Overall levels of corporate and securities litigation declined during the third quarter of 2011 relative to recent quarters but 2011 annualized filings remain above historical levels, according to a recent report from the insurance information firm Advisen entitled “Securities Litigation Activity Dips, An Advisen Report: Q3 2011,” which can be found here. My own
Securities Litigation
Citigroup and the SEC, Judge Rakoff Has a Few Questions for You
After the October 19, 2011 news that Citigroup had reached an agreement to pay $285 million settle SEC charges that it had misled investors in a $1 billion collateralized debt obligation linked to risky mortgages, a number of commentators raised questions about the settlement.
Among other concerns noted was that neither the SEC’s action…
A Quick Look at Class Action Securities Lawsuit Filings Through 3Q11
Securities class action lawsuit filings continued to accumulate during the third quarter of 2011, and the filing levels remain on pace for an above average year of securities class action litigation. As was the case in earlier quarters this year, the third quarter filing level was significantly buoyed by merger-related litigation and by lawsuits involving…
More Woes for Companies with Chinese Connections
SciClone Settles FCPA Follow-on Derivative Suit : In a settlement that involves a company with significant Chinese operations — and that also may represent something of a template for the settlement of FCPA enforcement follow-on civil lawsuits — SciClone Pharmaceuticals and the individual defendant directors and officers have agreed to settle the consolidated derivative lawsuits…
Securities Suit Against U.S.-Listed Chinese Company Dismissed
In what is as far as I know the first outright dismissal motion grant in the wave of cases filed against U.S.-Listed Chinese companies that began last year, on October 6, 2011, Southern District of New York Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss in the securities class action lawsuit filed against…
Briefly Noted: Interesting Securities Law Developments
Janus Distinguished: In an interesting opinion that distinguishes the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Janus, on September 30, 2011 Southern District of New York Judge John Koetl granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ motion to dismiss in the EnergySolutions securities class action lawsuit. Judge Koetl’s opinion can be found here.…
Guest Post: Will the SEC’s Cooperation Initiatives Increase Defense Costs and Spur Battles with Carriers Over Separate Counsel?
I am pleased to present below a guest post by Kara Altenbaumer-Price, Esq., the Director of Complex Claims and Consulting for USI and part of its Management & Professional Services Group in Dallas. I would like to thank Kara for her willingness to publish her article on this site. I am interested in publishing …
Securities Suits Against U.S.-Listed Chinese Companies Continue in Year’s Second Half
In its comments about the elevated level of filings against U.S.-listed Chinese companies during the first months of 2011 in its mid-year report on securities class action litigation (here), Cornerstone Research noted both that the total number of such companies is relatively small and even made second-half projections based on the assumption that there would…
First Dismissal Motion Denial in Chinese Reverse Merger Securities Case
According to Cornerstone Research’s recently released mid-year 2011 securities litigation report (here), during the 18 months ending on June 30, 2011, there were a total of 37 securities class action lawsuit filings involving U.S. listed Chinese companies, 33 of which obtained their U.S. listing by way of a “reverse merger” a publicly traded…
NERA Releases First-Half 2011 Securities Litigation Report (Comments About Counting Lawsuits Also Included)
In the most recent of the securities litigation analyses, on July 26, 2011, NERA Economic Consulting issued its report on the securities class action lawsuit filing during the first six months of 2011. In a report entitled “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: 2011 Mid-Review” (here), NERA suggests, perhaps contrary to other…