Legal news on October 30, 2026

1. 0112:00 UTC

   Court of Session rules Information Commissioner erred over Salmond files

   4 outlets · first: The Scotsman Court decisions

   Machine summary The judgment held that a real or substantial risk of identifying complainers is sufficient to breach court orders protecting them, rejecting the Commissioner's argument that released material would only permit assumptions about identity. Ministers had argued disclosure could identify complainers in the criminal trial of Alex Salmond, in which he was cleared of all charges.

   1. Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton had ordered ministers to release information relating to the Hamilton Inquiry, the probe then first minister Nicola Sturgeon launched into whether she breached the ministerial code over the Holyrood inquiry into Alex Salmond
   2. Lawyers for the Commissioner argued the material could permit assumptions about complainers' identities but would not allow confirmation or refutation of those assumptions
   3. According to the judgment, the orders are breached whenever disclosure creates a real or substantial risk of being identified.
   4. A judge previously found the Scottish Government investigation into the harassment allegations was tainted by apparent bias and awarded Mr Salmond more than £500,000 in legal costs; Mr Salmond died in 2024

   Reported by The Scotsman, Brentwood Live, The Herald and dailyrecord.co.uk.

   • Scottish Government
   • Court of Session
   • Scottish Information Commissioner
   • Hamilton Inquiry

2. 0200:03 UTC

   New York AG settles with debt buyers over time-barred mortgage claims

   2 outlets · first: The National Law Review Regulation

   Machine summary The terms require $240,000 in penalties, more than $242,000 in restitution, an end to collection of expired amounts, and amendments to demands in pending foreclosure cases. The Attorney General's Office alleged the group acquired more than 3,000 dormant New York mortgages from 2019 and filed over 140 related lawsuits.

   1. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on October 23, 2026 a settlement with a group of debt buyers requiring more than $480,000 in payments plus additional homeowner relief, according to her office.
   2. The Attorney General's Office alleged the buyers acquired more than 3,000 dormant second mortgages in New York from 2019 onward and filed more than 140 foreclosure lawsuits on long-defaulted junior liens.
   3. The office alleged that numerous suits sought repayment of the entire principal along with interest reaching back as far as 12 years, past the six-year limitations period set by the Civil Practice Law and Rules in New York.
   4. Per the announcement, buyers are required to stop collecting payment based on amounts from expired mortgages and to amend demands filed in currently ongoing foreclosure cases so those sums get removed.
   5. The mortgages were largely second liens originated before the 2008 financial crisis, many left unpaid after homeowners modified their primary mortgages.

   Reported by The National Law Review and National Law Review.

   • National Law Review
   • Letitia James
   • Debt buyers (unnamed group)
   • Civil Practice Law and Rules

3. 0314:53 UTC

   SEC puts AI-driven fraud on 2027 exam agenda for advisers

   2 outlets · first: The National Law Review Regulation

   Machine summary The SEC Division of Examinations released Fiscal Year 2027 Examination Priorities on October 23, 2026 that add AI-enabled attacks to the risks registrants are examined on. According to the National Law Review, examiners will assess readiness for AI-generated phishing and synthetic voice and video social engineering, and will also look at how firms monitor AI they use themselves. The priorities follow the Division's annual practice of signaling examination focus to investment advisers, broker-dealers and other registrants, the reports state.

   1. The FY 2027 priorities add readiness for AI-enabled attacks, including AI-generated phishing and synthetic or "deepfake" voice and video used for social engineering, to the cyber risks registrants are examined on, the report states.
   2. According to the articles, the Division said its reasoning went like this: registered firms are turning ever more to sophisticated AI for analyzing investments, handling clients and writing code, while attackers employ similar tools so intrusions become both more effective and more difficult to spot.
   3. According to the report, ongoing readiness reviews examine governance, prevention of data loss, access controls, account management, how incidents including ransomware are handled, third-party risk, and firms' preparations for AI-powered attacks.
   4. A second focus area covers how registrants monitor AI systems they use themselves, and the Division said examination resources will prioritize it, according to the analysis.
   5. Division Director Keith Cassidy said in a press release that the examination program is designed to evolve with changing markets so the agency can identify emerging risks and areas of investor vulnerability.

   Reported by The National Law Review and National Law Review.

   • Artificial Intelligence
   • National Law Review
   • SEC Division of Examinations

4. 0413:58 UTC

   Court of Appeal: fiduciaries owe no free-standing duty to disclose

   2 outlets · first: The National Law Review Court decisions

   Machine summary The account states that nondisclosure by itself cannot ground an action for breach of fiduciary duty, though the 'no conflict' and 'no profit' provisions remain in effect. The report states that where informed consent is relied on, the principal's knowledge and sophistication matter in judging how much disclosure sufficed.

   1. According to the report, mere nondisclosure cannot by itself establish a breach of fiduciary duty claim, while the no‑conflict and no‑profit rules remain in force.
   2. Where a fiduciary relies on informed consent as a defence, the principal's knowledge and sophistication matter in deciding whether enough information was disclosed, according to the report.
   3. The article describes a senior manager taking preparatory steps to move a team to a competitor. Employers argue in that scenario that a duty to report wrongdoing applies.
   4. The Court of Appeal found that fiduciaries have no positive duty to disclose wrongdoing. The report states that any duty to disclose must be expressly included in senior contracts.

   Reported by The National Law Review and National Law Review.

   • Court of Appeal

5. 0502:45 UTC

   Arkansas asks Supreme Court to reverse e-signature voter ruling

   2 outlets · first: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Court decisions

   Machine summary The Arkansas secretary of state's office filed a request asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower-court ruling that allowed electronic signatures on voter-registration applications, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. The filings reviewed do not identify the case name or the precise disposition Arkansas is seeking.

   1. Per the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a request seeking the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of a lower court decision that permitted electronic signatures in voter registration was filed by the secretary of state's office.
   2. According to a document filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, an assistant director of elections wrote in a March 2026 email, the filing says, that the office's lawyers had concluded a wet signature is not required under Arkansas law.
   3. According to the El Dorado News-Times, an Arkansas board decided to petition the Supreme Court, urging it to review the state's live-signature rule prior to the filing of the request.
   4. A Sebastian County clerk's office manager helped a University of Arkansas-Fort Smith student register with a paper form and pen at the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center, an account the reports say is part of the record.
   5. Reviewed filings fail to name the case, describe the lower-court decision being challenged, or indicate what disposition Arkansas wants.

   Reported by The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and hoodline.com.

   • U.S. Supreme Court
   • Arkansas Secretary of State
   • University of Arkansas-Fort Smith
   • El Dorado News-Times
   • Sebastian County clerk's office
   • The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Each summary and its key facts are a machine summary of the reports linked under it; the outlets, times and counts come from those reports' own records. How a rundown is built.