25, 2019 car rental giant Hertz Corporation filed a complaint against its former CEO (Mark Frissora), CFO (Elyse Douglas), and General Counsel (John Zimmerman) pursuant to its Compensation Recovery Policy (“Hertz Clawback Provisions”).Hertz Corp. v. Frissora, No. 2:19-cv-08927 (D.N.J. Mar. 25, 2019). In the complaint, Hertz invoked its Hertz Clawback Provisions against its three former executives to recover incentive compensation that was paid to the executives between 2011 and 2013. Id. at 1. Specifically, the Hertz Clawback Provisions, which were denoted in all three of the prior executives’ employment contracts, required its former executives to forfeit any previously awarded incentive compensation if their “gross negligence and misconduct” resulted in a restatement in the company’s financial statements.
Read MoreThe Delaware Chancery court, per Vice Chancellor Glasscock, issued an opinion in Vintage Rodeo Parent, LLC v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., 2019 WL 1223026 (Del. Ch. Mar. 14, 2019), which discussed the implications of Vintage’s inadvertent failure to meet a merger extension deadline. At stake was a $126.5 million breakup fee. The court held that the target, Rent-A-Center, had no duty to warn Vintage of the impending deadline. While the decision, which focuses on a strict reading of contractual duties is understandable, it fits uneasily with a prominent previous decision; it also seems to be missing a full analysis of the duty of good faith.
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