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"This case ultimately is about whether rules that apply to everyone else should also apply to Elon Musk," the shareholders' lawyer Nicholas Porritt said in his closing argument in San Francisco federal court, with Musk looking on in the courtroom. The trial is a test of whether Musk, the world's second-richest person, can be held liable for his sometimes impulsive use of Twitter. They also accused Musk of lying when he tweeted later that day that "investor support is confirmed." Investors are seeking billions in damages from Musk, Tesla and several of the company's directors. During the three-week trial, jurors heard testimony from witnesses including Tesla directors, Musk's financial advisers and Musk himself.

A jury of nine will decide whether the tweet artificially inflated Tesla's share price by playing up the status of funding for the deal, and if so, by how much. Investors are seeking billions in damages from Musk, Tesla, and several of the company's directors. The trial is testing whether Musk, the world's second-richest person, can be held liable for his sometimes impulsive use of Twitter. Tesla's share price traded above where it had been before Musk's tweets for much of the 10-day period covered by the lawsuit, but fell as it became clear no buyout would happen. During the three-week trial, jurors heard testimony from witnesses including Tesla directors, Musk's financial advisors, and Musk himself.

☆ Self-proclaimed bitcoin inventor's $2.5 bln lawsuit can go to trial - London court
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Industry Insight | Upcoming Sec Climate Disclosure Rules Bring Urgency To Esg Data Strategy Planning | Zach Warren | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Self-proclaimed bitcoin creator Craig Wright's lawsuit against bitcoin network developers to try to recover billions of dollars can continue to trial, a London court said on Friday. Wright’s Seychelles-based company Tulip Trading is taking legal action against the developers of three networks, arguing they are obliged to write software patches to help Tulip recover the bitcoin. Tulip’s case was thrown out last year, but the Court of Appeal ruled on Friday that developers arguably do owe duties to owners, which should be determined at a full trial. Judge Colin Birss said Tulip had a realistic argument that cryptocurrency is “entrusted” to network developers, who could therefore have a duty to, for example, “introduce code so that an owner’s bitcoin can be transferred to safety”. He added that the outcome of any trial will affect “all aspects of (decentralised finance), whether it involves value tokens or NFTs (non-fungible tokens) or the wider blockchain system”.

Kannon Shanmugam of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison represented PayPal, while CFPB senior counsel Christopher Deal represented the regulator. The CFPB created its Prepaid Rule to offer consumers legal protections on prepaid accounts similar to those on products such as checking accounts, including the ability to challenge payment errors, unauthorized transactions and fraud. Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Circuit Judge Cornelia Pillard joined Rao's decision. The appeals court returned the case to Leon to consider PayPal's other challenges to the Prepaid Rule, including constitutional and administrative law claims. Circuit Court of Appeals, No.

A lawyer for Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary said in a statement that the company would seek a rehearing of the panel’s decision by the full 3rd Circuit court. Gordon’s strategy worked in bankruptcy court but set up J&J for failure when it faced the 3rd Circuit appeals panel. Gordon, at the bankruptcy conference, described the lawsuits as “completely unmanageable” and a dire threat to J&J that could go on for decades. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear arguments in coming months on a challenge to the 3M subsidiary’s bankruptcy. The litigation, they asserted, should be allowed to proceed against Georgia-Pacific because the parent company did not file for bankruptcy.

Google said the new DOJ case, filed jointly with eight states last month, which also alleges advertising-related abuses, overlaps with multidistrict litigation in New York that formed in 2021. Google has disputed the claims in the new lawsuit, saying it "duplicates an unfounded" one that Texas filed and now is part of the New York litigation. "They just want DOJ versus Google, nobody else," Vladeck said. Fox also said there is a new federal law that gives state plaintiffs their preference for venue in antitrust litigation. The case is In re Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1:21-md-03010-PKC.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowNEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday temporarily barred FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried from contacting current or former employees of the cryptocurrency exchange or his Alameda Research hedge fund, and from using encrypted messaging tools including Signal. He was arrested in December on charges of looting billions of FTX customer funds, and lying to investors and lenders. Prosecutors last week cited a Signal message Bankman-Fried sent on Jan. 15 to the general counsel of the FTX U.S. affiliate, referred to in court papers as "Witness-1." The order does not apply to Bankman-Fried's immediate family members, and he may communicate with FTX or Alameda employees if lawyers are present. At next week's hearing, Kaplan will also consider a request by Bankman-Fried's lawyers to allow him to access and transfer cryptocurrency.

