A decline in the number and size of settlements in 2011 led to a drop in aggregate and average securities class action settlement figures during the year, according to the annual study of securities suit settlements from Cornerstone Research. According to the study, entitled “Securities Class Action Settlements: 2011 Review and Analysis” (here)
How Far Can the Plaintiffs Really Go With the Cases Against U.S.-Listed Chinese Companies?
During 2011, plaintiffs filed a wave of securities class action lawsuits against U.S.-listed Chinese companies. There were 39 of these lawsuits filed in 2011 (out of 218 total securities class action lawsuit filings in 2011), as discussed here. Often the complaints in these lawsuits consisted of little more than a repetition of the allegations
Class Actions in Australia and Mexico
In this post, I review two recent law firm memos examining the state of class action litigation in Australia and Mexico, respectively. I first review class actions in Australia, and then examine class actions in Mexico below.
AUSTRALIA
Class actions, which have been available as a procedural alternative in Australia since 1992 are “now
The Second Circuit Takes a Whack at Morrison’s Second Prong
In its June 2010 decision in the Morrison v. National Australia Bank, the U.S. Supreme Court enunciated a "transactions" test to determine the applicability of the U.S. securities laws. The Court said that the U.S. securities laws apply only to "transactions in securities listed on domestic exchanges and domestic transactoins in other securities." Subsequent courts
BP Deepwater Horizon Securities Suit, Though Narrowed, Survives Dismissal Motion
In the wake of the disastrous April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP was hit with a wave of litigation from plaintiffs asserting claims of personal injury, wrongful death and property damage. The claimants also included BP shareholders raising allegations that they had been misled regarding BP safety efforts and processes. In a 129-page February
Canadian Securities Class Action Lawsuit Filings Hit Record in 2011
Securities class action lawsuit filings in Canada hit record levels in 2011 according to a new report from NERA Economic Consulting. The January 31, 2012 report, entitled “Trends in Canadian Securities Class Actions: 2011 Update” (here) concludes that the persistent growth in Canadian securities class action lawsuit filings “is not a transient phenomenon.”
Changes in the Plaintiffs’ Class Action Bar and the Changing World of Shareholder Litigation
The changing mix of corporate and securities litigation is a recent phenomenon on which I have frequently commented on this blog. While identifying the fact of the change is relatively straightforward, explaining it is more challenging. According to a January 11, 2012 article in The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation entitled “Shareholder Litigation
Cornerstone Research Releases 2011 Securities Class Action Litigation Report
Securities class action filings rise slightly in 2011 compared to the prior year but remained below historical averages according to the annual study of Cornerstone Research, prepared in conjunction with the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, which was released today. A copy of the report can be found here, and Cornerstone Research’s
Can Investors Be Required to Arbitrate Their Claims?
Investors have a number of rights under federal and state law which they can enforce through litigation, including for example the right to file individual or class actions for damages. But can investors be required to submit these kinds of claims to binding arbitration in lieu of litigation? That is the question posed by a
Dutch Court Holds Collective Securities Settlement to Be Binding
On January 17, 2012, in a development with important implications for the evolution of post-Morrison remedies for non-U.S. investors, a Dutch court has held for the first time that a collective securities settlement is legally binding. Of even greater significance, the decision arose in a circumstance where none of the liable parties and few of