On March 4, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s ruling and held that a putative class action alleging state-law fiduciary duty claims against a financial services and advisory firm (the “Financial Advisor”) could proceed despite the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (“SLUSA”)’s bar on state-law securities class actions. Anderson v. Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P., No. 19-17520 (9th Cir. Mar. 4, 2021). Plaintiffs, clients…

On February 9, 2021, the Oregon House introduced a second foreclosure moratorium bill related to COVID-19. Known as House Bill 2009 (HB 2009), the new legislation would extend Oregon’s now-expired foreclosure moratorium during an extended “emergency period” running retroactively from January 1, 2021 through at least September 1, 2021. Similar to HB 4204, if signed into law, House Bill 2009 would: Prohibit foreclosures and trustee’s sales during the new emergency period; Limit lenders’ ability to…

Recent legislation has expanded opportunities for commercial landlords and tenants to negotiate deals to defer certain rent payments during the COVID-19 pandemic with less fear of later losing the arrearage payments as preferences if the tenant files for bankruptcy. These changes, enacted in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), provide a safe harbor that can be used as parties negotiate how to weather current economic uncertainties.…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted a series of amendments to rules under the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) applicable to offerings exempt from public registration. The amendments will become effective 60 days after they are published in the Federal Register, which will likely be in the first half of 2021. The purpose of the amendments is to simplify, harmonize, and improve certain aspects of the exempt offering framework. The amendments are…

This week, the Biden-Harris administration announced a number of reforms to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) aimed at increasing lending to small businesses and sole proprietors, as detailed further in this fact sheet released by the White House. These reforms include: A 14-day period beginning Wednesday, February 24, 2021 and ending March 10, 2021, during which only those businesses with less than 20 employees can apply for a PPP loan. According to the White House…

On January 14, 2021, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in City of Chicago v. Fulton, addressing whether the “mere retention” of bankruptcy estate property constituted an act to “exercise control over property of the estate” in violation of the automatic stay under § 362(a)(3) of the Bankruptcy Code. In an 8-0 opinion, the Court held that mere retention of property does not violate § 362(a)(3). However, the Court did not address…

The “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021” (CAA), which includes provisions designed to mitigate the ongoing economic fallout of COVID-19, became law on December 27, 2020.  While most of the public’s attention is on other of  the CAA ’s benefits —like direct stimulus payments, deduction expansions and tax credit modifications—the CAA revises the Paycheck Protection Program and affects other SBA Section 7(a) loans.  Lenders and borrowers should be aware of these changes.…