As other commentators previously have noted (refer here), the pace of securities lawsuit filings increased significantly in 2008 compared to recent years. According to my tally, there were 224 new securities lawsuits filed in 2008. The 2008 total represents a 30% increase over the 172 securities lawsuits filed in 2007, and an 88% increase
Securities Litigation
The List: Madoff Investor and Feeder Fund Litigation
THE TABLE OF CASES LINKED BELOW WAS LAST UPDATED ON September 28, 2010.
All signs are that the collapse of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme will produce a flood of litigation. By my count, there have already been at least seven federal securities class action lawsuits against Madoff, his firm, or the "feeder firms" that invested their clients’ funds with Madoff. There…
Another Round of Madoff Investor Litigation
UPDATE: A regularly updated list of all Madoff investor litigation, including in particular Madoff "feeder fund" litigation, can be accessed here.
As further proof that the losses associated with the Madoff fraud scheme will trigger a wave of litigation, on December 23, 2008, plaintiffs’ lawyers initiated a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York…
More Madoff “Feeder Fund” Lawsuits
In the latest of what undoubtedly will prove to be a surge of Madoff-related litigation, investors have filed two more lawsuits against investment firms that invested their clients’ money with Bernie Madoff, resulting in massive investor losses.
UPDATE: Please note that a regularly updated table of all Madoff investor litigation, including in particular Madoff "feeder…
NERA Releases Year-End Securities Litigation Report
Securities lawsuit filings reached a six-year high in 2008, according to a year-end report released today by NERA Economic Consulting. The report, entitled "2008 Trends in Securities Class Actions" (here), was written by NERA economists Stephanie Plancich and Svetlana Starykh, and reports that through December 14, 2008, there were 255 securities class…
Madoff Victims’ Lawsuits Target Investment Firms, “Feeder Funds”
If today’s filings are any indication, a huge wave of Madoff victim lawsuits could be coming. Madoff investors were quick to sue Madoff and his firm, with the first complaint filed last Friday (as noted here). But with Madoff’s firm in liquidation and the money likely long gone, investors who lost money as a…
Headline News: Deception, Corruption and Litigation
From this week’s news, it almost appears as if there had been some kind of an unannounced competition for most outrageously fraudulent or corrupt scheme. First, there was Marc Dreier’s incredibly brazen plot to peddle bogus notes to hedge funds using assumed identities. Then there was Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s apparent attempt to flog Barrack …
Securities Litigation: More than Just Subprime
As the year end approaches, various commentators will be issuing their retrospectives on the year’s securities litigation activity. The lead story undoubtedly will be that the wave of subprime and credit crisis-related lawsuits continued to flood in during the year. With some 94 new subprime and credit crisis related securities lawsuits so far in 2008…
The Evolving Credit Crisis Litigation Wave
In an earlier post (here), I suggested that the credit crisis litigation wave had reached an inflection point, and in subsequent posts, I identified additional "new wave" credit crisis lawsuits.
The exact contours of this "new wave" is admittedly amorphous, but the basic concept is that it involves, first, companies that…
Have Section 11 Filings Increased?
Has the "due diligence" standard articulated in the WorldCom securities litigation produced an increase in the Section 11 litigation? That is the question addressed in David J. Michaels’s November 29, 2008 paper entitled "An Empirical Study of Securities Litigation After World Com" (here).
In this post, I review the analysis based upon…