As detailed in prior posts on this site (here and here), turbulence in the private credit markets have roiled the financial marketplace. Collapses (and related scandals) involving high profile private credit borrowers – including Tricolor and First Brands– have led to bankruptcies, civil lawsuits, and criminal indictments. The disruption in the private credit markets has also recently led to securities class action lawsuits involving private credit lenders. In the most recent example of this phenomenon, late last week a plaintiff shareholder filed a securities class action lawsuit against private credit lender Hercules Capital, after a short seller published a report suggesting that the company had misrepresented its borrower due diligence processes. A copy of the March 20, 2026, lawsuit can be found here.

Continue Reading Private Credit Firm Hit with Securities Suit After Short Seller Report

Most readers have undoubtedly seen a recent and significant increase in attention paid to prediction markets, like Kalshi and Polymarket. The rise of prediction markets has also led to regulatory and other concerns.  But amid all the scrutiny, questions remain about what prediction market companies may represent as D&O risks. A newly filed securities complaint against a now-defunct crypto platform company may create new disclosure, governance, and insider-trading-related D&O exposures.

Continue Reading Prediction Markets and Emerging D&O Risk

Following a rare trial in a federal securities class action lawsuit, a civil jury late last week found that statements Elon Musk made on social media in 2022 about his proposed $44 billion acquisition of Twitter misled investors. However, the jury also found that the plaintiff had not made the case that certain other statements by Musk were misleading. The jury’s verdict has a number of interesting implications, as discussed below. A copy of the jury’s March 20, 2026 verdict form can be found here.

Continue Reading Jury in Rare Securities Suit Trial Finds Musk Misled Twitter Investors

In the following guest post, Chris Quirk, a wholesale broker at ARC Excess & Surplus, now part of CRC Group, examines issues surrounding the provision of notice of circumstances that may give rise to a claim in connection with a claims made and reported insurance policy. Our thanks to Chris for allowing us to publish his article as a guest post on this site. Here is Chris’s article.

Continue Reading Guest Post: Dealing with Potential Claims Under Claims-Made and Reported Policies

Crypto asset investors and issuers alike have long sought greater clarification on questions surrounding the actual or potential applicability of the federal securities laws to digital assets. SEC Chair Paul Atkins previously declared his intent to provide relevant guidance. Now, the SEC, acting in conjunction with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, has issued detailed guidance segmenting digital assets between those to which the securities laws apply and those to which the laws do not apply, as well as clarifying under what circumstances digital assets can become subject to the securities laws. The agencies’ clarifications will provide significant illumination for investors and issuers, and at least potentially for D&O insurance underwriters as well.

Continue Reading SEC Issues Guidance on the Application of the Securities Laws to Digital Assets

It has now been several years since the peak of the SPAC boom, but litigation from that period continues to work its way through the courts. One of the ongoing cases, involving a 2020 SPAC transaction, involves the question of when the applicable three-year statute of limitations begins to run.

Continue Reading SPAC Fallout, Accrual Battles, and the Long Tail of De-SPAC Risk

The number of accounting-related securities class action lawsuit filings declined in 2025, but the value of accounting-related securities suit settlements increased during the year, according to the latest annual report on the accounting suits from Cornerstone Research. The report, which is entitled “Accounting Class Action Filings and Settlements – 2025 Review and Analysis” can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s March 18, 2026, press release about the report can be found here.

Continue Reading 2025 Accounting-Related Securities Suit Filings Decreased, Settlement Value Increased

A recent Ninth Circuit decision reviving securities claims against a consumer products company and its executives highlights disclosure-related risks tied to consumer products companies’ distribution and execution capabilities that may warrant D&O underwriter consideration, particularly in light of recently revived IPO activity involving consumer products and services companies.

Continue Reading 9th Circ. Revives Securities Suit Against Consumer Products Company

Among the challenges companies face as they incorporate AI into their business strategies is accurately projecting the impact the AI-based approach will have on their business and financial results. Business outcomes may fall short of expectations to the disappointment of investors, which in turn can lead to securities litigation. In the latest example of this phenomenon, investors sued the Israeli-based software company Monday.com after it adjusted its earnings guidance as its AI-based strategy unfolded differently than the company had projected. A copy of the March 10, 2026, complaint against the company can be found here.

Continue Reading AI-Related Securities Suit Filed Against Israeli Software Company

There was a time, not that long ago, when ESG was the dominant topic in the corporate governance world. Every company was expected to have a sustainability plan and to maintain a respectable ESG profile. However, as a result of now years-long ESG backlash, the predominance of ESG as a governance topic has diminished. Indeed, with the Trump administration’s active anti-ESG policies and actions, including among other things several anti-ESG executive orders, as well as the actions of several red state governors and legislatures, it now sometimes feels that ESG as a governance topic is in full retreat. However, two recent developments – including a court decision striking down a Texas state anti-ESG law and the filing of ESG-supportive ERISA liability lawsuit – suggest that, at a minimum, there may be more of the ESG story yet to be told.

Continue Reading Countering Anti-ESG Backlash