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☆ Australia's Medibank faces fourth class-action lawsuit over cyberattack
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 29 (Reuters) - Australia's Medibank Private Ltd (MPL.AX) said on Thursday it was facing a fourth shareholder class-action lawsuit over a cyberattack incident last year that exposed the personal data of 9.7 million current and former customers. Earlier in the week, the country's banking regulator told Medibank to set aside A$250 million ($165.30 million) in extra capital, something analysts believe will affect the firm's ability to pay capital returns to shareholders. The proceedings were filed by Sydney-based law firm Phi Finney McDonald on behalf of people who held interest in Medibank shares between Sept. 10, 2020 and Oct. 25, 2022. The company intends to defend the proceedings, it said in a statement. ($1 = 1.5124 Australian dollars)Reporting by Poonam Behura in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Medibank, Phi Finney McDonald, Poonam, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Sydney, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

Companies Walt Disney Co FollowWILMINGTON, Delaware, June 27 (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) board did not act negligently when it criticized a sexual identity bill signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Delaware judge ruled on Tuesday, in a case the judge said was improperly directed by a conservative legal group. The ruling by Lori Will of Delaware's Court of Chancery means that Disney will not have to turn over internal records including years of board members' emails sought by shareholder Kenneth Simeone, who sued Disney in December. Disney's criticism touched off a war of words with DeSantis and led to the state removing the company's control of a special administrative district that promotes development around the Walt Disney World resort. DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has used his battle against what he calls "woke Disney" to raise his national profile. Simeone, Jonna and Disney did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Lori Will, Kenneth Simeone, Will, Disney, Paul Jonna, Tom Hals, Jamie Freed Organizations: Walt Disney Co, Florida, Delaware's, Disney, Walt Disney, Thomas More Society, Thomson Locations: WILMINGTON , Delaware, Delaware, Wilmington , Delaware

Who is Mr. Prigozhin? Europe and the United States have been trying to shut down Prigozhin’s sprawling business operations for years. On the F.B.I.’s most wanted list, Mr. Prigozhin rose quickly in Putin’s Russia — from being the president’s favored caterer to winning major contracts that bankrolled Wagner Group, his private mercenary operation. Mr. Prigozhin also relies on a global network of corporate lawyers to fend off Western authorities, according to a separate F.T. Bill Browder, a former investor in Russia who has become one of Mr. Putin’s biggest critics, told DealBook that the president would look to reassert his authority by whatever means necessary.

Persons: Prigozhin, caterer, bankrolled, Wagner, Putin’s, , China’s, Putin, Bill Browder, DealBook, ” Organizations: bankrolled Wagner Group, Treasury Department, Evro, Central African, Financial Times, Treasury, — Terra Tech, BARL Locations: Prigozhin, Europe, United States, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, Evro Polis, Sudan, Central African Republic

But his defense team is still evolving after at least three key members left in recent weeks. Trump has also sought to add a Florida-based criminal defense lawyer to his team in the days since his indictment, according to sources familiar with the conversations. Kise, a former Florida solicitor general who has primarily handled civil cases, was brought on to Trump’s team last year after the FBI seized classified documents kept at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump has struggled in recent weeks to bolster his defense team as the documents investigation intensified. The day the indictment was unsealed, the pair abruptly announced their resignation from Trump’s legal team.

Persons: Donald Trump, Todd Blanche, Chris Kise, Jim, John Rowley –, Blanche, Kise, Trump, Lindsey Halligan, Rowley, Evan Corcoran, Halligan, Tim Parlatore, Boris Epshteyn, Parlatore, Epshteyn, Trump’s, Andrew Goudsward, Sarah N, Lynch, Jacqueline Thomsen, Karen Freifeld, David Bario, Alistair Bell Organizations: Trump, FBI, Trump's, New, Reuters, U.S . Justice Department, CNN, Epshteyn, Thomson Locations: Miami, Florida, Lago, New York, Manhattan, Epshteyn, Washington

☆ Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, was found dead in his prison cell
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Michael Belsamo | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The infamous Unabomber Ted Kaczynski has died at age 81. "I'm confident that I'm sane," Kaczynski told Time magazine in 1999. David Kaczynski wanted his role kept confidential, but his identity quickly leaked out and Ted Kaczynski vowed never to forgive his younger sibling. Ted Kaczynski was born May 22, 1942, in Chicago, the son of second-generation Polish Catholics — a sausage-maker and a homemaker. His brother fired him and Ted Kaczynski soon returned to the wilderness to continue plotting his vengeful killing spree.

