While we wait to see whether the U.S. Supreme Court will grant the pending petition for a writ of certiorari in connection with the Second Circuit’s recent landmark opinion in the Morrison v, National Australia Bank case, the lower courts must continue to wrestle with questions regarding the extraterritorial application of the U.S. securities laws
Recent Filings Confirm Securities Lawsuit Trends
I hate to sound like a broken record a broken record, but as the third quarter securities lawsuit filings continue to come in, certain definite trends are clearly emerging. As I previously noted (here), the most recent filings are characterized by a high number of new lawsuits against companies outside the financial sector
D&O Insurer “Cut Out” of Settlement Process May Reasonably Withhold Consent
In prior posts (refer here), I have observed that the D&O insurer’s consent to settlement really is required. An August 10, 2009 decision by the Delaware Supreme Court (here) confirms that not only is the insurer’s consent required, but the D&O insurer may under certain circumstances reasonably withhold its consent to settlement. The
What Now for Auction Rate Securities Litigation?
Earlier this year, when the auction rate securities lawsuit against UBS was dismissed (refer here), the obvious question was whether the dismissal signaled the end of the auction rate securities litigation. Certainly, the growing number of companies that, like UBS, had entered regulatory settlements (the basis of the UBS dismissal) or otherwise agreed to
Countrywide Settles Subprime-Related ERISA Lawsuit
In a noteworthy subprime-related litigation development, on August 5, 2009, the parties to the Countrywide ERISA action filed a stipulation of settlement (here), together with a request for preliminary court approval. Under the stipulation, the case is to be settled by a payment of $55 million, to be funded entirely by Countrywide’s fiduciary
Stanford Financial Receiver Seeks D&O Insurance Proceeds
In a move that recapitulates a classic dispute that has been brewing in bankruptcy court for years, the Stanford Financial Group receiver has asserted that the proceeds of Stanford’s D&O insurance policies are "receivership assets" and that his right to the proceeds "supersedes" the rights of insureds under the policy. Moreover, he has specifically threatened
Recent Securities Suit Filings Reinforce “Backlog” Theory
My suggestion (here) that the apparent second quarter securities lawsuit filing lull was due in part to the fact that plaintiffs’ lawyers have a backlog of cases outside the financial sector has proven controversial. All I can say that there is an increasing amount of evidence consistent with the backlog hypothesis. Specifically, a
Web Notes and Updates
Another Subprime-Related Securities Lawsuit Dismissal: In yet another subprime-related securities class action lawsuit decision in defendants’ favor, on July 29, 2009, District of Connecticut Judge Stefan Underhill granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss in the securities lawsuit pending against CBRE Realty Finance and certain of its directors and officers. A copy of the opinion can
The D&O Link to FCPA Activity: The Follow-On Civil Lawsuit
For some time, I have been asserting (refer here, for example) that increasing levels of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement activity represents an important development in the world of D&O insurance. During a conversation at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting in Chicago this past week, a senior claims executive from one of the
Advisen Releases Second Quarter 2009 Securities Litigation Study
In a July 31, 2009 report , Advisen became the latest group to confirm that securities litigation declined in the second quarter of 2009, noting in its report entitled "Securities Litigation Drops in Q2 2009" (here) that securities lawsuit filings "fell off in the second quarter from the frantic first quarter." Advisen’s July