Welcome to A&O Shearman's Need-To-Know Litigation Weekly, which analyzes notable U.S. decisions, orders and developments each week in areas of Securities Litigation, Government/Regulatory Enforcement, M&A and Corporate Governance, Antitrust Litigation and IP Litigation. This weekly newsletter is intended to supplement our various publications and thought leadership concerning these important substantive areas.
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Securities Litigation
United States Supreme Court Dismisses NVIDIA Appeal As “Improvidently Granted,” The Second Such Dismissal This Term
On December 11, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued a one-sentence decision dismissing the appeal—after having already heard oral argument—in a putative class action asserting claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against a technology company and certain of its officers. NVIDIA Corp. v. E. Ohman J:or Fonder AB, No. 23-970. The Court›s order dismissed the writ of certiorari as “improvidently granted.”
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Government/Regulatory Enforcement
Consulting Firm Agrees To Pay $650 Million In A Deferred Prosecution Agreement To Avoid Opioid Misbranding Conspiracy Charges
On December 13, 2024, the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of Virginia and the District of Massachusetts, along with the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Consumer Protection Branch (collectively, “the United States”) filed a Deferred Prosecution Agreement in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia with a global consulting firm (“Consulting Firm”) to settle charges that it conspired with a pharmaceutical company (“Pharmaceutical Company”) to misbrand prescription drugs and knowingly destroyed and concealed records and documents to impede and obstruct the investigation. United States v. McKinsey & Co., Inc. United States, No. 1:24-cr-00046, Doc. 2 at 6 (W.D. Va. Dec. 13, 2024). A corresponding civil case, United States v. McKinsey & Co., Inc. United States, No. 1:24-cv- 00063, Doc. 2 (W.D. Va. Dec. 13, 2024), was settled the same day. The Consulting Firm agreed to pay $650 million to resolve the criminal and civil investigation. A former Consulting Firm senior partner also separately pled guilty to a charge of knowingly destroying and concealing records and documents to impede and obstruct the investigation.
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M&A and Corporate Governance
Delaware Court Of Chancery Holds Stockholder Vote Following Post-Trial Decision Cannot Retroactively Ratify A Transaction That Failed Entire Fairnes
On December 2, 2024, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a motion to revise the Court›s post-trial decision to rescind a CEO compensation package based on a subsequent stockholder vote to “ratify” the package. Tornetta v. Musk, C.A. No. 2018-0408-KSJM (Del. Ch. Dec. 2, 2024).
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Antitrust Litigation
Washington District Court Denies Motion To Dismiss In Algorithmic Rent Price-Fixing Case
On December 4, 2024, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington denied defendants› joint motion to dismiss plaintiffs› class action price-fixing claims under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, allowing property renters to proceed with their allegations that software firm Yardi Systems, Inc. and multifamily property managers conspired to inflate rent prices. Duffy v. Yardi Sys., No. 2:23-cv-01391-RSL (W.D. Wash. Dec. 04, 2024).
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Intellectual Property Litigation
Federal Circuit Affirms Non-Infringement At Summary Judgment On “Document Stream” Patents In Mirror Worlds Technologies, LLC v. Meta Platforms, Inc.
Mirror Worlds Technologies, LLC (“Mirror Worlds”) owns U.S. Patent Nos. 6,006,227; 7,865,538; and 8,255,439, which claim methods for storing, organizing, and presenting data in time-ordered streams on a computer system. In 2017, Mirror Worlds filed suit against Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook, Inc.) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (“District Court”), alleging that several Facebook features infringed the patents.
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