Persons: Ted Kaczynski, David, —, — Theodore, Ted, Kaczynski, Kristie, David's, Linda Patrik, Daniel Boone, Edward Abbey, Henry David Thoreau, Sally Johnson, Hugh Scrutton, Thomas Mosser, Gilbert Murray, Charles Epstein, David Gelernter, Mosser, Susan, Timothy McVeigh, Patrik, Ted Kaczynski's, Susan Swanson, Chicago . Swanson, Clint Van Zandt, David Kaczynski, Swanson, Anthony Bisceglie, Ann Arbor, ___ Balsamo, Derek Rose Organizations: FBI, Service, WASHINGTON, Harvard, of Prisons, Associated Press, Washington Post, New York Times, Industrial Society, Its, American Airlines, Yale University, Oklahoma City, Bennington College, University of Michigan, University of California Locations: Montana, Butner , North Carolina, Florence , Colorado, West Coast, nation's, Lincoln , Montana, California, North Caldwell , New Jersey, Los Angeles, Chicago, America, Ann, Berkeley, Lincoln, Miami

☆ Luck of the draw: Trump's judge will likely be his appointee Aileen Cannon, who has already handed him victories that had legal experts scratching their heads
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | Insider Staff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Judge Aileen Cannon is likely to preside over the first-ever federal trial of a former president. Cannon, 42, has been assigned to oversee Trump's trial, according to a summons cited by numerous news outlets. At that time, a magistrate judge on duty — and not Cannon — is expected to oversee the proceedings. The judge will likely decide whether to set bail, and read the charges against Trump before he enters a plea. "Judge Cannon is a great judge who I am very proud to have enthusiastically supported," Rubio told Insider through his office when asked about the connection.

Persons: Aileen Cannon, Trump, —, Aileen Cannon —, Donald Trump —, Cannon, Jon Sale, Sale, Cannon recuses, It's, Cannon's, Nelson Mullins Riley, Fort, Paul G, Donald Trump, ANDY BUCHANAN, Mercedes Cubas, Federalist Society —, Steven Colloton, Gibson, Dunn, Crutcher, Josh Lorence, Lorence, Bobby Flay, Ron DeSantis, Republican Sen, Marco Rubio, Rubio, Rick Scott of, " Rubio, Democratic Sen, Dianne Feinstein, they'd, Nancy Pelosi, Cortez, Paul Hoeffer, Hoeffer Organizations: Service, Department of, Trump, Southern District of, Appeals, Scarborough LLP, Miami Herald, Rogers, Getty, Committee, Duke University, El, El Nuevo Herald, University of Michigan Law School, Federalist Society, Crutcher LLP, Southern, Republican, Senate, Democratic Locations: Department of Justice's, Miami, Mar, Palm Beach , Florida, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, West Palm Beach County, Fort Pierce , Florida, West Palm Beach, AFP, Cali , Colombia, Miami , Florida, Cuba, Spain, El Nuevo, Iowa, Washington ,, Florida, Athens, Greece, Vero Beach , Florida, DeSantis, Marco Rubio of Florida, Rick Scott of Florida, Cortez of New York

☆ Twitter’s own lawyers refute Elon Musk’s claim that the ‘Twitter Files’ exposed US government censorship
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The foundation for those claims rests on the so-called “Twitter Files,” a series of reports by a set of handpicked journalists who, at Musk’s discretion, were given selective access to historical company archives. Now, though, Twitter’s own lawyers are disputing those claims in a case involving former President Donald Trump — forcefully rejecting any suggestion that the Twitter Files show what Musk and many Republicans assert they contain. The Twitter Files also show the Trump administration made its own requests for removal of Twitter content. Musk’s release of company files has given lawyers for Trump and other plaintiffs in the case another shot. But Twitter argued last week that the judge should not allow the case to be reopened because nothing in the Twitter Files supports the already dismissed claim of federal coercion.

