Precedent-setting legal battles played out across the country in 2022, laying out new rules and expectations for businesses, industries, and personal finance.
From Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, to the Supreme Court’s dismantling of Roe v.Wade, here’s a look back at the disputes that overhauled the legal landscape for years to come.
Roe v Wade overturned In one of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions in decades, the nation’s high court handed down a ruling in June, doing away with women’s federal right to abortion.The loss of that right — long credited with broadening women’s career options and earning potential –—was quickly recognized by hundreds of major U.S.corporations.Companies from JPMorgan Chase and Amazon to Tesla and Disney stepped up travel and time-off benefits to allow workers in roughly half of U.S.states that now ban or restrict abortion to access care out of state.
Law Enforcement officers stand at the steps of the U.S.Supreme Court on July 11, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Activists with NextGen America placed chrysanthemums in front of the U.S.Supreme Court to symbolize the number of people the group believes will die as a result of the Dobbs v.Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Musk acquires Twitter When serial CEO, Elon Musk wanted to back out of his contentious $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, a fast-tracked Delaware lawsuit filed by the social media giant ultimately held Musk’s feet to the fire.Instead of a judge deciding how the dispute would end, Musk made good on his promise and closed the deal.
The newly private company is now being asked by the FTC if layoffs that impacted about half of the company’s workforce will prevent Twitter from keeping its pre-Musk commitments to protect user privacy.
Union push 2022 ushered in a new era for tech and retail workers with employees from Amazon and Apple to Starbucks and Home Depot campaigning for the right to collectively bargain.
In April, Staten Island Amazon warehouse workers prevailed in their union campaign, while other warehouse workers fell short.In June, Maryland Apple store workers became the first to win a union vote, followed by Oklahoma City workers in October.
And Starbucks, which has faced the most union pressure, now has more than 250 unionized cafes.
Story continues Theranos founder convicted Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes on November 18, 2022 in San Jose, California.Holmes appeared in federal court for sentencing after being convicted of four counts of fraud for allegedly engaging in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud investors in her company Theranos, which offered blood testing lab services.
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) In one of the business world’s most closely-watched criminal trials, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes was convicted on four counts of criminal fraud and sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison.
Holmes, who founded the blood-testing biotech startup valued at $9 billion at its peak, was found guilty in January of fleecing investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars.The company imploded when a Wall Street Journal expose showed its blood tests taken from a finger stick couldn’t deliver an overhaul to the healthcare industry, as Holmes promised.Holmes’ one-time boyfriend Sunny Balwani, who also served as the company’s COO, was similarly convicted on 12 counts of criminal fraud.
Biden student loan forgiveness on hold For millions of student loan borrowers, a sigh of relief came in 2022 when President Joe Biden announced an executive order cancelling up to $20,000 in student loan debt for certain taxpayers.But the measure quickly became ensnared in lawsuits and subject to court ordered halts.
Challenges from six Republican-led state attorneys general said only Congress can forgive student debt.In December, the Supreme Court agreed to take up two challenges.In the meantime, the Education Department put the application process for forgiveness on hold as it appeals the lawsuits.Arguments in the cases take place in the first quarter this year.
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks regarding student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Wednesday August 24, 2022.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona joined.(Photo by Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images) Supreme Court curbs EPA authority In another Supreme Court decision, the high court ruled in a 6-3 decision along ideological lines that the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency cannot force plants to adopt state-of-the-art technology or require shifts from fossil fuels — to sources such as solar, and wind — without an express mandate from Congress.The ruling, which came out in favor of 18 Republican-led states, is expected to frustrate a Biden administration initiative to decarbonise the U.S.electric grid by 2035.
Trevor Milton convicted Nikola founder Trevor Milton faced a Manhattan jury in September that found he lied to investors about the capabilities of his hydrogen-fuel, hybrid semi-truck technology.Milton’s jury returned guilty verdicts on three counts of criminal fraud, finding he lied about the electric truck startup for his own personal benefit.
Sackler family settles opioid lawsuits The Sackler family, owners of pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma — manufacturer of OxyContin — settled with nine state attorneys general in March over the company’s role in the ongoing opioid crisis.
The family agreed to pay $6 billion to the states to end the lawsuits accusing the company of playing a central role in the crisis.
FTX implodes Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of crypto currency exchange FTX, is escorted out of the Magistrate Court building in Nassau, Bahamas December 21, 2022.REUTERS/Marco Bello And the year concluded with the implosion of the world’s second-largest crypto empire, FTX, and the arrest of its founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.
The platform plunged into bankruptcy in November, citing a $32 billion loss in valuation and a $8 billion deficit.Bankman-Fried now faces criminal fraud and other charges from the DOJ, SEC and CFTC, for allegedly lying to customers about the use of their crypto assets.
Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance.Follow Alexis on Twitter @alexiskweed .
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