Kevin LaCroix

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One of the now-standard storylines about the global financial crisis is that despite all the chaos very few corporate executives were prosecuted and even fewer went to jail. However, rather than interpreting these circumstances to suggest that there was insufficient evidence to convict corporate executives beyond a reasonable doubt, some observers have decided that the problem was that there is something wrong with our criminal justice system.   One observer who has made a hobby…
In a terse, unsigned one-sentence April 23, 2019 per curiam opinion, the U.S. States Supreme Court has just one week after oral argument dismissed the grant of certiorari in the case of Emulex Corporation v. Verjabedian as “improvidently granted.” The Court had granted cert in the case in order to address a circuit split on the question of whether or not a claimant in must plead scienter in order to establish a tender offer misrepresentation…
The number of workplace discrimination charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during Fiscal Year 2018 (which ended September 30, 2018) declined to the lowest level since FY 2006, according the EEOC’s recent statistical release. But while the  number of charges overall are down, the number of sexual harassment charges increased, as did the number of sexual harassment lawsuits the agency filed. The increase in sexual harassment actions seems to suggest a greater…
A federal district court has held that because of an insured company’s application misrepresentation about possible M&A activity, a D&O insurance policy’s Warranty Exclusion precludes coverage for the policyholder’s costs incurred in defending claims arising out of the insured company’s acquisition. The court’s opinion raises interesting questions about how the meaning of application questions is to be determined. Central District of California Judge Phillip Gutierrez’s February 4, 2019 opinion in the case can be found…
On March 28, 2019, amidst much fanfare, the rideshare company Lyft went public at $72 a share, raising more than $2.2 billion.  In the first trading day following the offering, the company’s share price rose 8.7 percent. However, despite the initial euphoria, Lyft’s share price then began to slump. Lyft shares closed at $58.36 on Thursday afternoon (April 18), representing a decline of nearly 20% from the company’s IPO share price. Apparently, at least one…
Driven by a general overall increase in the number of securities class action lawsuit filings, as well as by an increase in the number of M&A-related lawsuits involving accounting allegations, the total number of securities class action lawsuits involving accounting allegations filed in 2018 was well above historical levels, according to a newly released Cornerstone Research report. Also consistent with overall securities suit settlement patterns during the year, the value of settlements of…
Theoretically, claims made insurance coverage applies to claims made during the policy period regardless of when the underlying acts took place. The claims made arrangement contrasts with the framework under an occurrence policy, where coverage applies according to when the underlying acts took place, regardless of when the claim is made. But even though claims made coverage is intended to apply to claims made during the policy period, there are sometimes claims made policy provisions…
It is a point I have made before but it is worth saying again – private companies are not immune from scrutiny under the federal securities laws. In a series of recent enforcement actions – most notably the SEC’s March 2018 enforcement action against Theranos and two of its executives – the SEC has made of point of emphasizing that its regulatory reach extends to private companies. Last week, the SEC announced the resolution of…
As I noted in one of the posts in my Nuts and Bolts series about the basics of D&O insurance, the typical D&O insurance policy includes not only obligations for the insurer, but also obligations on the part policyholder as well. Among these policyholder obligations is the duty to cooperate. In most claims, the cooperation duty is not an issue, as the insurer’s requirements and the policyholder’s responses do not lead to conflicts. Unfortunately, from…
In the following guest post, Deepshikha Dutt, Douglas B.B. Stewart,of and Frank E.P. Bowman of the Dentons law firm review and analyze a recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice relating to the liabilities of directors and officers under Ontario statutory law for misrepresentations in offering statements. This article is republished here with permission from Dentons. I would like to thank Deepshikha, Douglas, and Frank for allowing me to publish…