Persons: Elon Musk, Hunter Biden, Donald Trump —, Musk, ”, Joe Biden’s, Twitter, Trump, Biden, Twitter’s, ’, — Organizations: CNN, Twitter, New York, FBI, ”, Trump ”, Trump, Capitol Locations: New

☆ 4 things 'Succession' gets wrong about business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

HBO's hit show "Succession" airs its series finale Sunday night, with Waystar Royco's future in the balance. It captures the spirit of boardroom drama, but takes some liberties with corporate law, experts said. On HBO's hit show "Succession," the beats of a proxy fight are sometimes just as intense as a scheming betrayal from a once loyal lackey. Over four seasons, the show has laid out a thesis about the all-encompassing gravitational force of Logan Roy, the media mogul behind the fictional news and entertainment conglomerate Waystar Royco. "But the failure of the board to engage in any succession planning at all, is a first thing to note," she said.

These consultancies thrived by providing investors - from global hedge funds to private equity firms - access to industry experts and investigators who could obtain valuable corporate information. One private credit investor who used to join Capvision's calls with "industry experts" said clients did not want to pay top dollar for easily available public information. Many China-based consultancy firms also outsourced on the ground investigations to local contractors. Even before the latest raids on consultancy firms, some due-diligence firms were warned to stay away from Xinjiang related projects, sometimes by security authorities, according to industry sources. China denies abuses in Xinjiang, a major cotton producer that also supplies much of the world's materials for solar panels.

DOONBEG, Ireland, May 4 (Reuters) - Donald Trump said on Thursday he will "probably" attend an ongoing civil trial in New York where he is accused of rape and defamation, repeating his denials of the allegations during a visit to his Irish golf resort. Trump also denied the accusation in a deposition video played on Wednesday for a Manhattan federal jury, as Trump sought to defend himself without testifying in person. The trial has so far run for six days and is expected to extend into next week. Denying the allegations in his deposition video, Trump accused Carroll of making up the story to drive sales of a 2019 memoir in which she made her claims public. Reporting by Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Companies Genesis Global Capital, Llc FollowMay 4 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX received U.S. bankruptcy court permission on Thursday to sell its LedgerX business for $50 million, raising additional funds to repay creditors. Miami International Holdings owns the Bermuda Stock Exchange and several U.S.-registered securities exchanges, including the Miami International Securities Exchange. FTX said in a court filing that Genesis owes it that money as a result of transactions that took place shortly before FTX's bankruptcy filing. Genesis, unlike other creditors, was largely repaid before FTX went bankrupt, FTX said. FTX, a once-prominent crypto exchange, filed for Chapter 11 amid allegations that founder Sam Bankman-Fried used FTX customers' money to prop up Alameda's balance sheet.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Thursday reached a verdict in the trial of members of the Proud Boys right wing group charged with seditious conspiracy for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, federal prosecutors said. The verdict will be read shortly. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott MaloneOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/4] A view of the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange July 16, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidMay 4 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) said in a filing on Thursday it is cooperating with government probes into collapsed Silicon Valley Bank. The Wall Street bank is "cooperating with and providing information to various governmental bodies in connection with their investigations and inquiries" into SVB, including the two companies' dealings in March. The Wall Street bank acquired a bond portfolio on which SVB booked a $1.8 billion loss, a transaction that preceded a failed SVB share sale where Goldman was an underwriter. Goldman was also among the underwriters named as defendants in a securities class action lawsuit related to several SVB share offerings in 2021 and 2022, it said in a regulatory filing.

