One of the most noteworthy stories over the past several months has been the flurry of accounting fraud allegations involving Chinese companies that obtained listings on U.S. securities exchanges through a reverse merger with a publicly traded domestic shell company. The emergence of these allegations has certainly been one of the securities class action litigation
Are Short Sellers Fabricating the Accounting Fraud Allegations Involving U.S.-Listed Chinese Firms?
The wave of new securities class action lawsuits involving accounting scandals at U.S-listed Chinese firms is already a well-established phenomenon. But in the latest twist on the tale, Deer Consumer Products, one of the U.S.-listed Chinese companies most recently sued based on allegations of accounting fraud, has gone on the warpath and is
Guest Post: Securities Fraud Class Certification — Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Halliburton Case
I am pleased to reprint below as a guest post a detailed article about the oral argument this past week before the United States Supreme Court in the case of Erica P. John Fund v. Halliburton Co., No. 09-1403. This guest post was submitted by my friend Kimberly M. Melvin. Kim is a partner in the Wiley
Court Sets Aside Plaintiffs’ Jury Verdict in BankAtlantic Subprime Securities Suit
The jury verdict entered in favor of the plaintiffs in the BankAtlantic subprime-related securities suit has been set aside by the court in a post-trial ruling. On April 25, 2011, Southern District of Florida Judge Ursula Ungaro, in a 112-page opinion (here), granted the defendants’ motion for judgment as a matter of
A Closer Look at Litigation Funding and the “Loser Pays” Model
Among the reasons frequently cited for the higher incidence of litigation in the United States compared to the rest of the world is the acceptability of contingent fees for plaintiffs’ counsel and general rules that each party to a lawsuit in the U.S. bears its own costs. Many other countries have a “loser pays” model
Advisen Releases First Quarter 2011 Corporate and Securities Litigation Report
Corporate and securities litigation filing activity reached a “crescendo” in the first quarter of 2011, according to the most recent quarterly report from Advisen, the insurance information firm. The filing rate in the year’s first three months if annualized would represent a record –settling annual level of corporate and securities litigation activity. A copy of
Securities Suits Against Chinese Companies Continue to Mount
For several years, Friday has been the day when the latest bank closures are announced (about which see further below). More recently, Friday also seems to be the day when the latest securities class actions involving Chinese companies are announced. This past Friday alone, three more securities suits involving Chinese companies were announced. Signs are
PwC Releases 2010 Securities Litigation Study
A number of trends that had predominated in recent years diminished during 2010 while new trends emerged, according to PwC’s 2010 Securities Litigation Study, which can be found here. 2010 may also mark “the start of a new era” as a consequences of a new regulatory and enforcement environment take effect, which “could lead
A Closer Look at Life Sciences Companies and Securities Litigation
In my year-end securities litigation survey, I noted that while a number of new trends emerged during 2010, one securities lawsuit filing trend had remained constant during the year – that is, life sciences companies remained a favored securities class action lawsuit target. The heightened exposure that life sciences companies face is fully detailed
Identifying Chinese Characters: Accounting Fraud Lawsuits Against Chinese Companies Surge
With four more securities suits involving Chinese or China-linked companies this past Friday, the phenomenon of securities class action lawsuits against these firms has emerged as one of the most distinct securities litigation trends so far this year. The filing trend actually first emerged in the second half of 2010, but it has continued