On April 17, 2026, in Potyondy v. Pacific Coast Energy Co. (No. 2:24-CV-09151), the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied an employer’s motion for summary judgment on a SOX whistleblower claim—even though the plaintiff admitted he never explicitly reported “fraud.” The court found there to
Whistleblower
The Department of Justice, Antitrust Division Issues Its First Reward To Anonymous Whistleblower For Providing Information Leading To The Resolution of Antitrust And Wire Fraud Charges
By Lloyd B. Chinn & Hayden F. Bashinski on
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice announced on January 29, 2026 that it had rewarded $1,000,000.00 to an anonymous whistleblower for their report of a bid rigging scheme in violation of the Sherman Act and 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and which resulted in a deferred prosecution agreement that…
Former Executive Secures $34.5 Million Settlement in Whistleblower Retaliation Case
On March 20, 2025, in Zornoza v. Terraform Global Inc. et al, No. 818-cv-02523 (D. Md. Apr. 4, 2025), a former executive of two SunEdison subsidiaries secured a $34.5 million settlement over his SOX whistleblower retaliation claims.
Background
Carlos Domenech Zornoza (the “Executive”), the former President and CEO of…
Ninth Circuit Revives Rail Worker’s Whistleblower Claims
By Lloyd B. Chinn, Pinchos Goldberg & Scott Tan on
The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Parker v. BNSF Railway Company, 112 F.4th 687 (9th Cir. 2024) underscores the burden faced by employers in defending against whistleblower retaliation claims assessed under the burden-shifting framework of the Federal Railroad Safety Act (“FRSA”), which provides that an employee may not be…
DOJ Announces Development of a Pilot Whistleblower Rewards Program
On March 7, 2024, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) is creating a pilot whistleblower rewards program, which will be developed and implemented over the next 90 days, with a formal start date to be announced later in 2024.
According to the announcement…
Words Matter: Three Key Steps to Mitigate SEC Enforcement Risks Relating to Whistleblower Carveout Language
Since 2015, the SEC has brought nearly two dozen enforcement actions for violations of the whistleblower protection rules under Rule 21F-17(a) against employers for actions taken to impede reporting to the SEC. The bulk of these actions have focused on language in employee-facing agreements that allegedly discouraged such reporting. The…