April 2024 - cypherpunks@lists.ogf.org

Court Considers Recusal Standards In CFPB 5th Circuit Suit Over Credit Card Late Fees - Financial Services - United States
by Gunnar Larson 26 Apr '24

26 Apr '24

https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/financial-services/1454794/court-consid… 23 April 2024 by Tonya M. Esposito and Shirin Afsous Greenberg Traurig, LLP View Tonya M. Esposito Biography on their website The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and a coalition of trade-group plaintiffs filed dueling briefs last week over recusal standards in the Fifth Circuit lawsuit challenging the CFPB's $8 credit card late fee final rule.1 On April 8, 2024, the court requested supplemental briefing on whether a judge's ownership interest in a non-party large credit card issuer would be substantially affected by the outcome of the case. The final rule defines a larger card issuer as an issuer that, along with its affiliates, has at least one million open credit card accounts. The issue arose because U.S. Circuit Court Judge Don R. Willett, a judge in this matter who already ruled once in this case in a 2-1 panel majority opinion sending the litigation back from D.C. to Texas federal court, has approximately $2,000 of a large bank's stock held in one of his children's college funds. While the bank is not a party to this case, it is a large credit card issuer that would be impacted by the outcome of this litigation. The supplemental briefing submitted on this issue turns on how narrowly the court considers the issue, with the CFPB arguing that "the law requires any judge who owns stock in a large card issuer to recuse[]" and plaintiffs arguing the potential impact of the litigation is "too remote and speculative" to justify judicial recusal. The plaintiff trade groups argue that "courts have held that recusal is not warranted under the applicable standard unless the litigation's substantial effect on the judge's interest is 'easily ascertainable.'" Plaintiffs further assert, "Applying these principles, courts across the country, including this one, have been 'unwilling to adopt a rule requiring recusal in every case in which a judge owns stock of a company in the same industry as one of the parties to the case.'" Using the CFPB's own conduct concerning the final rule, plaintiffs argued, "The CFPB argued below that, '[a]s for the large card issuers, they will be fine[]'" and that based on the CFPB's own representations, it is not easily ascertainable if there will be "a substantial effect on the stock price—rather than revenue—of any particular credit card issuer." The CFPB argues in its supplemental briefing that "the outcome of this litigation could substantially affect an ownership interest in large credit card issuers...[because] there is a direct connection between this case—a facial challenge to a regulation governing the late fees that can be charged by the 30 to 35 largest card issuers in the country—and the revenue streams of those directly regulated entities" (emphasis in original). The CFPB further states, "And while it is difficult to say with precision how the Late Fee Rule—or the litigation challenging it—would affect card issuers' revenue and thus profitability (which could in turn affect share prices), industry analysts have predicted a possible substantial effect." The CFPB contends that "ownership of stock in a large card issuer would trigger recusal obligations regardless of whether the litigation could substantially affect that ownership interest." Judge Willett has said he does not believe he needs to recuse himself from the case and that he has received ethical advice concerning the same from an adviser at the court. Footnote 1. For background, see previous GT Alerts.

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‘Buffett Got it Wrong’ on California Fire Risk: PG&E CEO
by Gunnar Larson 25 Apr '24

25 Apr '24

‘Buffett Got it Wrong’ on California Fire Risk: PG&E CEO https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-25/-buffett-got-it-wrong-on… Warren Buffett’s warning that wildfires have turned utilities across the western US into risky investments is mistaken — at least in California, according to the head of the state’s largest electricity provider.

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US White-Collar Job Growth Stalls, Even in Pandemic Boomtowns
by Gunnar Larson 25 Apr '24

25 Apr '24

US White-Collar Job Growth Stalls, Even in Pandemic Boomtowns https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-25/white-collar-hiring-stal… A laid-off YouTube employee is down to his last paycheck. A former startup worker has to borrow money from his family to pay his mortgage. A veteran financial consultant can barely land an interview.

