On June 7, 2022, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, relying on recent ARB decisions, held that a plaintiff who lived and worked for a Canadian subsidiary of a US company could not avail himself to the anti-retaliation provisions of SOX and the Dodd-Frank Act. Daramola v. Oracle Am., Inc., … Continue Reading
On May 27, 2022, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an order by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) denying a whistleblower award under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”), holding that information provided to the SEC prior to Dodd-Frank’s enactment did not qualify for a whistleblower award under the … Continue Reading
On June 28, 2021, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted the Company’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss after an executive claimed he was discharged in violation of the Dodd-Frank Act’s (DFA) whistleblower protection provision for alerting the Company and authorities about possible tax fraud. Airton Amorim De Almeida v. … Continue Reading
On September 30, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted an employer’s motion to dismiss a Dodd-Frank whistleblower claim on the ground that the alleged whistleblower did not complain to the SEC prior to his termination. The court also granted Plaintiff’s SOX whistleblower claim as against three affiliates of Plaintiff’s … Continue Reading
On June 29, 2020, the Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) upheld the dismissal of a whistleblower retaliation complaint under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”) for failure to file within the 180-day statutory deadline. Xanthopoulos v. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., ARB Case No. 2019-0045 (June 29, 2020). Background Complainant was an employee of Mercer … Continue Reading
On June 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) held that a complaint about a theoretical violation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank”) does not constitute protected activity under the whistleblower provisions of that statute. Bryan Horn v. University First Federal Credit Union, … Continue Reading
On February 28, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a former chief marketing officer’s claim of whistleblower retaliation under the Dodd Frank Act. Cellucci v. O’Leary No. 19-cv-02752 (S.D.N.Y. 2020). Background Plaintiff is one of several former chief executives of a closely-held infrastructure technology company who were terminated. … Continue Reading
On September 25, 2019, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced the Whistleblower Programs Improvement Act (the “Act”), which would extend anti-retaliation protections under the Dodd-Frank Act to internal complaints. The Act mirrors a bill introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this year in direct response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Digital … Continue Reading
On September 19, 2019, the Second Circuit affirmed a New York District Court’s order compelling arbitration of a whistleblower retaliation claim under the Dodd-Frank Act. Daly v. Citigroup Inc., et al., No. 18-665. Background Plaintiff worked in the Private Bank Division of the bank. She allegedly complained to bank attorneys and human resources employees that … Continue Reading
On June 3, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment on SOX and Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claims, finding that the alleged whistleblowing did not involve fraud related to a public company. Tellez v. OTG Interactive, LLC, No. 15-cv-8984. Background Defendants operate restaurants and … Continue Reading
On May 8, 2019, the House Committee on Financial Services passed H.R. 2515, the Whistleblower Protection Reform Act of 2019, which would amend Section 922 of Dodd-Frank to extend the statute’s anti-retaliation protections to employees who report alleged misconduct internally. Digital Realty Trust v. Somers H.R. 2515 was proposed in direct response to the U.S. … Continue Reading
On March 4, 2019, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a whistleblower award totaling more than $2 million to be paid to an individual whistleblower, as part of its Dodd-Frank whistleblower program. This award is particularly interesting because the whistleblower “provide[d] critical information through independent analysis of market data,” according to the CFTC … Continue Reading
By Harris Mufson and Jacob L. Hirsch on Posted in Dodd Frank,SEC
On November 15, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published its statutorily mandated fiscal year report to Congress covering the agency’s whistleblower program. The report, which covers the period from October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018, was prepared by the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower (“OWB”) to summarize its whistleblower bounty program, … Continue Reading
By Harris Mufson and Jeremy M. Mittman on Posted in Dodd Frank
On June 27, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted Snap Inc.’s motion to compel arbitration of a Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claim. Pompliano v. Snap Inc., No. 17-cv-3664 (2018 WL 3198454). Background. Plaintiff signed an employment agreement (the “Agreement”) with Snap Inc. (the “Company”) without consulting an attorney. Fired just “three … Continue Reading
On June 28, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) voted in an open meeting on several final rules and rule proposals that will have a material impact on the Commission’s whistleblower program. Most notably, the SEC approved a rule proposal that would modify its Rule 21F, which defines who is a … Continue Reading
By Harris Mufson and Brett Schwab on Posted in Dodd Frank
On April 19, 2018, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey held that providing testimony to FINRA (which is overseen by the SEC) does not constitute protected activity for purposes of establishing a Dodd-Frank whistleblower claim. Price v. UBS Financial Services, Inc., No. 2:17-01882. Background. Plaintiff, a former UBS Private Wealth … Continue Reading
By Harris Mufson and Annabel Pollioni on Posted in Dodd Frank,SEC
On March 20, 2018, the DC Circuit upheld the SEC’s denial of a Claimant’s application for a Dodd-Frank whistleblower bounty award because the SEC did not rely on the information provided by the Claimant in pursuing an enforcement action against Management Solutions. In upholding the SEC determination, for first time, the court identified the standard … Continue Reading
On February 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that an individual is not covered by the anti-retaliation provision of the Dodd-Frank Act unless they have provided information regarding a violation of law to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers, No. 10-1276, 583 U.S. ___ (2018). Somers was … Continue Reading
On February 5, 2018, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted Defendant Khan Funds Management America, Inc.’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a whistleblower retaliation claim under Dodd-Frank on the grounds that Plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Polite v. Khan Funds Mgmt. Am., Inc., 17-cv-2988. … Continue Reading
Last week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a terminated CEO’s complaints about his board of directors’ managerial decisions did not qualify as protected whistleblowing under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) nor under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 (“DFA”). Verfuerth v. Orion Energy Sys., Inc., No. 16-3502, 2018 WL 359814 (7th Cir. … Continue Reading
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland recently denied a motion for summary judgment in a whistleblower retaliation claim under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), Section 1057 of Dodd-Frank, which was brought by an ex-foreclosure attorney, finding there were issues of material fact as to, among other things, the basis … Continue Reading
On December 5, 2017, the SEC announced a whistleblower award of more than $4.1 million to an overseas former company insider. The SEC declined to disclose the identity of the whistleblower or the company at issue. The order noted that the tipster voluntarily reported original information that prompted an SEC investigation which uncovered an extensive … Continue Reading
The Southern District of Florida recently denied a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a former employee’s Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claims, finding that the plaintiff sufficiently alleged that she had an objectively reasonable belief regarding alleged securities violations. Thomas v. Tyco Int’l Mgmt. Co., LLC, No. 16-cv-80501 (Mar. 31, 2017). This case is noteworthy … Continue Reading
The Northern District of New York recently denied a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a former employee’s Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claim, finding that the plaintiff sufficiently alleged that he had an objectively reasonable belief with respect to alleged securities violations and causation. McManus v. Tetra Tech Construction, Inc., No. 16-cv-894 (May 11, 2017).… Continue Reading
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