On June 7, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC" or "Commission") announced a request for public comments ("Request") regarding how it can enhance collaboration efforts with state attorneys general ("AGs") to more effectively...more
In a large-scale push, the Federal Trade Commission advises companies advertising their health- and wellness-related products against making unsubstantiated product claims....more
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC")'s revised Health Products Compliance Guidance expands its reach to explicitly cover all health-related products while providing important updates on claim substantiation and consumer...more
Fifth Circuit decision vacates a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB" or "Bureau") Payday Lending Rule because the Bureau's funding mechanism violates the Constitution's Appropriations Clause....more
In Short -
The Situation: Since being confirmed as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") last year, Rohit Chopra has urged state attorneys general to work with his agency to enforce federal...more
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") recently issued an enforcement policy cautioning companies engaged in "negative option marketing" of potential legal action if the sign-up process for subscription services fails to...more
On October 18, 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James directed two virtual currency lending platforms to immediately cease their unregistered and allegedly unlawful activities in New York and sent letters to three...more
10/29/2021
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
New York ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities Transactions ,
Stablecoins ,
State Attorneys General ,
Virtual Currency
The Massachusetts Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights The SL Bill of Rights came into effect on July 1, 2021, and the DOB issued its implementing regulations on the same day. Building upon and codifying earlier proposed...more
The Situation: Non-fungible tokens are an emerging digital asset class that present a unique set of commercial, regulatory, and other legal considerations.
The Result: The current U.S. regulatory and legal framework is...more
5/14/2021
/ Art ,
Asset Class ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Online Marketplace ,
Virtual Currency
The Situation: The New York Department of Financial Services ("NYDFS") has established a Statewide Office of Financial Inclusion and Empowerment, providing yet another example of state and federal regulators prioritizing fair...more
The business community can expect Bonta to promote employee and union rights, enforce consumer protection statutes, and police climate regulations. He is also expected to devote attention to criminal justice reform....more
State attorneys general have become significant players in the financial world, using a number of special investigative and enforcement tools to investigate and prosecute alleged wrongdoing by financial market participants....more
The Situation: With a new federal administration committed to expansive environmental policy change, a wave of state attorney general environmental action is likely also on the horizon.
The Result: As new environmental...more
The Situation: On January 1, 2021, the California Consumer Financial Protection Law ("CCFPL") will go into effect, and the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation ("DFPI") will become the financial sector's new...more
The Development: The First Department held that the New York Attorney General ("NYAG") has broad authority to investigate virtual currency companies, while narrowing the scope of jurisdictional challenges that can be made to...more
9/4/2020
/ Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Ex Parte ,
Martin Act ,
Motion to Vacate ,
NY Supreme Court ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Popular ,
State Attorneys General ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Virtual Currency
As we discussed in our previous Alerts, "Novel Suit by Kentucky Pension Beneficiaries Continues" and "Kentucky Court Holds That Public Pension Plan Beneficiaries Lack Standing to Sue," beneficiaries of Kentucky's public...more
7/20/2020
/ Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Investment Management ,
KY Supreme Court ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pensions ,
Public Pension ,
Standing ,
State Attorneys General
On June 11, 2020, California budget negotiators tabled California Governor Gavin Newsom's proposal to create a state version of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("mini-CFPB"). As discussed in a previous Jones...more
This week New York legislatively circumvented one of the few judicial constraints on New York's Martin Act and Executive Law, restoring a six-year statute of limitations for claims under these broad statutes.
On August 25,...more
9/3/2019
/ Credit Suisse ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Financial Institutions ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Martin Act ,
New Legislation ,
Proof of Intent ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
State Attorneys General ,
Statute of Limitations
The New York Department of Financial Services makes good on a promise to fill the void left by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
On April 29, 2019, the New York Department of Financial Services ("DFS") announced...more
The Situation: The Pennsylvania Legislature passed Act 5 in 2017, which, among other things, created the Pennsylvania Public Pension Management and Asset Investment Review Commission ("Commission"). The Commission was...more
The Pension Review Commission has determined its recommendations to improve the management and performance of the state’s largest public pension systems
A Pennsylvania commission—tasked with evaluating and making...more
A Kentucky court decided in favor of the beneficiaries of Kentucky's Public Retirement System by striking down a motion to dismiss their suit, which alleges that administrators and their advisors breached their fiduciary...more
The schedule for review of the investment strategies of the Public Employees' Retirement System and School Employees' Retirement System just became accelerated.
At its hearing on July 30, 2018, Pennsylvania's...more
This development represents just one aspect of the ongoing debate over active versus passive asset management.
Earlier this month, Pennsylvania's largest public pension fund, the Public School Employees' Retirement System...more
8/27/2018
/ Asset Management ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Management Fees ,
Popular ,
Public Employees ,
Public Pension ,
Public Schools ,
Retirement Funds ,
State and Local Government
Will this—and similar review in other states—lead to major litigation and regulatory activity?
Active management of pension fund assets, and the associated fees generated for advisory firms, has come under scrutiny in...more