SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Securities Regulation, Keyed to Choi
Smallen v. The Western Union Co.
Citation:
950 F.3d 1297 (2020)Facts
The Smallen Revocable Living Trust and other Western Union shareholders filed a class action complaint alleging securities fraud after Western Union announced a Joint Settlement with the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and other regulators in January 2017, agreeing to pay $586 million to resolve investigations into the company’s anti-money laundering and anti-fraud programs. As part of the settlement, Western Union entered into a deferred prosecution agreement admitting to willfully failing to implement an effective AML compliance program from 2004 through December 2012. Following the settlement announcement, Western Union’s stock price declined. Plaintiffs alleged that between February 2012 and May 2017, Western Union executives, including CEO Hikmet Ersek and CFOs Scott Scheirman and Rajesh Agrawal, made false and materially misleading statements in public and SEC filings claiming the company’s compliance efforts were legally sufficient and effectively combating AML and fraud problems. The complaint cited consumer complaints totaling over $632 million in fraudulent transactions, agent arrests, board meeting discussions, government investigations, and executive stock sales as evidence of scienter.
Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
Topic:
Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.Parties:
Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.Procedural Posture & History:
Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.:
A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises:
Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
Brief Facts:
A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.Rule of Law:
Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.Facts:
What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case.Issue(s):
Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.Holding:
Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.Concurring / Dissenting Opinions:
Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.Reasoning and Analysis:
Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
Policy:
Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.Court Direction:
Shares where the Court went from here for this case.