☆ Elon Musk seeks to end lawsuit over 'inadvertent' late disclosure of Twitter stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | Industry Insight | Upcoming Sec Climate Disclosure Rules Bring Urgency To Esg Data Strategy Planning | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Elon Musk asked a U.S. judge to throw out a lawsuit claiming that his delayed disclosure of a large stake in Twitter Inc defrauded shareholders who sold Twitter stock at artificially low prices because they were kept in the dark. Under the SEC rule, investors must disclose within 10 days when they have acquired 5% of a company, which for Musk's Twitter investment would have been last March 24. Twitter shares rose 27% on April 4, to $49.97 from $39.31, after Musk disclosed his 9.2% stake, which investors viewed as his vote of confidence in San Francisco-based Twitter. The case is Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System v Musk et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ FTX sues Voyager Digital to claw back $446 million in 2022 loan payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | Industry Insight | Upcoming Sec Climate Disclosure Rules Bring Urgency To Esg Data Strategy Planning | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 30(Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX sued crypto lender Voyager Digital on Monday, seeking to claw back $445.8 million in loan repayments that FTX made before collapsing into bankruptcy in November 2022. FTX and Voyager both filed for bankruptcy amid a 2022 collapse in cryptocurrency markets, but Voyager’s bankruptcy preceded FTX’s filing by four months. After Voyager filed in July, it demanded repayment of all outstanding loans to FTX and its affiliate hedge fund Alameda Research. FTX said in a court filing that on Alameda’s behalf, it paid Voyager $248.8 million in September and $193.9 million in October. In its Monday court filing, FTX acknowledged the allegations that Alameda raided FTX customer assets to cover its risky borrowing and lending.

☆ U.S. Justice Department asks Tesla for documents on driver assist systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Industry Insight | Upcoming Sec Climate Disclosure Rules Bring Urgency To Esg Data Strategy Planning | Zach Warren | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) said on Tuesday it has received requests from the U.S. Department of Justice for documents related to the electric vehicle company's driver assist system, Autopilot, and its "Full-Self Driving" feature. Sources told Reuters in October last year that the company was under criminal investigation in the United States over claims its electric vehicles can drive themselves. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ People who posted Sam Bankman-Fried's bail should be named, U.S. judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | Industry Insight | Upcoming Sec Climate Disclosure Rules Bring Urgency To Esg Data Strategy Planning | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ruled in favor of several media outlets including Reuters that sought the names. The judge said that while the public had only a "weak" right to know who Bankman-Fried's guarantors were, it outweighed Bankman-Fried's arguments for confidentiality, including that the guarantors' safety could be imperiled. Kaplan disagreed, noting that long before bail was posted, the parents had faced "intense public scrutiny" over their relationship with their son, who was once worth an estimated $26 billion. They said there was less "stigma" from being associated with Bankman-Fried than from being associated with the late sex offender. Other media seeking to identify Bankman-Fried's guarantors included the Associated Press, Bloomberg, CNBC, CoinDesk, Dow Jones, the Financial Times, Insider, the New York Times and the Washington Post.

NEW YORK, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Nike Inc (NKE.N) sued Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU.O) on Monday, saying that at least four of the Canadian athletic apparel company's footwear products infringe its patents. Nike in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court said it has suffered economic harm and irreparable injury from Lululemon's sale of its Blissfeel, Chargefeel Low, Chargefeel Mid and Strongfeel footwear. Nike said its three patents at issue concern textile and other elements, including one addressing how the footwear will perform when force is applied. Lululemon, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jan 30 (Reuters) - The case involving former President Donald Trump's role in hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign will go before a grand jury on Monday, the New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The Manhattan district attorney's office will start presenting its evidence in the case, the newspaper reported, which would lay out the groundwork for any criminal charges against Trump. A witness in the case, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, was seen entering the lower Manhattan building where the grand jury is empaneled, the Times reported. The publisher had offered to help Trump by buying rights to unflattering stories and never publishing them. The moves are an indication that the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, is closer to a decision on whether to charge Trump.

Jan 30 (Reuters) - Drug manufacturers can limit healthcare providers' use of outside pharmacies for dispensing drugs under a federal drug discount program, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The case centers on the federal 340B program, in which drugmakers provide discounts to eligible healthcare providers that serve low-income populations. Drugmakers are required to participate in the 340B program in order to receive funds from government health insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and AstraZeneca all continued to allow 340B providers without in-house pharmacies to use a single contract pharmacy. HHS ordered them to stop, saying the new policies were not allowed under the 340B program.

[1/3] Vladislav Klyushin, an owner of an information technology company with ties to the Russian government, is seen in an undated photograph attached to a U.S. Department of Justice filing. of Justice/Handout via REUTERSBOSTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A wealthy Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin faces trial on Monday on U.S. charges that he participated in a vast scheme that generated tens of millions of dollars in illegal trading profits using corporate information stolen through hacking. The three-week trial comes at a low point in U.S.-Russia relations following Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine last year. And while the case against Klyushin, who has pleaded not guilty, predates the war, his connections to the Kremlin have long intrigued U.S. authorities. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Bumb three weeks ago blocked other parts of the law in a similar lawsuit brought by different plaintiffs. Those measures included bans on carrying guns in public libraries, museums, bars and restaurants and on private property without the owner's explicit permission, as well as transporting loaded guns in vehicles. Other parts of the law, including measures tightening gun licensing requirements and handgun safety rules, remain in effect. Both lawsuits argue that the state's new restrictions violate the right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Bankman-Fried, 30, has been free on $250 million bond since pleading not guilty to charges of fraud in the looting of billions of dollars from the now-bankrupt FTX. But in a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried's lawyers said prosecutors sprung the "overbroad" bail conditions without revealing that both sides had been discussing bail over the last week. "Rather than wait for any response from the defense, the government sandbagged the process, filing this letter at 6:00 p.m. on Friday evening," Bankman-Fried's lawyers wrote. They said a Signal ban isn't necessary because Bankman-Fried is not using the auto-delete feature, and concern he might is "unfounded." The lawyers also asked to remove a bail condition preventing Bankman-Fried from accessing FTX, Alameda or cryptocurrency assets, saying there was "no evidence" he was responsible for earlier alleged unauthorized transactions.

