Largely as a result of the pre-dismissal motion discovery bar and the heighted pleading standard Congress and the courts have imposed, the plaintiffs in these cases increasingly have come to rely on the statements of confidential witnesses in attempting to plead securities fraud cases, a development that has become the target of extensive criticism.
Remembrance of Things Past
Back in 2009, one of the prominent securities litigation filing trends was the prevalence of “belated” securities class action lawsuit – that is, cases filed at the very end of the limitations period rather than in immediate aftermath of a stock price decline
And then in 2011, perhaps the most significant securities lawsuit filings
Securities Litigation Loss Prevention: Managing Earnings Guidance
In my former days on the carrier side, our D&O insurance group advocated for our policyholders a program of securities litigation loss prevention, on the theory that there are steps companies can take to make themselves less likely to be a securities suit target or better able to defend themselves if they are hit with
Guest Post: Second Circuit Holds that American Pipe Tolling Does Not Apply to the Securities Act’s Statute of Repose
An important recurring issue is the questions whether the prior filing of a securities class action lawsuit tolls the applicable statute of repose under the federal securities laws. In an important June 27, 2013, the Second Circuit issued an important decision on this question, holding that the tolling doctrine does not apply to three-year statue
First Half Securities Suit Filings Level With Last Year’s Pace
Buoyed by an influx of case filings in the final days of June, securities class action lawsuit filings during the first half of 2013 remained roughly on pace with 2012 filings, although well below the historical average number of filings. Though the absolute numbers of filings so far this year are below historical averages, the number of
Guest Post: Some Data on the Outcomes of Securities Class Actions and SEC Enforcement Actions
In recent years, Stanford Law School Professor Michael Klausner has led research on several critical issues involved with class action securiteis litigation and SEC enforcement actions.In the guest post below, Professor Klausner and his colleague Jason Hegland describe the two databases they have built in support of their research efforts and detail some additional findings
Local Governments and Securities Litigation Risk
In two administrative enforcement actions last month, the SEC charged two municipalities – Harrisburg, Pa. and South Miami, Fla. – with securities fraud. These high-profile actions sounded alarm bells and raised concerns about possible securities violations involving other state and local governments. But while these two actions have grabbed a great deal of attention, the unfortunate
Appellate Courts Set Aside Two Securities Suits Dismissals
In two decisions last week – one in the Sixth Circuit and one in the First Circuit – federal appellate courts set aside lower court dismissals of securities class action lawsuits. Although the two cases are different and the two appellate opinions address different legal issues, the two decisions both seem to suggest a similar
Advisen Reports on First Quarter 2013 Corporate and Securities Litigation
During the first quarter of 2013, new corporate and securities lawsuits and regulatory enforcement actions increased slightly compared to the fourth quarter of 2012 but remained well below annual averages over the last two years, according to a new report from Advisen, the insurance information firm. The April 2013 report, which can be found here
Will Obstacles Deter the SEC’s Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program?
Whistleblower information may be one of the SEC’s “most effective weapons in its new enforcement arsenal,” but the agency’s whistleblower program “faces challenges on many fronts,” according to an April 23, 2013 New York Times Dealbook article entitled “Hazy Future for Thriving S.E.C. Whistle-Blower Effort” (here). As evidence of the whistleblower program’s promise