Bankruptcy in the United States courts has always been a battle between competing interests. On one hand, bankruptcy exists for the benefit of creditors; the bankrupt party (the “debtor”) generally works with the court and ...

On March 28, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) expanded its Consumer Complaint Database (CCD) to include complaints involving mortgages, student loans, bank services, and other types of loans. The expansion also features added ...

Under the False Claims Act (FCA), whistleblowers must file their qui tam claims within six years of the alleged violation (or within 10 years if the case is filed within 3 years of the whistleblowers ...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) was created in 2010 as part of a wave of legislation attempting to make the subprime mortgage crisis a one-time disaster. Driven by Senator Elizabeth Warren, the CFPB was ...

On February 22, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it will intervene in a Qui Tam whistleblower suit filed against Lance Armstrong, his team manager and Tailwind Sports, LLC. The lawsuit was ...

A joint operation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agencies resulted in a $2 million fine levied on Onsted, Michigan based Groeb Farms. Officials alleged that the ...

The purpose of the Copyright Act of 1976 is to recognize the value of the copyright to the copyright holder, to encourage creativity, and to promote socially desirable works that augment United States culture. But ...

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld Congress’ 2009 Amendment of the False Claims Act. Congress, enacting the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA), lowered the standard of liability under the False Claims Act. ...

I have become aware of an internet patent “trolling” case captioned “AF Holdings LLC v. Matthew Ciccone” and filed in the Eastern District of Michigan. The company AF Holdings claims to own the copyright to ...

On November 15, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued its first ever Annual Report on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program for the fiscal year 2012. The report summarizes steps taken by the Office of the ...