[1/2] Deion Patterson, who Atlanta Police describe as the suspect in a lunchtime mass shooting at a medical building, poses in an undated photograph. Atlanta Police Department/Handout via REUTERSATLANTA, May 4 (Reuters) - A former U.S. Coast Guardsman accused of killing a woman and wounding four others in a shooting in an Atlanta medical building was expected to make his first court appearance on Thursday. The suspect is accused of opening fire in the Northside Medical facility in the city's busy Midtown area at about 12:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday. The woman killed in the shooting was 39-year-old Amy St. Pierre, an employee of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency said. The mother of the suspect told a local ABC affiliate he was upset that doctors would not refill for him a prescription for Ativan, an anti-anxiety drug.

☆ Trump lawyers, prosecutors in court to argue over whether he can discuss evidence in hush money case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Karen Freifeld | Us Senate Confirms Ex-Prosecutors To New Jersey Federal Court | Jacqueline Thomsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Donald Trump will square off with prosecutors in a New York courtroom on Thursday over whether the former president should be restricted from discussing evidence in the criminal case against him over a hush money payment to a porn star. Prosecutors are seeking a court order that would stop Trump from publicly disclosing evidence they turn over to him to prepare his defense. Given Trump's history of attacks via social media, they said it is needed to reduce the risk of harassment against witnesses and others in the case. They said prosecutors and witnesses have attacked Trump as well. Reporting by Karen Freifeld; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Signage is seen outside of the law firm WilmerHale in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoCompaniesCompanies Law Firms JPMorgan Chase & Co FollowMay 4 (Reuters) - A Jeffrey Epstein accuser suing JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) for allegedly aiding the late financier's sex trafficking of girls and women asked a judge to disqualify the bank’s law firm on Thursday, arguing it has a conflict of interest. Lawyers for the woman, who claims she was a victim of Epstein and is not named in court papers, said the judge should bar law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr from representing JPMorgan because it previously represented an anti-sex trafficking organization that supported a different Epstein accuser. Wild’s attorneys also consulted with WilmerHale attorneys on legal strategy, Thursday's filing said. Earlier on Thursday, the judge in that case allowed the U.S. Virgin Islands to serve legal papers on Google co-founder Larry Page, who has been linked to Epstein.

[1/5] Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts after arriving at Aberdeen International Airport in Aberdeen, Scotland, Britain May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Russell CheyneMay 3 (Reuters) - Donald Trump denied raping writer E. Jean Carroll in a deposition video played on Wednesday for a Manhattan federal jury, as the former U.S. president sought to defend himself in a civil trial without testifying in person. “It’s the most ridiculous, disgusting story,” Trump said in the video, hunched over a conference table as Carroll’s lawyers presented documents to him. "I hear we're doing very well in New York," Trump said on Wednesday when asked why he was not in court. The trial has also featured testimony from two women who say Trump sexually assaulted them decades ago.

[1/3] Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts after arriving at Aberdeen International Airport in Aberdeen, Scotland, Britain May 1, 2023. Trump, front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said in the October 2022 deposition that the alleged rape in the dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City decades ago didn’t happen. “It’s the most ridiculous, disgusting story,” Trump said in the video, hunched over a conference table as Carroll’s lawyers presented documents to him. The trial has also featured testimony from two women who say Trump sexually assaulted them decades ago. Another woman, Jessica Leeds, testified on Tuesday that Trump kissed her, groped her and put his hand up her skirt on a flight in 1979.

Companies Robinhood Markets Inc FollowMay 3 (Reuters) - Massachusetts' highest court on Wednesday heard arguments on whether to revive a state fiduciary duty rule that was central to an enforcement action securities regulators filed against the online brokerage Robinhood. Lawyers for a Robinhood Markets Inc (HOOD.O) subsidiary and Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin argued before the state's Supreme Judicial Court over the legality of a 2020 state regulation, which Robinhood has said oversteps Galvin's authority. He argued that Robinhood violated the rule he adopted that raised the investment-advice standard for brokers and that its broker-dealer license in the state should be revoked. "Secretary Galvin feels strongly in the need to apply fiduciary duty standards to financial professionals," a spokesperson said. "The Robinhood case is the perfect example of the need for such a rule in Massachusetts."

