February 1, 2001 The Post-Sale Duty to Warn and Recall: Are They Preempted When NHTSA or the CPSC Oversees the Manufacturer’s Conduct? When the American Law Institute introduced the Restatement 3rd of Torts (the “Third Restatement”), which included, for the first time, sections proclaiming that sellers of commercial products had post-sale duties to consumers, it announced a manufacturer’s post-sale duty to warn of product risks, whether or not the product was defective at the… View Article
November 8, 2000 Who is a Proprietary Trader? A Changing and Rocky Landscape In a 2000 article, we noted increasing attention and focus on whether individuals described as “proprietary traders” were truly trading on behalf of a firm or were, in fact, customers trading under the guise of proprietary trader. Nearly four years later, regulatory guidance in this area remains inconsistent and continues to result… View Article
September 1, 2000 Securities Sites and Online Trading Become Regulatory Priorities Issues faced by regulators include the validity of electronic signatures, disclosures required in online trading, whether hyperlinks are regulated with the documents in which they are embedded, what obligations online sites have to day traders, when offers to buy can be accepted in IPOs, and more. Inconsistencies between the U.S. and other national… View Article
August 1, 2000 Regulation of Electronic Communication, Execution and Delivery of Documents to Customers of Broker-Dealers A regulatory scheme designed for electronic communications, after a slow start, seems to have caught up with the desire and need to communicate electronically. This article reviews the principle elements in the regulatory framework for communications between brokers and customers – in particular, issues related to online trading. View Article
July 1, 2000 Regulation of Electronic Communication, Execution and Delivery of Documents to FCM/BDs The CFTC has taken a definitive position that electronic signatures are permitted for customer agreements, required disclosure consents and other documents where signatures were previously required. CFTC Rule 1.4, 17 C.F.R. 1.4. Neither the CFTC nor the National Futures Association (“NFA’) mandates customer agreements; however, they do mandate customer acknowledgment of margin… View Article
November 1, 1999 When is an FCM, CTA or Pool a Securities Broker-Dealer, an Investment Adviser or an Investment Company Under the Securities Laws? Futures Commission Merchants (“FCMs”), Commodity Trading Advisers (“CTAs”), Commodity Pool Operators (“CPOs”) and commodity pools frequently deal with securities incidental to futures and futures activities. Considerable uncertainty exists as to when these securities activities trigger registration as a broker-dealer, investment adviser or investment company. These uncertainties have increased dramatically in the last… View Article
September 1, 1998 State and Federal Court Litigation Involving Futures and Derivatives This article compares the advantages and disadvantages of litigation in federal or state court with reparations proceedings under the Commodities Exchange Act (“CEA”) and arbitration under the rules of futures exchanges or the National Futures Association (“NFA”). The content discusses the jurisdictional basis for litigation and the substantive claims that may be filed… View Article