On June 27, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal on summary judgment of a SOX whistleblower retaliation claim, concluding that the Plaintiff’s purported belief that the Defendant had committed fraud was not objectively reasonable. Westawski v. Merck & Co., No. 16-4075, 2018
Jay M. Cohen
SEC Issues Award To Whistleblower Despite Culpability And Delay
By Steven J. Pearlman & Jay M. Cohen on
On July 27, 2017, the SEC announced that it was paying a $1.7 million bounty award to a whistleblower, even though the whistleblower: (1) had some culpability in the fraud; (2) unreasonably delayed reporting the fraud; and (3) failed to comply with a Dodd-Frank rule requiring whistleblowers to submit inside information in writing in certain circumstances. The SEC did not provide the identity of the whistleblower or the company at issue.
Federal Court Compels Arbitration of Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Claim
By Harris Mufson & Jay M. Cohen on
In a recent decision, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin held that Dodd-Frank whistleblower claims (Section 922 claims) are subject to mandatory arbitration. Wussow v. Bruker Corp., No. 16-CV-444-WMC, 2017 WL 2805016 (W.D. Wis. June 28, 2017).
In Wussow, upon his hire, the plaintiff…