One of the many distinctive traits of the litigation that surrounded the S&L crisis in the late 80s and early 90s was the plethora of lawsuits between the FDIC (and other federal banking regulators), on the one hand, and the failed banks’ insurers, on the other hand, over the interpretation of the banks’ management liability
Guest Post: Claims Against China-Based Reverse Merger Companies: A Tempest in a Teapot of Gunpowder Green Tea?
As numerous commentators have noted, one of the most distinctive litigation developments over the last twelve months has been the emergence of U.S. securities litigation against Chinese companies that obtained their listings on U.S. exchanges that a “reverse merger” with a publicly traded U.S. shell company.
Given the prominence of these issues, I
Are Securities Class Action Opt-Out Actions Back?
Settlement opt-outs have been always been a feature of securities class action litigation. However, as part of the settlements of the huge cases filed during the era of corporate scandals at the beginning of the last decade, opt outs became more prevalent and they represented an increasingly significant part of the case resolution. Many of
BofA/Merrill Merger Securities Litigation: Renewed Dismissal Motion Denied in Part, Granted in Part
The facts and circumstances surrounding Bank of America’s credit crisis-induced acquisition of Merrill Lynch remain among the highest profile and most controversial events during the global financial crisis. In a July 29, 2011 opinion (here), Southern District of New York Judge Kevin Castel granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ renewed
Guest Post: 2nd Circ. Holds D&O Policies Cover Voluntary Compliance Expenses and Special Litigation Committee Costs
In its sweeping July 1, 2011 opinion in the MBIA case, the Second Circuit addressed many of the D&O insurance coverage issues that are currently the most contentious. The opinion has occasioned much discussion and commentary in the D&O insurance industry. My blog post about the case can be found here.
In view
Lehman Brothers Credit Crisis-Related Securities Suit to Proceed
In a detailed 106-page opinion dated July 27, 2011 (here), Southern District of New York Judge Lewis Kaplan granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ motions to dismiss in the consolidated Lehman Brothers Securities Litigation. Though Judge Kaplan knocked out certain of the plaintiffs’ allegations, what Judge Kaplan called the “core&rdquo
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
Securities Litigation: Something Old, Something — Uh, Really Old
Among other things, Cornerstone Research’s mid-year 2011 analysis of securities class action lawsuit filings reported that during the year’s first half lawsuits were filed more quickly. The report said that in the first six months of 2011 “the median lag between the end of the class periods and the filing dates dropped to the lowest
Cornerstone Research Releases Mid-Year 2011 Securities Class Action Litigation Study
Decreased credit crisis-related filings partially offset by an influx of new filings related to M&A transactions or involving Chinese companies resulted in slightly decreased overall levels of securities class action litigation filings during the first half of 2011, according to a recent report entitled “Securities Class Action Filings: 2011 Mid-Year Assessment,” jointly published by Cornerstone
D.C. Circuit Vacates Proxy Access Rules, Blasts the SEC
For many years, one of the fundamental goals of shareholder rights activists has “proxy access,” which would require corporations to include shareholder nominated board candidates on the company’s proxy ballots. Last year, in the wake of the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC promulgated rules facilitating shareholder director nominations under certain circumstances. However, on July 22, 2011