There were ten securities class action lawsuits filed in Canada in 2013, the same number as were filed in 2012 and only slightly below the annual average number of 11. 6 filings during the period 2006-2012, according to a February 19, 2014 report from NERA Economic Consulting entitled “Trends in Canadian Securities Class Actions: 2013
The Sins of the Past: Ninth Circuit Revives BP’s Prudhoe Bay Oil Spill Securities Suit
In a February 8, 2014 article entitled “A Shrunken Giant” (here), the Economist magazine examined BP’s efforts to regain its footing after the disastrous April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. The article concludes by stating that “Repairing the balance sheet and books is one thing. Repairing BP’s reputation for management
Even if Fraud on the Market is Dumped, Don’t Cut Back on D&O Insurance
It is hard to prognosticate the outcome of the Halliburton case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. But while we can’t be sure what the outcome will be, we can start to think about what will happen if the Supreme Court overturns Basic. In an interesting February 7, 2014 post on the Harvard Law School
Advisen Releases 2013 Corporate and Securities Litigation Report
Even though (as have been well-documented by other observers) securities class action litigation filings increased in 2013, overall corporate and securities litigation filings during 2013 declined for the second year in a row, according to a February 4, 2014 report from the insurance information firm, Advisen. Though the corporate and securities filing activity in
Arguments to Keep the Fraud on Market Theory, and Thinking About a World Without It
As the March 5, 2014 date for oral argument before the United States Supreme Court in the closely-watched Halliburton case approaches, the briefing process in the case has continued to unfold. On January 29, 2014, the Erica P. John Fund, the respondent (the plaintiff in the underlying action) filed its merits brief in the case,
Cornerstone Research: Securities Suit Filings Increase in 2013, Filing Rate Above Historical Averages
Considered on an absolute basis, securities class action lawsuit filings were up about nine percent in 2013 compared to 2012, although the number of 2013 lawsuits was about 13 percent below annual filings averages for the years 1996-2012, according to a new report from Cornerstone Research and the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse.
More About Follow-On Securities Litigation After Overseas Investigative Actions
In my year-end survey of corporate and securities litigation, one of the trends I noted regarding the litigation that had been filed in 2013 was the rise in lawsuit filings following in the wake of governmental investigations and regulatory actions, particularly with respect to investigations and regulatory actions outside the United States. If two
NERA Releases 2013 Securities Class Action Litigation Report
Securities class action lawsuit filings “saw a small increase” during 2013, while securities class action settlements reflected a dynamic in which “large settlements got larger and smaller settlements got smaller” during the year, according to the annual report from NERA Economic Consulting. The January 21, 2014 report, entitled “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation:
Litigation Funding in the Courts
Third-party litigation funding continues to attract investors, as evidenced by relatively new litigation funding firm Gerchen Keller Capital’s recent $260 million capital raise, which brings their total investor commitments to $310 million (as discussed in a January 12, 2013 New York Times article, here). As litigation has become more prevalent, courts have had
Guest Post: More than a Machine: “Robocop” Stole the Headlines, but the Financial Reporting and Audit Task Force is the Real Driver Behind the SEC’s Refocus on Accounting Irregularities
As noted in a recent guest post on this site (here), the SEC recently announced the so-called “Robocop” initiative to try to detect improper or fraudulent financial reporting. However, as the authors of the prior post explain in a second guest post below, the Robocop initiative is one of two efforts the agency