There was a time when it was relatively rare for the Supreme Court to take up securities cases. Until recently, the Court basically went several years between cases filed under the securities laws. Those days are clearly over, as the Court has granted cert petitions in several securities cases in recent years, including the Merck
Belated Securities Suit Survives Dismissal Motion
At least one prominent commentator has suggested that the reason for the accumulation during late 2009 of a significant number of belated securities suits, where the filing date came well after the proposed class period cut-off date, is that plaintiffs lawyers are "trying to fill the litigation pipeline by bringing older lawsuits that weren’t
Law Firm Memo Roundup
My weekend reading over the Memorial Day holiday included a hefty selection from the stack of law firm memos that accumulated in my inbox in recent weeks. Many of the most recent memos related to the Senate’s passage of its version of the financial reform legislation, but the memos also reflected a variety of other
Perspective on the Senate Financial Reform Bill
On May 20, 2010, the U.S. Senate passed the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (S. 3217) by a vote of 59 to 39. The Senate websites latest version of the Bill can be found here, and the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee’s link to the most current version can be
Who’s Getting Hit With Securities Suits These Days?
Though some observers have reported a downturn in 2010 securities class action lawsuits compared to prior years, at least very recently there has been a flurry of filing activity, with six new securities suits in the past week, by my count. With these latest filings coming in, it seemed worthwhile to take a look at the
NERA Releases Comprehensive Study of Australian Class Actions
As a result of series of legal developments, securities class action lawsuits in Australia have become have become increasingly common in recent years, and signs are that these trends will continue, according to a comprehensive study of Australian securities class action litigation issued on May 7, 2010 by NERA Economic Consulting.
The report can
Will the Financial Reform Bill Include An Aiding and Abetting Liability Provision?
The financial reform bill now working its way through Congress will include an amendment to the securities laws allowing private civil actions for aiding and abetting liability, if an amendment Senator Arlen Specter proposed on May 4, 2010 is part of the final bill. According to the Blog of the Legal Times (here)
French Vivendi Investors O.K. to Participate in U.S. Class, French Court Holds
Vivendi lost the liability phase of the securities class action jury trial, and now it has lost a rearguard action to try to have French investors excluded from the U.S. investor class. According to press reports (here and here), Judge Jean-Claude Magendie of the Court of Appeals of Paris ruled on April
U.S. Supreme Court Allows Merck Vioxx Securities Suit to Proceed
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court held on April 27, 2010 that the shareholder lawsuit arising from Merck’s alleged misrepresentations regarding Vioxx is not time-barred by the applicable statute of limitations. A copy of the Court’s opinion can be found here.
Background
In an action filed in November 6, 2003, the plaintiffs had contended that
Shareholders Launch Follow-on Securities Lawsuit Against Goldman Sachs
The SEC’s high-profile enforcement action against Goldman Sachs and one of its investment bankers may or may not revitalize the waning subprime and credit crisis-related litigation wave, but it has at least sparked an outbreak of follow on civil litigation against Goldman Sachs.
According to their April 26, 2010 press release (here)