With the recent news surrounding “meme stocks,” Robinhood has become a household name.  However, the investing platform has been in the news recently for other reasons.  On March 8, 2021, Robinhood posted an image of rapper O’Shea Jackson, professionally known as Ice Cube, from his movie Are We There Yet? along with the caption, “Correct yourself, before you wreck yourself,” a play on words referencing Ice Cube’s famous song “Check Yo Self.”  Ice Cube sued Robinhood shortly thereafter, alleging, in part, that Robinhood misappropriated his name and likeness. Last week, a federal Magistrate Judge dismissed Ice Cube’s complaint, reasoning that Ice Cube failed to adequately plead that Robinhood, by using…

June is Elder Abuse Awareness Month, and the FDA’s approval of a new drug for Alzheimer’s disease provides hope of a possible treatment.  On June 7, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval of a new drug called Aduhelm for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.  Aduhelm is the first new treatment approved for Alzheimer’s since 2003 and is the first Alzheimer’s drug that targets the underlying pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s.  The drug is not yet available but should be shipping around the country over the next few weeks. Since the announcement, the FDA has received some criticism of its decision to grant Aduhelm accelerated approval, with many arguing…

Entrepreneur and hip-hop icon Russell Simmons recently sued his ex-wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, and her new husband, Tim Leissner, alleging the two conspired to fraudulently transfer millions of shares of Celsius, a popular energy drink company, to themselves to pay Leissner’s legal and bail fees.  Leissner pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2018 and agreed to hand over $44 million to stay out of jail.  The suit further alleges claims for breach of contract and breach of confidential relations. Russell alleges he entered a business arrangement with Kimora Lee and Tim in 2016 when they joined Nu Horizons, Russell’s investment company.  Russell alleges that through Nu Horizons, the parties invested…

Last Friday, United States District Judge Robert Conrad in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina ruled in favor of Charlotte’s own Bank of America in a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky man pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).  The plaintiff brought the suit in May 2020, claiming Bank of America called him approximately 300 times in 2019 in an attempt to collect a debt, despite the plaintiff revoking his consent. The TCPA, enacted in 1991, “restricts the making of telemarketing calls and the use of automatic telephone dialing systems and artificial or prerecorded voice messages.”  Specifically, “entities making telephone solicitations [must] institute procedures…