The purchase of reps and warranties insurance is an increasingly common element of mergers and acquisitions transactions. But while the uptake of reps and warranties insurance has increased, concerns remain about how a reps and warranties insurance will respond if a claim arises based on an allegation that a seller has breached a financial statement
Executive Compensation and Populist Discontent
Over the weekend, voters in Switzerland rejected by a roughly two-to-one margin a referendum that would have restricted executive salaries at Swiss companies to twelve times that of the company’s lowest paid employee. The vote outcome is interesting because it follows so closely on the heels of a ballot initiative earlier this year in which
D&O Insurance: Professional Services Exclusion Precludes Coverage for Claims Arising From Broker-Dealer’s Offering Underwriter Activities
On November 21, 2013, in a terse, two-page summary order (here), the Second Circuit affirmed a district court ruling applying New York law and holding that a D&O insurance policy’s professional services exclusion precludes coverage for claims brought against broker-dealer David Lerner Associates, based on the firm’s offering underwriter and financial products sales
Ontario Securities Suit Claimants Denied Leave to Proceed
Shareholder claimants seeking to pursue a misrepresentation claim under the Ontario Securities Act must obtain leave of court to proceed based on a statutory requirement that the plaintiff must show a “reasonable possibility that the action will be resolved at trial in favor of the plaintiff.” Ontario’s courts agree that this requirement sets a “low
Shareholders Obtain $882 Million Default Judgment in Longtop Financial Securities Suit
During the period 2010 to 2012, plaintiffs’ lawyers rushed to file a wave of securities suits against U.S.-listed Chinese companies. In general, the cases filed as part of this wave that have reached the settlement stage have settled for relatively modest amounts. However, at least one of these cases has now resulted in an absolutely
SEC Releases Fiscal 2013 Whistleblower Report
Whistleblower reports to the SEC continued to rise during the latest fiscal year, according to the agency’s annual Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program report to Congress. According to the November 15, 2013 report, a copy of which can be found here, there were 3,238 whistleblower reports to the SEC during the 2013 fiscal year, brining the
Cornerstone Research Releases Securities Suit Opt-Outs Study
On November 19, 2013, Cornerstone Research, in conjunction with the Latham & Watkins law firm, released a report analyzing securities suit opt-out cases. The report, entitled “Opt-Out Cases in Securities Class Action Settlements,” and which can be found here, takes a comprehensive look at cases in which individual class members have opted out of
Game Changer? The U.S. Supreme Court to Revisit “Fraud on the Market” Presumption
In a development that has the potential to change the way private securities suits in the United States are litigated, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case in which the petitioners seek to have the Court revisit the “fraud on the market” presumption. The presumption allows plaintiffs in securities suits under
Directors and Officers Held Personally Liable for Bankrupt Company’s Environmental Liabilities
In a case that has important implications for the potential liabilities of individual directors and officers, on October 28, 2013 twelve former directors and officers of bankrupt Northstar Aerospace agreed to pay a total of $CAN 4.75 million to the Ontario environmental regulator for costs to remediate environmental contamination at the company’s manufacturing site. The case
Despite Forum Selection Clause, Del. Chancery Court Declines to Enjoin Louisiana Action
Earlier this year, when Chancellor Leo Strine issued an opinion in the Chevron case upholding the validity under Delaware law of a forum selection clause in the company’s corporate by-laws, a number of questions remained unanswered, including in particular what would happen if, notwithstanding the forum selection provision, a shareholder nevertheless filed an action in