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Welcome to Lookzy. In today's Lookzy:

• Litigating the definition of "beer"

• Meta being sued for fueling war

• Third Point's latest big fight

• Massive SEC rules changes

LITIGATING "BEER"

SDNY District Court Judge Kaplan rejected bids for summary judgment from Anheuser-Busch Inbev's Grupo Modelo and Constellation Brands and ruled that the case's key factual question - do hard seltzer products constitute "beer" - must go to a jury.

Modelo sued Constellation in 2021, arguing that Constellation violated their licensing agreement and infringed on its trademarks by selling its Corona Hard Seltzer. Model argued that their agreement only allowed Constellation to sell beer under the Corona brand, not seltzer.

Constellation has countered by saying that "beer" is inclusive of hard seltzer, which Modelo denies. Both sides went to the dictionaries to suggest a ruling in their favor, but as the judge noted, "dictionaries, however important, do not resolve this case."

Given the ambiguity of the definition of "beer" here, we can likely look forward to a jury trial on the issue. SullCrom is repping Modelo and Kirkland is repping Constellation.

ECON SNAPSHOT

The difference between special bonuses and layoffs.

THE VERDICT

Arguing today's litigation news

Trapped Russian planes. At least 10 aircraft leasing companies have initiated lawsuits against tens of insurance companies for around $8 billion in damages over more than 400 aircraft which have been trapped in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine. The leasing companies are arguing that their policies protect them from war and theft, but insurers naturally are pushing back, suggesting they are undamaged and may be returned.

Streaming class action. A NY federal judge appointed Grant & Eisenhofer as lead counsel in a securities class action alleging Discovery Inc. of material omissions to its investors related to HBO Max's performance prior to Discovery's $43 billion merger with WarnerMedia.

Not financial advice. The SEC said it has charged eight individuals in a $100 million securities fraud scheme in which they promoted certain securities to their Twitter and Discord audiences and then secretly sold those securities.

Facial recognition. A federal judge ruled that Microsoft must face a proposed class action related to privacy claims related to its facial recognition software used for the verification of Uber drivers.

Content algorithms. Meta was sued by two Ethiopians, backed by a Kenyan rights group, for fueling the Tigray War, in which one of the Ethiopians' parents was killed. The suit was filed in Kenya, where Meta's content moderation operations for Ethiopia are based, and alleges that Meta's content moderation algorithm acts more slowly to crises in Africa than elsewhere and promotes hateful content.

THE DEAL

Wheelin' and dealin' today's corporate news

Third Point vs. Bath & Body. Dan Loeb's Third Point has purchased over 6% of Bath & Body Works and is seeking changes to the company's board of directors, suggesting a potential proxy fight.

SEC rules changes. The SEC voted to amend the Securities Exchange Act to require that marketable retail stock orders be sent to auctions to ensure they are receiving the best price before they are executed, which is likely to result in more orders being matched on exchanges like the NYSE or Nasdaq rather than with entities such as Citadel Securities. The SEC also sought to expand disclosures around the trading of company shares by insiders. Such expanded disclosures would include a 'cooling-off period' following the creation of a 10b-5 trading plan until insiders can execute trades under the plan, seeking to avoid insiders being able to effect quick changes to 10b-5 plans to trade the market. These rule changes are up for public comment until March 31, at which time the SEC will vote to finalize them.

Crypto miners. B. Riley Financial, Inc., the largest creditor to Bitcoin miner Core Scientific Inc. with $42 million outstanding, issued an open letter proposing a $72 million restructuring plan to help the company avoid bankruptcy. B. Riley noted that Core Scientific's threat of bankruptcy caught B. Riley by surprise, and that the financial troubles were the result of significant debt with short maturities taken on at the height of the crypto bull market. Core Scientific had gone public via SPAC in January 2022.

Remnants of 2008. American International Group said its subsidiary, AIG Financial Products, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the beginning of the end of a long process that started with the 2008 financial crisis. Young Conaway and Latham are representing interests in the Chapter 11 process.

Future of EY. Current EY global CEO Carmine Di Sibio will run EY's advisory business and US chair Julie Boland will run its assurance businesses when the firm effects its planned separation in 2023.

BUSINESS OF THE FIRM

Lateral Moves:

• Norton Rose Fulbright announced Sydney-based partner Scott Akins will become its 2023 global chair.

• McGuire Woods rehired Casey Lucier, who had been serving on the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Industry News:

• The Solicitors Regulation Authority, the UK's legal watchdog, forcibly closed down four law firms within Metamorph Group Ltd. because of reports of staff going unpaid and directors resigning. Metamorph operated under an alternative model under the SRA's regime where it could be owned by non-lawyers.

• Has your firm still not announced bonuses? You likely are not alone. Check out the latest updates to the Lookzy Reverse Bonus Tracker below for the full list of who has announced and who's left. Have any details about typical timelines for firms that haven't announced yet? Reply to this email and we can update.

BOILERPLATE

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