We interrupt our regularly scheduled stream of dispatches from the credit crisis front to provide a quick update on the now seemingly remote options backdating scandal. Even though the whole world has moved on and though options backdating pales by comparison to what followed, many options backdating cases continue to grind on. At least a couple of these cases recently settled, and there appear to be many more yet to come.

 

First, on December 11, 2008, Amkor Technologies announced (here) that it had reached an agreement to settle the option backdating-related securities class action lawsuit that had been filed against the company and certain of its current and former directors and officers in connection with the company’s historical stock option practices. Background regarding the lawsuit can be found here.

 

According to the company’s press release, the plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss the case in exchange for a payment of $11.25 million. The company said that its directors and officers liability insurance carrier has agreed to pay $9 million of the settlement amount and the company will pay the balance.

 

Second, and also on December 11, 2008, the parties to the options backdating-related shareholders’ derivative suit filed against Foundry Networks, as nominal defendant, and certain of its directors and officers, filed a notice of a proposed settlement (here). According to the parties’ filing, the company will receive cash payments of $2.117 million, of which $1.637 represents payments from the individual defendants and $400,000 represents payments from the company’s insurer. Certain shares granted to certain individuals have been repriced and the company also agreed to certain governance changes. The company also agreed to pay plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees and expenses of $1.2 million.

 

I have added these two settlements to my running table of options backdating-related lawsuit settlements, dismissals and motion denials, which can be accessed here. The Amkor settlement is, by my count, the sixteenth options backdating-related securities lawsuit settlement, and approximately six of the cases were also dismissed. Given that there were according to my count (refer here) 39 options backdating-related securities lawsuits filed in total, there still may be as many as 17 of these cases yet to be resolved.

 

The individuals’ cash contribution toward the Foundry Networks settlement, if not indemnified, would represent an unexpected element, as it remains an unusual settlement element for directors and officers to make cash settlement contributions out of their own assets.

 

OK, enough about that. We now resume our regularly scheduled programming, which is already in progress.

 

California Countrywide Subprime-Related Derivative Case Dismissed: In a December 11, 2008 order (here), Judge Mariana Pfaelzer dismissed the Countrywide subprime-related derivative case pending in the Central District of California.

 

Judge Pfaelzer previously had denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss the derivative case, in a strongly worded May 2008 opinion (about which refer here). However, in July 2008, Bank of America acquired Countrywide in a stock for stock merger. As a result, and as discussed here, in October 2008, the Delaware federal court dismissed the parallel Countrywide subprime-related derivative case pending in that court, because of the plaintiffs’ lack of standing to pursue the claim owing to the plaintiffs’ inability to show "continuous ownership" due to the BoA transaction.

 

The plaintiffs in the California Countrywide subprime-related derivative case argued that, notwithstanding the merger, they could still satisfy the "continuous ownership" rule and therefore still had standing based on a merger-related exception to the rule recognized in the Ninth Circuit. After detailed consideration of Erie Doctrine issues, Judge Pfalzer declined to exercise equitable powers associated with the merger-related exception, and granted the defendants’ motions to dismiss the derivative claims due to the plaintiffs’ lack of standing.

 

Judge Pfaelzer’s ruling on the derivative claims was without effect on the plaintiffs’ merger related class claims, which she previously had stayed in favor of parallel proceedings pending in Delaware Chancery Court. In addition, the Countrywide subprime-related securities class action lawsuit remains pending before Judge Pfaelzer, as a result of her recent dismiss motion denial in that case, discussed here.

 

In any event, I have added the dismissal of the California Countrywide Derivative lawsuit to my list of subprime lawsuit settlements, dismissals and motions denials, which can be accessed here.

 

Special thanks to Michael Delhegan of the Tressler Soderstrom firm for providing a copy of Judge Pfalzer’s December 11, 2008 opinion.

 

Standalone Insurance for Independent Directors: In prior posts (most recently here), I have noted the considerations that may militate in favor of standalone insurance protection for independent directors. In a December 12, 2008 memorandum entitled "Independent Directors Require Additional Protection in Financial Crisis Litigation" (here), the Baker & McKenzie firm suggests that "there is an increasing interest by independent directors in coverage that protects only a company’s independent or outside directors, not its officers."

 

The memo reviews the origins of IDL insurance and examines why "it may be a useful tool for both attracting high quality independent directors, and as a means of protecting and retaining the best talent." Among other reasons suggesting the need for IDL protection is the increasing susceptibility of traditional D&O insurance limits to erosion or depletion through defense expense or indemnity protection for other persons insured under the D&O policy, a phenomenon on which I previously commented here.

 

More About the NY Insurance Commissioner’s Recent Opinion: In a recent post (here), I commented on the recent opinion of the New York Insurance Commissioner’s office requiring D&O insurance policies to incorporate a duty to defend. The opinion and its implications are reviewed at greater length in a December 2008 Client Advisory from the Edwards, Angell, Palmer & Dodge law firm entitled "The New York Insurance Department Will No Longer Approve D&O Policies Lacking ‘Duty-to-Defend’Coverage Feature" (here).

 

This memo contains a detailed analysis of the opinion and raises a number of important considerations about what the opinion does and does not mean. The memo also notes difficulties that carriers may face as the attempt to adapt to the opinion, and also suggests alternative responses available to the carriers, including seeking legislative relief.

 

Special thanks to John McCarrick of the Edwards Angell firm for sending along a copy of the memo.

 

And Finally: By far the best thing I have seen written on the Madoff scandal is the column that Wayne State Law Prof. Peter Henning wrote as a guest column on the DealBook blog, here.