[1/2] Tesla vehicles are shown at a Tesla service center in San Diego, California, U.S., January 13, 2023. Tesla board Chair Robyn Denholm is a defendant in the lawsuit alongside Musk, Tesla and other directors. At the time of the tweets, Denholm led Tesla's audit committee, which oversees company controls meant to ensure compliance with securities law. Musk told the jury earlier this week he could have financed the potential deal from existing Tesla investors as well as a Saudi wealth fund. The "funding secured" tweet came as a surprise to him, as Goldman, which had long worked with Tesla, was not involved in the deal.

[1/2] The logo for Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021. The complaint filed Tuesday in a Virginia federal court by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division attempts to compel Google to sell part of its advertising technology unit. The suit mirrors allegations in another antitrust case brought against Google in New York federal court by a Texas-led coalition of 17 states in 2020. In the states' case, a New York federal judge in September rejected Google’s bid to dismiss it entirely. Google also faces two largely parallel antitrust lawsuits by states and the federal government alleging unlawful dominance in online searching.

They had hoped to represent a much larger class of artists who filed termination notices with UMG. A provision of U.S. copyright law allows artists to terminate agreements to transfer their copyrights and reclaim them after decades in some circumstances. Kaplan said Friday that the musicians could not represent a broader class of artists who sent termination notices to UMG with effective dates between 2013 and 2031. A related lawsuit filed against Sony Music by musicians including former New York Dolls singer David Johansen has been paused since 2021 for settlement discussions. The UMG case is Waite v. UMG Recordings Inc, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No.

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Rick Astley has sued the rapper Yung Gravy over a song that borrowed heavily from the British singer's signature "Never Gonna Give You Up," claiming that the new song illegally used an impersonator who imitated Astley's distinctive baritone. "In an effort to capitalize off of the immense popularity and goodwill of Mr. Astley, defendants ... conspired to include a deliberate and nearly indistinguishable imitation of Mr. Astley's voice," the complaint said. Among the defendants are Yung Gravy, whose real name is Matthew Hauri, and his record label, Universal Music Group's (UMG.AS) Republic Records. Universal and a representative for Yung Gravy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The song saw resurgent popularity about two decades later through the "Rickroll" internet meme, where it unexpectedly interrupts unrelated content.

The assailants had been monitoring the property and may have observed that she often shares flowers with her neighbors, she said. Omarov then sent those details to Mehdiyev, who lived in Yonkers, New York, prosecutors said. Amirov and Omarov then arranged for Mehdiyev to get $30,000 in cash, which he used to buy an assault rifle and ammunition, prosecutors said. Omarov, 38, was arrested in the Czech Republic earlier this month, and the United States is seeking his extradition. Iran accuses Western powers of fomenting the unrest, which security forces have met with deadly violence.

LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The High Court in London ruled on Friday that a prominent Russian businessman could not pause an $850 million fraud lawsuit brought by two Russian banks because of British sanctions. Boris Mints and his sons Dmitry, Alexander and Igor are being sued by National Bank Trust, which is 99% owned by the Central Bank of Russia, on behalf of Bank Otkritie, once Russia’s largest private lender before it collapsed in 2017. The judge said her written ruling containing her reasons for refusing to pause the case would be published on Friday afternoon. She also granted permission to appeal against her decision to both the Mints family and the banks, saying: "It is plainly a case with far wider implications." Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Elizabeth Piper and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WILMINGTON, Del., Jan 25 (Reuters) - Shareholders can sue McDonald Corp's (MCD.N) former global chief people officer for the damage they claim he caused to the restaurant chain by allegedly allowing a culture of sexual harassment to flourish, according to a groundbreaking legal ruling. An attorney for shareholders declined to comment and McDonald's did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shareholders are suing Fairhurst on behalf of McDonald's in what is known as a derivative lawsuit. Fairhurst became the global chief people officer soon after Stephen Easterbrook was named chief executive officer. Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked at the Boeing Factory in Renton, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey WassonCompanies Boeing Co FollowFORT WORTH, Texas/WASHINGTON Jan 26 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a 737 MAX fraud conspiracy charge felony charge after families objected to a 2021 Justice Department agreement to resolve the investigation into the plane's flawed design. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor last week ordered Boeing to appear to be arraigned after he ruled that people killed in the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes are legally considered "crime victims." The Justice Department in 2021 agreed to seek dismissal of the charge after the three-year agreement if Boeing complies with all terms. Lawyers for the victims said Boeing admitted under the agreement "that the 737 MAX had an unsafe condition, and that it will not attempt to blame anyone else" for the crash.

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