cornerstone reserach pdfAggregate and average securities class action lawsuit settlements increased significantly in 2015 compared to the year before, according to the latest annual report from Cornerstone Research. Among reasons for the increase in aggregate settlement amounts is the increase in the absolute number of settlements during the year. The increase in the average settlement amount is largely attributable to an increase in the number of “mega” settlements. While overall and average settlement amounts increased during the year, the number of smaller settlements also increased, and median settlement amounts held steady. The Cornerstone Research report, entitled “Securities Class Action Settlements: 2015 Review and Analysis,” can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s March 29, 2016 press release about the report can be found here.
Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: Aggregate and Average Securities Suit Settlements Surged in 2015

paul weiss largeIn the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s March 24, 2015 opinion in Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund (here), there was a great deal of speculation about what the decision’s practical impact would be and how the case would be applied in the lower courts. On March 4, 2016, the Second Circuit issued an important opinion in Tongue v. Sanofi (here) interpreting and applying Omnicare. In the following guest post, the Paul Weiss law firm take a look at the Sanofi decision and discuss Second Circuit’s narrow interpretation and application of Omnicare, and the Second Circuit’s holding that issuers need not disclose information merely because it cuts against their opinions or projections. I would like to thank the attorneys from Paul Weiss for their willingness to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions 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 Paul Weiss attorneys’ guest post.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Second Circuit Ruling in Sanofi Narrowly Interprets Omnicare

As part of our beat here at The D&O Diaryfilings2016, we regularly monitor new lawsuit filings and try to identify trends and patterns. Over the years, we have noted and commented on this blog about many of the trends and patterns we have identified. More than once we have noted the incidence of director and officer liability litigation arising out of environmental issues. We have also noted that D&O litigation often follows after the announcement of FCPA investigations. As discussed below, there has been a flurry of recent filings involving environmental issues. I have also noted below an interesting variant on the FCPA follow-on civil lawsuit pattern.
Continue Reading Field Notes on Recent Corporate Suit Filing Trends