May 2 (Reuters) - A court in Utah has stopped the state's Republican-dominated government from enforcing a new law that would effectively end abortions by making it impossible to get a license for a clinic where they are performed. Judge Andrew H. Stone of the Third District Court of the state of Utah ruled on Tuesday that abortion rights group Planned Parenthood, which had sued to block the law, was likely to prevail in its argument that the law is not reasonable. Planned Parenthood said the measure, which would eliminate the licensing process for abortion clinics and thus effectively make it impossible to get an abortion anywhere but in a hospital, violated the state constitution's rights to privacy and bodily integrity. Stone last year issued a preliminary order preventing the state from enforcing an earlier abortion ban while he hears a legal challenge by Planned Parenthood. Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Companies Peloton Interactive Inc FollowNEW YORK, May 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday refused to let Peloton Interactive Inc (PTON.O) customers pursue a class action accusing the bike and treadmill maker of misleading them about the "ever-growing" size of its library of on-demand fitness classes. The decision is a victory for New York-based Peloton, because class actions can allow for greater recoveries at lower cost than when plaintiffs sue individually. According to the customers, Peloton knew this could happen, yet kept charging full price for products containing copyrighted songs by Adele, Beyoncé, Luke Bryan, Drake, Ariana Grande, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Jay Z and other artists. Peloton settled the licensing lawsuit by the National Music Publishers' Association and 14 members in February 2020. The case is Passman et al v Peloton Interactive Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

The case could have broader implications for assets that do not fit in to existing regulations preventing investment advisers, brokers and others from trading on material nonpublic information, legal experts have said. "You can't hold Nate to a standard that didn't exist," his lawyer Daniel Filor told jurors in his closing argument on Monday. "Nobody told Nate that he couldn't use or share that information." Prosecutor Allison Nichols said Chastain used anonymous OpenSea accounts to make the illegal trades, showing he knew what he was doing was wrong. "He hid what he was doing," Nichols told the jury in her rebuttal argument.

Companies Warner Music Group Corp FollowNEW YORK, May 3 (Reuters) - A jury will now decide whether British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran ripped off Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" after hearing closing arguments on Wednesday in a week-long copyright trial. Townsend's heirs in 2017 sued Sheeran, his label Warner Music Group (WMG.O) and his music publisher Sony Music Publishing, claiming infringement of their copyright interest in the Gaye song. Sheeran and his co-writer, Amy Wadge, both testified during the trial that they did not copy "Let's Get It On." Sheeran said he had only passing familiarity with the song and that "Thinking Out Loud" was inspired by Irish musician Van Morrison. Sheeran won a trial in London last year in a separate copyright case over his hit "Shape of You."

"They independently created 'Thinking Out Loud,'" Farkas said. Farkas told the jury that these were "basic musical building blocks" that no one owns. A lawyer for the heirs was expected to give a closing argument to the jury later in the afternoon. Sheeran won a trial in London last year in a separate copyright case over his hit "Shape of You." Gaye's heirs in 2015 won a lawsuit claiming the Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams song "Blurred Lines" copied Gaye's "Got to Give It Up."

Summary Among 2022 law graduates, 10% landed government jobs while 8% went into public interestSome schools had much higher percentage of grads go into those jobs(Reuters) - When it comes to sending graduates into government and public interest jobs, no law school comes close to the City University of New York School of Law. The Albuquerque school saw just shy of 40% of its most recent class go into government and public interest jobs. Public interest jobs include public defenders, labor unions, and positions at organizations funded by the Legal Services Corp. Some law schools send significantly higher percentages of their alumni into government and public interest jobs than the national average. Read more:These law schools sent the most grads to federal clerkshipsLarge U.S. law firms love hiring from these schoolsThese law schools aced the job market in 2022Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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