NYSE seat holder files suit to block exchange merger News
NYSE seat holder files suit to block exchange merger

[JURIST] William Higgins, holder of a seat on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) [corporate website], filed suit in New York state court Monday in a bid to block the NYSE merging with electronic stock market Archipelago Holdings. The merger announced last month would transform the NYSE into a public, for-profit organization [JURIST report]. Higgins alleges that NYSE Chief Executive John Thain [official profile] and the exchange's board of directors agreed to a merger that would be unfavorable to NYSE seat holders and in breach of their own fiduciary duties. Higgins filed a similar suit against adviser to the merger Goldman Sachs Corp [corporate website], where Thain was president, citing conflict of interest. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.