SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal Stepping Down, Sanjay Wadhwa Named Acting Director

SEC Announces Departure of Enforcement Director Gurbir S. Grewal

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the Division of Enforcement, will depart the agency, effective Oct. 11, 2024. Upon Mr. Grewal’s departure, Sanjay Wadhwa, the Division’s Deputy Director, will serve as Acting Director, and Sam Waldon, the Division’s Chief Counsel, will serve as Acting Deputy Director.

“We have been incredibly fortunate that such an accomplished public servant, Gurbir Grewal, came to the SEC to lead the Division of Enforcement for the last three years,” Chair Gary Gensler said. “Every day, he has thought about how to best protect investors and help ensure market participants comply with our time-tested securities laws. He has led a Division that has acted without fear or favor, following the facts and the law wherever they may lead. I greatly enjoyed working with him and wish him well.”

SEC Files Notice of Appeal in Case Against Ripple

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced it would appeal a federal judge’s ruling in its case against Ripple on Wednesday.

The federal regulator filed a “notice of appeal” to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, just under two months after Judge Analisa Torres imposed her final judgement in the regulator’s now four-year-old-case against the crypto company.

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In a statement, an SEC spokesperson said, “We believe that the district court decision in the Ripple matter conflicts with decades of Supreme Court precedent and securities laws and look forward to making our case to the Second Circuit.”

Keurig’s SEC Penalty Shows Company ESG Disclosures Still Matter

A recent settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc. shows that despite significant recent setbacks, the SEC is still focusing on environmental, social, and governance issues.

The SEC announced a settlement with Keurig in September over allegations that the company’s annual reports claiming K-cup pods could be recycled were inaccurate. In response, Keurig agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty.

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There are other signals, beyond the Keurig case, that the SEC is still keeping an eye on ESG misconduct. In February, Gurbir Grewal, the director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, described holding companies to their public statements about ESG as a way to protect investors and restore faith in the markets.

While acknowledging that the SEC is “not an environmental regulator” and “not the values police,” he explained that the commission remains dedicated to ensuring that corporate ESG disclosures are truthful. He noted, “We are here to protect investors, and if they care [about ESG], then we care.”

Yes, But How Have the COVID-19-Related Securities Suits Fared? | The D&O Diary

As readers know, since the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. in March 2020, plaintiffs’ lawsuits have hit dozens of companies with pandemic-related securities suits; indeed, even though we are now well into the fifth year since the outbreak, plaintiffs’ lawyers continue to file COVID-related securities suits. But while these kinds of suits have proven to be popular with plaintiffs’ lawyers, how have they fared? Recent developments in two of these COVID-related securities suits underscore the fact that the results in these cases have been mixed.