The General Court of the European Union (“General Court”) delivered three Judgments on 16 December 2020 which confirmed different aspects of the scope of the powers enjoyed by the European Commission (“the Commission”) in its application of competition rules in the European Union (“EU”). In a nutshell, the General Court has confirmed that the Commission: is entitled to apply competition rules to sports activities; has a very wide discretion in determining whether or not there is sufficient “Community interest” for it to pursue an infringement action under Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”); and has a broad discretion in interpreting commitments given in merger proceedings to ensure they are in line with other EU policies.
December 21, 2020
On December 11, 2020, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), H.R. 6395. Buried on page 1,238 of this military spending bill is an amendment to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that gives the Securities and Exchange Commission, for the first time in its history, explicit statutory authority to seek disgorgement in federal district court.
December 18, 2020
On December 14, 2020, the United States imposed sanctions on the Republic of Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), the country’s defense procurement agency, and four senior officials at the agency, for knowingly engaging in a “significant transaction” with Rosoboronexport (ROE), Russia’s main arms export entity, in procuring the S-400 surface-to-air missile system.
December 18, 2020
On 15 December 2020, the Ruler of Dubai issued Decree No. (33) of 2020 which updates the law governing unfinished and cancelled real estate projects in Dubai. The Decree creates a special tribunal for liquidation of unfinished or cancelled real estate projects in Dubai and settlement of related rights which will replace the existing committee set up in 2013 for a similar purpose.
December 16, 2020
On December 8, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2019, which prohibits employers from retaliating against certain employees who report criminal antitrust violations internally or to the federal government.
December 15, 2020
Gibson Dunn lawyers provide a look at personal data and other privacy-related legal developments across Europe for December 2020.
December 14, 2020
In one of the most anticipated rulings of recent years, on 11 December 2020 the UK Supreme Court handed down judgment in Merricks v Mastercard, dismissing (by a majority) Mastercard’s appeal against the criteria established by the Court of Appeal for the certification of class actions by the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).
December 14, 2020
Our lawyers set out key considerations, both for employers who want or ultimately may be required to pursue a mandatory vaccination program and for employers who wish to encourage voluntary compliance.
December 14, 2020
A recent Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case Groupe Canal + v. Commission provides some clarity about the sorts of commitments that defendants can give to reach a settlement with the European Commission in order to avoid it adopting a Decision under Article 101(1) TFEU.
December 11, 2020
On December 7, 2020, the Foreign Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union, adopted Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999 and Regulation (EU) 2020/1998 concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses, which together establish the first global and comprehensive human rights sanctions regime to be enacted by the European Union.
December 10, 2020
On December 10, 2020, the Supreme Court held 8-0 that ERISA does not preempt an Arkansas statute regulating the rates at which pharmacy benefit managers reimburse pharmacies for prescription drug costs.
December 10, 2020
On December 4, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced its first enforcement action against a public company for misleading disclosures about the financial effects of the pandemic on the company’s business operations and financial condition.
December 7, 2020
The New York Court of Appeals Round-Up & Preview summarizes key opinions in civil cases issued by the Court over the past year and highlights a number of cases of potentially broad significance that the Court will hear during the coming year.
December 7, 2020
On December 1, 2020, The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC announced that it filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a proposal to advance board diversity and enhance transparency of board diversity statistics through new listing requirements.
December 4, 2020
The two most influential proxy advisory firms - Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass, Lewis & Co. - recently released their updated proxy voting guidelines for 2021. This Client Alert describes the key changes to the ISS and Glass Lewis policies along with some suggestions for actions public companies should take now in light of these policy changes and other developments.
December 3, 2020
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to show a desire to take action in sectors of the financial services industry where there has been traditionally less supervisory oversight and to push the importance of firm’s internal governance and oversight structures.
December 2, 2020
On November 30, 2020, ICE Benchmark Administration, the administrator of LIBOR, with the support of the Federal Reserve Board and the UK Financial Conduct Authority, announced plans to consult on specific timing for the path forward to cease the publication of USD LIBOR. In particular, IBA plans to consult on ceasing the publication of USD LIBOR on December 31, 2021 for only the one week and two month USD LIBOR tenors, and on June 30, 2023 for all other USD LIBOR tenors (i.e., overnight, one month, three month, six month and 12 month tenors).
December 1, 2020
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently approved significant changes to the requirements for reporting emissions from stationary sources to help monitor air pollution at local levels.
December 1, 2020
President-elect Joe Biden has signaled that robust consumer protections will be a major focus of his policy agenda in what is anticipated to be a dramatic shift from the deregulatory policies of the Trump administration.
November 30, 2020
The European Commission has launched a centralized complaints system through which EU-registered companies, industry associations, trade unions and NGOs can report market access barriers or breaches by third countries of their "trade and sustainable development" commitments or commitments undertaken under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences.
November 30, 2020