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.
Securities Litigation
Southern District Of New York Grants In Part And Denies In Part Motion To Dismiss Claims In Securities Class Action Against E-Commerce Platform Alleging Misstatements As To Marketplace Activities And AI
On January 27, 2025, Judge Jesse M. Furman of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York partially granted a motion to dismiss a putative securities class action asserting claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) against an e-commerce platform (the “Company”), the underwriter of its IPO, and certain of its officers and directors. In re Gigacloud Tech. Inc. Sec. Litig., 23-cv-10645-JMF (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 27, 2025).Read More
District Of New Jersey Dismisses Securities Claim Against Financial Technology Company Based On Failure To Allege A Material False or Misleading Statement
On January 29, 2025, Judge Robert Kirsch of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey granted a motion to dismiss a securities action asserting claims under Sections 10(b), 20(a), and 20A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 against a financial technology company (the “Company”) and certain of its former officers. In re PayPal Holdings Inc. Sec. Litig., 22-cv-5864-RK (D.N.J. Jan. 29, 2025). Plaintiffs claimed that defendants misstated the Company’s growth and future prospects, through statements concerning its Net New Active Accounts (“NNAs”) and Total Payment Volume (“TPV”). The Court dismissed the action, holding that plaintiffs failed to adequately allege any material false or misleading statement.Read More
Government/Regulatory Enforcement
Major Crypto Exchange Pleads Guilty, Agrees To $297 Million Penalty; Founders Secure DPAs
On January 27, 2025, one of the largest global cryptocurrency exchange platforms (the “Exchange”) pled guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and agreed to pay $297 million in connection with a grand jury indictment (the “Indictment”) brought by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) in the Southern District of New York in March 2024.Read More
Antitrust Litigation
Tenth Circuit Rejects Surgical Assistants’ Appeal In Surgical Credentials Monopolization Case
On January 21, 2025, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the United States District Court for the District of Colorado’s dismissal of the Association of Surgical Assistants’ (ASA) challenge to the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting’s (NBSTSA) certification regime.Read More
Intellectual Property Litigation
Federal Circuit Holds That PTAB Has Jurisdiction To Review Expired Patents
On, January 27, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed-in-part and reversed-in-part a decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) on certain claims of Gesture Technology Partners, LLC’s (“Gesture”) U.S. Patent No. 8,878,949 (the ʼ949 patent) and, in so doing, held that the PTAB had jurisdiction to conduct inter partes review (“IPR”) on expired patents.Read More