October 2008

At what point can we declare that the subprime securities lawsuits are not doing particularly well in the courts? It may not yet be time, but there unquestionably are growing numbers of subprime lawsuits that have failed to survive motions to dismiss, at least as a preliminary matter.

The latest evidence of this phenomenon

The credit crisis recently entered a dark new phase, and this new darker phase has also already produced its own distinctive round of lawsuits. Like the ominous economic circumstances, the new litigation phase also seems darker and more threatening.

In the latest issue of InSights (here) — entitled "Has the Credit Crisis

Do private securities lawsuits play an important role in deterring fraud and compensating defrauded investors, or are they simply wasteful and ineffective? These were the questions that on October 23, 2008 Stanford Law School Professor Joseph Grundfest and Duke Law School Professor James Cox debated in New York at the Forum for Institutional Investors sponsored

The calamity that began as a U.S.-based subprime mortgage meltdown has now grown into a global financial crisis that has resulted in bankruptcies and bailouts involving some of the world’s largest financial institutions. Along the way, these financial institutions’ investors have seen their investment interests damaged or destroyed, leaving many angry and aggrieved. If a

One feature of the current financial turmoil is that the government has taken or will take control of or ownership positions in a number of business organizations. The phenomenon of government ownership of a private enterprise potentially could present any number of conflicts and challenges. Among other problems that may arise is the question of

Most of the focus on Rule 10b5-1 plans lately has been on possible abuses (refer, for example here). Indeed, one of the reasons the court cited in the dismissal motion denial in the Countrywide derivative lawsuit pending in California was concern about Angelo Mozillo’s possible manipulation of his 10b5-1 plan (refer here). 

When the various broker dealers and investment banks recently announced their agreements with government regulators to buy back auction rate securities, the announcements raised questions about the continuing need for the pending auction rate securities litigation. But, at least based on a recently filed lawsuit, it now appears that the settlements may have opened the