As the dramatic events in the financial marketplace during fall 2008 recede further into the past, the wave of related litigation activity has also clearly started to slow. But a newly filed lawsuit arising directly from the financial crisis suggests that there may still be further credit crisis cases yet to come, particularly as plaintiffs’ lawyers continue to initiate class action litigation with proposed class period cut-off dates well in the past.

 

As reflected in their November 10, 2009 press release (here), plaintiffs’ lawyers have launched a securities class action lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against certain former officers VeraSun Energy Corp., a of South Dakota-based ethanol producer that filed for bankruptcy on October 31, 2008.

 

According to the press release, the complaint (a copy of which can be found here) alleges that the defendants failed to disclose that:

 

(i) VeraSun was, in part, a speculative commodities trader in addition to an ethanol producer; (ii) VeraSun engaged in speculative and risky derivate transactions that exposed the Company to substantial financial and liquidity risk; (iii) VeraSun experienced substantial loses on speculative derivative transactions causing margin pressures on the Company; (iv) as a result of margin pressures from bad speculative derivative transactions, the Company sold out of a large short position in corn and incurred substantial losses; (v) the Company entered into highly risky "accumulator" contracts that obligated VeraSun to purchase increasing amounts of corn after the price of corn fell in price per bushel; and (vi) VeraSun’s financial condition and especially its liquidity were negatively impacted as a result of speculative commodity transactions, ultimately causing the Company to file for bankruptcy.

 

The complaint further alleges  that:

 

On September 16, 2008, VeraSun announced that it commenced a public offering of 20 million shares of its common stock to raise money for "general corporate purposes." The true purpose of this public offering was to raise capital in an effort to prevent a disastrous impact from the huge losses experienced by the Company as a result of its speculative trading and risky bets on the price of corn.

 

Not only are these events all well over one year ago, but the proposed class period also covers a segment of time that is also well past — the complaint purports to be filed on behalf of a class of persons who purchased VeraSun shares between March 12, 2008 and September 16, 2008.

 

The complaint’s allegations resemble the facts and circumstances alleged in a number of credit crisis-related cases that were filed last fall, where (as described here) the defendant companies were alleged to have suffered significant financial reverses due to wrong way bets on commodities or currencies, often (as was the case with VeraSun) in connection with hedging transactions. In each case, the sudden and dramatic events in the financial markets during September and October 2008 produced a magnified impact on financial condition of these companies.

 

The prior lawsuits generally were filed closer in time to the events involved, while the VeraSun case has only just been filed. The lapse in time between the events alleged and the VeraSun lawsuit filing is, however, consistent with the filing pattern that has emerged during 2009, where (as noted here) numerous newly filed complaints have proposed class period cutoff dates that fall well before the filing date.

 

I have previously speculated that these seemingly belated filings may perhaps reflect a filing backlog that developed as plaintiffs’ lawyers were caught up in the rush of credit crisis related lawsuits and Madoff related litigation. The VeraSun case filing suggests that this apparent backlog may even include yet to be filed credit crisis-related lawsuits, which in turn suggests that there there may be more credit crisis suits yet to come.

 

The VeraSun case is also the latest example of a securities class action lawsuit arising in the wake of a corporate bankruptcy. The surging numbers of business-related bankruptcies may further contribute to the further instigation of securities class action litigation. The possibility of these kinds of cases arising, like the VeraSun case, well after the bankruptcy date suggests these cases could continue to arrive for some time to come.

 

All of which suggests to me that, even of the pace of new credit crisis-related securities lawsuit filings have declined, the litigation fallout from the global financial crisis is likely to continue to accumulate in the months ahead.

 

I have in any event added the VeraSun case to my list of credit crisis related cases, which can be accessed here.

 

Another Options Backdating-Related Securities Suit Settlement: Another one of the remaining options backdating-related securities lawsuits has settled. As reflected in their October 15, 2009 stipulation of settlement (here), the parties to the Sonic Solutions options backdating-related securities suit have agreed to settle the case for $5 million.

 

A complete list of the options backdating-related lawsuit resolutions can be accessed here.

