USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Steven Molo, Robert Kry, Megan Cunniff Church and Walter Hawes, MoloLamken
7. Special Rules and Laws 7.1 Rules for Claiming Punitive or Exemplary Damages
sonal, non-public information such as account numbers and Social Security numbers before disclosing documents in discovery. Parties to litigation also often agree to a protective order limiting the use or disclosure of such informa - tion. The federal Bank Secrecy Act protects from disclosure certain documents that banks gen - erate when reporting suspicious or fraudulent activities to the government. Courts have also recognised “bank examiner privilege” that pro - tects certain communications between banks and their regulators from disclosure. The Right to Financial Privacy Act similarly limits the gov - ernment’s ability to access customers’ finan - cial records without the customer’s consent or through a subpoena, search warrant or other formal written government request. Organisa - tions such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority also regulate the disclosure of financial information in certain situations, require financial institutions to implement privacy policies, and fine banks for Crypto-assets, commonly known as digital assets, cryptocurrency, virtual currency or digi - tal currency, are digital representations of value that serve, at least theoretically, as a substitute for traditional, fiat currency. Crypto-assets can generally be traded for fiat currencies or other digital assets. Like other assets, they are subject to taxation, freezing and regulation. A comprehensive regulatory regime for crypto- assets is still emerging in the United States. At the federal level, Congress has not passed exten - sive legislation governing the sale, accounting or treatment of digital assets, despite bipartisan efforts. Without a clear legislative framework, violating privacy laws. 7.3 Crypto-Assets
Punitive or exemplary damages may be avail - able in a civil fraud action in the United States, provided that additional requirements are met. In New York, for example, courts may allow the recovery of punitive or exemplary damages where the defendant’s conduct was malicious, gross, wilful or wanton, or evinced a high degree of moral turpitude. Some decisions also indicate that the fraud must have been aimed at the gen - eral public, not just at the plaintiff alone. Fed - eral due process principles generally require the amount of punitive damages to bear a reason - able relationship to the compensatory award. As described in 1.2 Causes of Action After Receipt of a Bribe , federal civil RICO claims and antitrust claims allow for treble damages and attorney’s fees. While such damages are not explicitly punitive, many courts and legal scholars have noted that they are at least partly punitive in nature. 7.2 Laws to Protect “Banking Secrecy” In the United States, there is no general pro - tection from disclosure for communications between banks and their clients; banks and other financial institutions are subject to the same discovery mechanisms as any other par - ty. As discussed in 2.3 Obtaining Disclosure of Documents and Evidence From Third Parties , third-party financial institutions may be subject to subpoenas. Nonetheless, certain laws aimed at protecting consumers govern the disclosure of financial information. Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, parties may be required to redact certain per -
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