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BREAKING: Attys, Insurance Agent Found Guilty Of Tax-Avoidance Scheme
by Gunnar Larson 25 Apr '24

25 Apr '24

BREAKING: Attys, Insurance Agent Found Guilty Of Tax-Avoidance Scheme <https://www.law360.com/insurance/articles/1829601?nl_pk=59612751-8689-4b1e-…> By Hayley Fowler Two St. Louis tax attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent on Thursday were found guilty on all counts of conspiring to defraud the federal government and aiding in the filing of false tax returns for their role in a tax avoidance scheme that prosecutors claim cost the Internal Revenue Service tens of millions of dollars. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/insurance/articles/1829601?nl_pk=59612751-8689-4b1e-…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/insurance/articles/1829601?nl_pk=59612751-8689-4b1e-…>

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Crypto Mixer Execs Arrested Over $2B In Illicit Transactions
by Gunnar Larson 25 Apr '24

25 Apr '24

Crypto Mixer Execs Arrested Over $2B In Illicit Transactions <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1829272?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> By Aislinn Keely New York federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that they have arrested the co-founders of crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet over their operation of a crypto service that authorities say executed over $2 billion in unlawful transactions. Indictment attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1829272?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1829272?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…>

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Chancery Lets $344M Carlyle Tax-Payout Suit Move Ahead
by Gunnar Larson 25 Apr '24

25 Apr '24

Chancery Lets $344M Carlyle Tax-Payout Suit Move Ahead <https://www.law360.com/delaware/articles/1829169?nl_pk=8f2e5a76-bb66-462b-a…> By Leslie A. Pappas A vice chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery on Wednesday refused to toss most claims in a stockholder suit led by a Pittsburgh pension fund targeting a $344 million tax-asset buyout at The Carlyle Group Inc., though she did trim the suit by a single count. Opinion attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/delaware/articles/1829169?nl_pk=8f2e5a76-bb66-462b-a…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/delaware/articles/1829169?nl_pk=8f2e5a76-bb66-462b-a…>

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BREAKING: Weinstein's Rape Conviction Overturned By NY Top Court
by Gunnar Larson 25 Apr '24

25 Apr '24

BREAKING: Weinstein's Rape Conviction Overturned By NY Top Court <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1829482?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> By Rachel Scharf New York's highest court overturned Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction on Wednesday and granted a new trial to the disgraced movie mogul, holding that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office should not have been allowed to present evidence of uncharged crimes. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1829482?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1829482?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…>

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Wall Street?s Judge Shopping Continues: It?s Trying to Stop the FTC?s Ban on Worker Handcuffs Known as Non-Compete Agreements
by Gunnar Larson 25 Apr '24