 

Adam Savett of the Securities Litigation Watch blog has been tracking (here) the options backdating related settlements.Adjusting his data to take account of the Sonic settlement would mean that 30 of the 39 options backdating-related securities class action lawsuits have now been resolved, with nine of these cases having been dismissed and twenty-one of them having been settled. Prior to the Sonic settlement, the average settlement amount was $77.8 million – or $33.23 million if the outsized UnitedHealth settlement is disregarded.

 

UPDATE: The Securities Litigation Watch has updated its options backdating settlement tally and analysis to reflect the Sonic settlement, here.

 

My Dinner with Bill: I am in Chicago this week at the PLUS International Conference, where the keynote speaker was none other than Bill Clinton. Let me just say that he though he is now "only" a former President, he retains all of his rhetorical powers. His speech was entertaining, thought-provoking, funny and serious, and impressive.

 

During the Q&A, one of the questions he was asked is a rather conventional parlor game question: if you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would you choose and why? Perhaps because it was a conventional question, he gave a rather conventional, almost undergraduate-approval-seeking type answer. And being a politician, he couldn’t name just one person – he named three: Socrates, Jesus, and Genghis Kahn. Clinton had his reason for each of the three.

 

I will grant you that Genghis Kahn is an interesting answer, but the other two are safe, predictable and, well, kind of boring. I will stipulate that everyone if they had a chance would want to meet Jesus. Socrates is pretty much in the same category. (Same with Gandhi and Winston Churchill) So if we all agree that Jesus and Socrates (and Gandhi and Churchill) are not available, which historical figure would you want to have dinner with?

 

Because Clinton gave himself three choices, I am going to give myself three as well.

 

First, I would choose Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord, also known as the Bishop of Autun. Talleyrand lived through some of the most interesting events in all of human history and somehow not only managed to be involved in them all, but what is perhaps a more impressive feat, to have survived them all. He was involved in the French revolution from the start and even acted as foreign minister to the revolutionary government. He later managed to become a key advisor to Napoleon, until they fell out over policy. Ultimately, he became one of the key players in the Bourbon restoration. Though often reviled as unprincipled and cynical, I believe he may have been one of the most interesting people in the grand march of history, and he certainly led one of the most interesting lives.

 

Second, I would choose Moshe ben Maimon, now known as Maimonides, the Jewish theologian, physician and philosopher. He also lived at an incredibly interesting time, having been born in Islamic Spain in the twelfth century and then fled persecution through Northern Africa. His wisdom, scholarship and knowledge of languages have shaped European thought up until this very day. He was among the first Europeans both to appreciate and advocate Aristotle. His rationalist philosophy would still appeal to most moderns, which to me is a reflection of what an original and powerful thinker he was.

 

Having chosen two historical figures, I feel I should be a little bolder and unconventional with my last choice. So my third selection is John Lennon. He was a radical advocate for peace whose art and originality touched the lives of millions.

 

A dinner with all three of these persons simultaneously would be chaos. But a dinner with any one of them (language and cultural issues aside) would be fascinating.

 

So, now you have Bill Clinton’s choices and my choices. Who would you choose? And why? If you are attending the conference and you have views on this question, I hope you will stop me and let me know your thoughts. And if you are not at the conference, I hope you will use the comment function on this blog to let me and other readers know what you think.

 

The one final thought I have to add is that , after having heard Bill Clinton speak today, honestly, I think a dinner with him would be pretty damn interesting, too.  I suspect we could talk about Talleyrand and Maimonides and even John Lennon or Genghis Kahn and it would be memorable and entertaining.

 

UPDATE: My friend and former colleague Marty Hacala provided the following e-mail answer to my dinner guest question: 

 

I agree that Clinton’s answer was boring and conventional. We are after all talking about a dinner party and not a lecture. Who wants to listen to a failed carpenter and a suicidal Greek talk about the hereafter while picking at their food? Genghis Khan is an interesting choice if only because he might tire of the conversation and dispatch the first two before dinner has even begun.

 

My invitations would go to Oscar Wilde, Abraham Lincoln and Groucho Marx. (I could substitute Churchill for Lincoln, but I fear the alcohol wouldn’t last and so the meal would end on an unhappy note.) Just imagine the stories they would tell? I see myself sitting there mesmerized listening to Wilde and Marx trade high and low-brow barbs, while Lincoln tells long stories of how they remind him of mostly made up characters from his youth. It would be an evening to remember.