Nessim Mezrahi
Stephen Sigrist

One of the perennial securities class action litigation issues is the question of how courts should view plaintiff’s allegations made in reliance on short seller reports. In the following guest post, Nessim Mezrahi and Stephen Sigrist take a look at the conflicted role that short seller reports play in securities class action litigation. Nessim is co-founder and CEO, and Stephen Sigrist is a senior vice president, at SAR LLC. A version of this article previously was published on Law360. I would like to thank Nessim and Stephen for allowing me to publish their article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Nessim and Stephen’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: Conflicts Abound When Activist Short-Sellers Publish Reports

Matthew L. Mustokoff

Margaret E. Mazzeo

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Halliburton II, the lower courts have wrestled with questions on how to address the “price impact” of corrective disclosures. In the following guest post, Matthew L. Mustokoff and Margaret E. Mazzeo, partners at the Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP law firm, examine several critical unanswered questions concerning price impact. I would like to thank Matt and Margaret for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the authors’ article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Price Impact, the Speed of Information, and Securities Class Certification

In its June 21, 2021 decision in Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System (discussed here), the U.S. Supreme Court provided important guidance regarding price impact evidence at the class certification stage of securities class action litigation. In the following guest post, Nessim Mezrahi, Stephen Sigrist, and Carolina Doherty discuss class certification implications of price impact in securities class actions pursuant to the Goldman Sachs decision. Mezrahi is cofounder and CEO, Sigrist is VP of data science, and Doherty is VP of business development at SAR. A version of this article previously was published in Law360. I would like to thank the authors for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the authors’ article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Q2 Stock Drop Stats Buoy High Court’s Goldman Ruling

When the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition for a writ of certiorari to take up class certification questions raised in the long-running Goldman Sachs securities class action lawsuit, some commentators thought the case might give the Court the opportunity to reconsider fundamental issues about the presumption of reliance under the “fraud on the market” theory in connection with class certification in securities suits. However, as the case has turned out, the Court’s consideration of the case has not produced any fundamental recasting of any key issues; instead, the Court on June 21, 2021 issued a narrow decision that the majority opinion itself acknowledged, with respect to the most significant substantive part of the Court’s opinion, will not be “outcome determinative” in many cases. The Court’s June 21, 2021 decision can be found here.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Vacates Class Certification in Goldman Sachs Securities Suit on Narrow Grounds

Nessim Mezrahi

Stephen Sigrist

In the following guest post, Nessim Mezrahi and Stephen Sigrist discuss their analysis of Rule 10b-5 private securities fraud litigation in 2019 and 2020 against U.S. Issuers, and the impact of recent guidance by the 2nd and 7th Circuits on Halliburton II stock price impact defenses at the class certification stage.  Mezrahi is cofounder and CEO and Sigrist is a data scientist at SAR.  SAR’s January 8, 2021 press release discussing a more detailed 4Q 2020 securities class action analysis can be found here. A version of this article previously was published on Law360. I would like to thank Nessim and Stephen for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the authors’ article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Halliburton II Price Impact Defenses Can Limit Severity on Deficient Exchange Act Claims

In the same December 11, 2020 Order in which it rejected the bid by the Texas Attorney General to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election, the U.S. Supreme Court also agreed to take up a case involving the effort of Goldman Sachs to overturn the certification of a class in the long-running securities lawsuit. The case relates to the bank’s alleged conflicts of interest in structuring collateralized debt obligation securities before the global financial crisis. The case will require the Court to address important questions pertaining to the ability of securities lawsuit defendants opposing class certification to attempt to rebut the presumption of reliance and the extent to which the defendants in opposing class certification can rely on matter that is also relevant to merits-related issues such as materiality.
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Take Up Securities Suit Class Certification Issues

Nessim Mezrahi

In the following guest post, Nessim Mezrahi, takes a look at event analysis, price impact, and damages in securities class action lawsuits. Mezrahi is cofounder and CEO of SAR, a securities class action data analytics and software company.  A version of this article previously was published on Law 360. I would like to thank Nessim for allowing me to publish his article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Nessim’s article.
Continue Reading Assessing Securities Class Action Risk with Event Analysis

Nessim Mezrahi

In the following guest post, Nessim Mezrahi, cofounder and CEO of SAR, a securities class action data analytics and software company, takes a look at possible defenses to securities class action lawsuits that corporate defendants may have based on analysis of the claimed stock price declines involved. A version of this article previously appeared on Law 360. I would like to thank Nessim for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Nessim’s article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: An Analytical Approach To Defending Securities Class Claims

paul weiss largeIn its June 2014 decision in Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court held, among other things, that in order to try to rebut the fraud-on-the-market presumption in order to defeat class certification, defendants can contend that the allegedly corrective disclosure did not impact the defendants company’s share price. In an April 12, 2016 decision in IBEW Local 98 Pension Fund v. Best Buy Co., Inc., the Eight Circuit, applying Halliburton, held that the defendants had successfully rebutted the presumption in the case by demonstrating absence of price impact. In the following guest post, attorneys from the Paul Weiss law firm takes a look at the Eighth Circuit’s decision and considers its significance. I would like to thank the attorneys from the Paul Weiss firm for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the Paul Weiss attorneys’ guest post.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Eight Circuit: Under Halliburton II, Defendants Successfully Rebut Fraud-on-the Market Presumption

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Renzo Comolli

Jorge Baez NERA photo
Jorge Baez

In its June 2014 opinion in Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co., the United States Supreme Court held that in connection with a motion for class certification in a securities class action lawsuit, a defendant should have the opportunity to try to rebut the presumption of reliance by showing that the alleged misrepresentation did not impact the defendant company’s share price. The case itself was remanded to the district court for further proceedings in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling. On July 25, 2015, the District Court issued its ruling on the motion for class certification based on the principles the Supreme Court enunciated. A copy of the District Court ruling can be found here.

In the following guest post, Renzo Comolli and Jorge Baez of NERA Economic Consulting take a look at the district court’s ruling on the class certification motion. Renzo and Jorge are both Senior Consultants for NERA.

 

I would like to thank Renzo and Jorge for their willingness to allow me to publish their article as a guest post here. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to readers of this blog. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Renzo and Jorge’s guest post.

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On 25 July 2015, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued the much-anticipated ruling on class certification in Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co. The economic analysis of price impact was front and center in the Court’s ruling.

This ruling follows the Supreme Court’s decision on price impact that is widely known as Halliburton II. Although this ruling involves facts that are unique to Halliburton’s particular disclosures, attorneys may look at it as a roadmap for guiding economic analysis of price impact in future cases in the post-Halliburton II world.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Update on Economic Analysis of Price Impact in Securities Class Actions Post-Halliburton II