25 Apr '24

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/04/wall-streets-judge-shopping-continue… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: April 25, 2024 ~ Sullivan & Cromwell, the go-to law firm for Wall Street in the past, has become a case study in how not to manage one’s corporate reputation. (See Wall Street’s Go-To Law Firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, Got in Bed with Crypto; Now Its Reputation Is Being Hammered.) Apparently, having previously represented FTX fraudster, Sam Bankman-Fried, and then grabbing FTX’s bankruptcy proceeding and billing $180 million, is not enough shame for Sullivan & Cromwell to heap on its reputation. It is now listed as the Big Law firm that filed a federal lawsuit yesterday on behalf of the corporate front groups, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, and others, to stop the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) new rule banning non-compete agreements for most workers. (An 8-attorney law firm in Texas, Potter Minton, is also listed on the filing for the plaintiffs.) Sullivan & Cromwell’s filing of the lawsuit came just one day after the FTC announced its final rule banning the non-compete agreements, which suppress workers’ ability to advance their careers and advocate for higher wages. The ruling follows an anti-trust focused Executive Order signed by President Joe Biden in 2021 that asked the FTC to ban or restrict clauses in employment agreements that hinder workers’ freedom to change jobs. Sullivan & Cromwell is headquartered in New York. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is headquartered in Washington, D.C. as is the Federal Trade Commission. But the lawsuit against the FTC was filed in a U.S. District Court in Tyler, Texas. The watchdog, Accountable.US, has released a statement assigning nefarious motives to the court venue selected by the plaintiffs. It wrote: “Predictably, the U.S. Chamber has once again filed their lawsuit in Texas federal court to ensure it falls under the jurisdiction of the conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals despite facing increased scrutiny for venue and judge shopping with lawsuits aiming to block pro-consumer and worker regulations to protect record corporate profits.” Accountable.US released a study showing court cases filed in courts within the Fifth Circuit where corporate interests attempted to trample on worker or consumer rights by overturning federal agency issued rules. It noted that just last month the U.S. Chamber of Commerce had filed a lawsuit in another U.S. District Court within the Fifth Circuit that challenged the Consumer Financial Protection Agency’s (CFPB’s) recent ruling that capped credit card late fees at $8, which could save consumers approximately $10 billion a year in late fees. (Wall Street’s megabanks that issue their own credit cards are a major beneficiary of extracting billions of dollars in late fees from their credit card customers.) Another case brought in 2017 by the U.S. Chamber in a Fifth Circuit court went to the heart of preserving Wall Street’s private justice system which forces customers to sign away their rights to file claims against Wall Street firms before a jury of their peers in a public courtroom. Customers must contractually agree instead to have their cases heard by one of the deeply conflicted arbitration groups that get lucrative repeat business from Wall Street. Accountable.US writes: “In September 2017, the U.S. Chamber joined banking groups in a lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Texas aimed at blocking CFPB rulemaking banning forced arbitration clauses in financial services contracts, contesting it used ‘biased data.’ The Chamber later received a major victory when the Senate voted to overturn the law, subsequently dropping the case when former President Trump signed the law into action in November 2017.” The vote to overturn the consumer-friendly CFPB ruling on mandatory arbitration was so controversial that Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John Kennedy voted against it, abandoning their other gung-ho Republican colleagues. Senate Democrats voted to preserve the rule, which forced the Republicans to summon Vice President Mike Pence to cast the deciding vote to pass the repeal. President Trump signed the anti-consumer legislation into law. For our deep-dive reporting at the time, see Mike Pence Secures the No Law Zone Around Wall Street. Between Wall Street’s kangaroo-court private justice system, its non-compete agreements, its non-disclosure agreements, its non-disparagement agreements, and its insidious TROs (Temporary Restraining Orders), it’s no wonder Wall Street has also become a major crime center in America.

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Boston Pension Doubles Down On Bid To Lead NYCB Suit
by Gunnar Larson 25 Apr '24

25 Apr '24

Boston Pension Doubles Down On Bid To Lead NYCB Suit <https://www.law360.com/capitalmarkets/articles/1828785?nl_pk=abe82add-2a33-…> By Katryna Perera Boston's municipal pension plan and its attorneys from Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP stood firm on their bid to lead a proposed securities class action against New York Community Bancorp, saying their chief rival for lead status bought their shares too late and is too sketchy to be a potential plaintiff. Memorandum attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/capitalmarkets/articles/1828785?nl_pk=abe82add-2a33-…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/capitalmarkets/articles/1828785?nl_pk=abe82add-2a33-…>

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GAO Says Space Force Deal Protest Timely But Unwarranted
by Gunnar Larson 25 Apr '24

25 Apr '24

GAO Says Space Force Deal Protest Timely But Unwarranted <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1829123?nl_pk=4126fe73-…> By Daniel Wilson The U.S. Government Accountability Office ruled that a protest over a U.S. Space Force research support contract submitted pre-deadline but deleted by an email server was timely, but said the Space Force properly excluded the protester's deficient bid from consideration. Decision attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1829123?nl_pk=4126fe73-…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1829123?nl_pk=4126fe73-…>

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