Credit Suisse managers are allegedly exploring legal options over lost bonuses due to the bank's rescue by UBS. Senior bankers at Credit Suisse who were offered a portion of their bonuses as part of a contingent capital award (CCA) have been affected by the bank restructuring after the 2014 awards were linked to the bank's hybrid AT1 securities, which were wiped out during Credit Suisse's rescue. Law firms Quinn Emanuel and Pallas, who are already suing regulators on behalf of investors who owned AT1 bonds are reportedly being asked to take legal action on behalf of affected Credit Suisse employees.
Senior managers at Credit Suisse are considering legal action against Swiss regulator Finma in an attempt to recover bonuses that were cancelled after its rescue by UBS. Credit Suisse staff could sue over $400m in bonuses that were written off following a takeover deal in which the regulator ordered Credit Suisse to write its Additional Tier 1 debt down to zero. Law firms Quinn Emanuel and Pallas have reportedly received several requests to take on Credit Suisse's lawsuit.
US law firm Shearman & Sterling and UK "magic circle" firm Allen & Overy plan to merge to create one of the world's largest legal businesses. The deal would create a firm with annual revenue of more than $3bn and would be a "beachhead" for A&O in the lucrative US market. However, some commentators see law firm mergers as a sign of desperation, with Shearman having suffered a 10% fall in revenue this year leading to the firm searching for a suitor. The proposed deal would see partners at both firms needing to approve it for it to go ahead.
Opposition parties, led by Move Forward, have drafted new objectives for Thailand that would see a new constitution, an end to monopolies, and the approval of same-sex marriage among other things. These objectives, which are being claimed as a draft, were disputed after no mention of a divisive royal insult law was made and reported by Reuters who had the chance to review the pact. A coalition of six other parties is currently nodding this agreement and the full list of proposals is to be publicly released at a later date.
The BBC is facing legal action in India due to allegations of defamation charges against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a documentary series investigating his role in religious riots in Gujarat state in 2002. The lawsuit was filed in New Delhi's high court by Justice on Trial, a Gujarat-based trust which alleges that the BBC's series "casts a slur on the reputation of the country and also makes false and defamatory imputations and insinuations against the prime minister of India, the Indian Judiciary and the Indian criminal justice system".
South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control will be restructured into three separate agencies: a Department of Environmental Services, a Department of Agriculture, and another specialising in veteran nursing homes. The state is also scrapping its certificate of need program, which obliged hospitals to seek permission to build new facilities, buy equipment or expand, until the end of 2026. Supporters of the move claimed it would foster competition, whereas opponents said it preserved healthcare in rural areas and safeguarded against overspending. Governor Henry McMaster also signed a new law enabling South Carolina to keep secret details concerning anyone who supplies drugs necessary for lethal injections, as well as people who help executions take place. The regulation passed amid preparations to begin carrying out executions again after supplies of lethal injection drugs expired in 2011.
Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, signed a red flag bill on 20 December, making it the 21st US state to adopt such legislation. The state was prompted to act after its second mass school shooting. The measure will allow family members, police, mental health professionals, roommates and former dating partners to petition a judge to remove firearms from those they believe pose an imminent liability to themselves or others. The Associated Press has raised concerns over whether Michigan will have better success enforcing the law than other states.
Eight political parties, led by Thailand's Move Forward Party, signed a 23-point agreement on Monday outlining a joint platform to form a coalition government in July. Move Forward captured 152 seats in last week's elections on the promise of change after nine years of conservative rule. However, it sidestepped a contentious issue, amending a law banning criticism of the monarchy, to preserve its agreement. The monarchy enjoys significant national identity support and conservatives oppose any changes to associated laws that can result in 15 years imprisonment. Monday's agreement will require fine-tuning by the eight-party coalition that holds a 313-seat strong majority.
A US appeals court has overturned a decision in Nevada that labelled longstanding legislation as racist and unconstitutional. Section 1326 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which outlaws returning to the US after being deported, was deemed discriminatory against Latinos by a federal judge in the state in 2019. The ruling was a blow to campaigners who had hoped for changes to immigration law, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has now reversed that judgment, ruling the law "is facially neutral as to race".
Chinese citizens living in Florida have sued the state over a new law blocking citizens of China and several other countries from owning homes and land. The lawsuit stated that the state law, which comes into effect July 1, is unconstitutional and violates a federal law prohibiting discrimination in housing. The Florida legislation also prohibits most citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia and North Korea from owning property within 10 miles of any military installation or "critical infrastructure facility" such as a power plant, airport or refinery.
TikTok has sued Montana, claiming the state's ban on the social media platform is unconstitutional and violates freedom of speech. Beijing-headquartered ByteDance's video-sharing app argues its users' data is secure and has not and would not be ceded to the Chinese government. The lawsuit follows one filed last week by five TikTok content creators, who said the state had no authority to intervene on national security matters. The law, signed by Montana governor Greg Gianforte last week, takes effect on 1 January 2022. Half of US states have already prohibited TikTok use on government-owned devices.
Social media app TikTok has launched a legal challenge against Montana's ban on its use, which it says is unconstitutional and violates freedom of speech. The company has already faced similar bans in two dozen US states and by the military. Republican lawmakers in Montana introduced the law to prevent the Chinese government gaining access to Montanans' personal information.TikTok has more than 150 million US users, with the Biden administration still considering whether to approve its business plans in the US.
TikTok has filed a federal lawsuit against Montana after the state passed a law banning the short-video app, citing the ban as unconstitutional. The company stated that it aims to protect its business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Mississippi supreme court justice from appointing judges in the majority-black capital city of Jackson and Hinds County, prompting a legal challenge from the NAACP. The civil rights organisation alleges that the appointment law, signed by Governor Tate Reeves in April, creates unequal treatment of Jackson and Hinds County compared with the rest of the state. The law would expand state policing in Jackson, and permit the state Chief Justice to appoint four judges to work alongside the elected circuit court judges in Hinds Country until 2026.
A Texan man who has been a person of interest in his wife's 25-year-old disappearance has died by suicide. Jim Sweeten, 79, was found in a shed with a self-inflicted gunshot wound two days after police recovered what is believed to be a burn barrel that was noticed to be missing around the same time Peggy Sweeten disappeared. Peggy Sweeten was 52 when she vanished. When she disappeared, Mr Sweeten claimed that she had left him for a lover, but no evidence was found to support this claim.
