Last summer, the Supreme Court issued its pivotal decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, holding that when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, the Seventh Amendment entitles the defendant to a jury trial. Because those penalties are legal, rather than equitable, remedies that mirror common-law fraud, the Court held that an Administrative Law Judge lacks the power to impose them. The Court recognized that its conclusion might differ […]

In Sound Around, Inc. v. Moises Friedman, Magistrate Judge Katharine A. Parker addressed Rule 34 standards relating to the production of structured data from dynamic databases. Plaintiff filed a robust complaint alleging the defendants misappropriated confidential trade secret information, diverted corporate opportunities, used plaintiff’s trademarks and overall commercial image and appearance (i.e., trade dress) to market competing products, and stole “hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars from the company to build their business, pay their […]