Securities class action lawsuit filings “plummeted” in 2021 compared to recent prior years, largely as a result of declines in M&A litigation and in the number of “core” Rule 10b-5 lawsuits, according to the latest annual report from Cornerstone Research. According to the report, entitled “Securities Class Action Filings: 2021 Year in Review,” the number of new federal and state securities class action lawsuit filings decline 35% compared to 2020, but nevertheless remained “in line” with the 2012-2016 average. The report can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s February 2, 2022 press release about the report can be found here. My summary of the 2021 federal court securities class action lawsuit filings can be found here. Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: Securities Suit Filings “Plummet” in 2021

On February 9, 2022, the New York City Bar will be hosting the 10th Annual Securities Litigation & Enforcement Institute in a webcast format. The program will go from 9 am to 5 pm and will include a number of distinguished speakers. The keynote speaker keynote speaker will be Steven Peikin, the former Co-Head of Enforcement of the SEC in the prior administration. Stanford Law Professor Joseph Grundfest will also be among the other speakers.  I will be speaking on a panel during the afternoon session on the topic of “Securities Litigation: Major Cases and Trends: Goldman and other Important Cases.” The panel will be moderated by Greg Markel of the Seyfarth Shaw law firm. The panel will include Meredith Kotler of the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer law firm; Laura Posner of the Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC law firm; and Jeffrey T. Scott of the Sullivan & Cromwell LLP law firm. For further information about the event, including registration information, please refer here.

Daniel Aronowitz

On January 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in the Hughes v. Northwestern University case (here) of potentially significant importance both for excess fee litigation and to the fiduciary liability insurance market. In the following guest post, Daniel Aronowitz, Owner and Managing Principal of Euclid Fiduciary, a fiduciary liability insurance underwriting company, reviews the decision and discusses its implications. I would like to thank Dan for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Dan’s article. Continue Reading Bad Facts Make Bad Law – Lessons from the Northwestern Decision

One of the biggest stories in the financial world for the last 18-24 months has been the astonishing surge in SPAC-related activity. Some readers will recall that in the midst of the SPAC ballyhoo, three academics had sounded a serious note of caution. In their conspicuous November 2020 paper, “A Sober Look at SPACs” (here), Stanford Law Professor Michael Klausner, NYU Law Professor Michael Ohlrogge, and Stanford Research Associate Emily Ruan warned, among other things, that SPAC shares were highly diluted, that their post-SPAC-merger performance was poor, and that sponsors’ returns were extraordinarily high.

 

Critics at the time suggested that the academics’ research was out of date, and that later SPACs addressed the concerns the authors noted in their  data set from an earlier time period. In response to the criticisms, the authors have now updated their earlier paper and published their research results in a January 24, 2022 post on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance entitled “A Second Look at SPACs: Is This Time Different?” (here). As detailed below, the authors conclude, based on their review of more recent SPAC transactions, that, contrary to the assertion of SPAC defenders, “this time is not different,” and that “SPACs remain highly diluted, and their returns remain poor.”

 

And in a separate paper that provides additional interesting reading about de-SPAC transactions, on January 24, 2022, the Freshfields law firm published a statistical analysis of 2021 de-SPACs entitled “2021 De-SPAC Debrief” (here), which, as also discussed below, provides an abundance of additional  information. Continue Reading SPACs and De-SPACs: Just the Facts

In a development that has set the D&O insurance industry commentariat abuzz, on January 27, 2022, the Delaware General Assembly passed Senate Bill No. 203, which amends the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) to permit Delaware corporations to put captive insurance in place as an alternative to traditional D&O insurance. The legislation awaits the signature of Delaware Governor John Carney, who reportedly has already said he will sign it. As discussed below, the legislation has several interesting features, but the more interesting question is what the practical impact of the legislation will be. Continue Reading Delaware Legislature Passes Bill Allowing Use of Captives for D&O Insurance

There were fewer than 300 total securities class action lawsuit filings in 2021 for the first time since 2016, according to the latest report from NERA Economic Consulting. While the report, entitled “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: 2021 Full-Year Review,” notes that securities suit filings declined in 2021 compared to recent years, largely due to a decline in merger objection lawsuit filings, the number of 2021 securities suit filings is “well within pre-2017 historical range.” Aggregate, average, and media settlements also declined in 2021 relative to prior years, according to the report. The report can be found here. NERA’s January 25, 2022 press release about the report can be found here. My own report on the 2021 securities suit filings can be found here. Continue Reading NERA Economic Consulting Report Shows Decreased Securities Suit Filings in 2021

According to the latest annual report from ISS Securities Class Action Services, there were two securities class action settlements in 2021 that were large enough to make the firm’s list of the Top 100 U.S. Securities Class Action settlements. These two settlements took place in a year in which there were a total of 116 approved monetary securities class action settlements totaling $3.51 billion. The details of the settlements included the two largest during 2021 can be found in the ISS SCAS report entitled “The Top 100 U.S. Class Action Settlements of All-Time,” here. Continue Reading ISS Releases 2021 Top 100 Securities Class Action Lawsuit Settlements List

In the following guest, Yaminah Williams, Assistant Vice President, Hiscox USA, Alicia Garcia, Claims Counsel, Hiscox USA, Katherine Hausmann, Senior Complex Claims Specialist, Hiscox USA, Elan Kandel, Member, Bailey Cavalieri LLC and James Talbert, Associate, Bailey Cavalieri LLC, review the key 2001 D&O insurance coverage decisions. I would like to thank the authors for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the authors’ article. Continue Reading Guest Post: The Year in Review: 2021 Key D&O Insurance Coverage Decisions

As reflected in their January 18, 2022 stipulation of settlement, the parties to the consolidated Teva Pharmaceutical Industries securities class action litigation have reached an agreement to settle the case for a payment of $420 million. The settled claims relate to underlying allegations concerning price-fixing in connection with the company’s generic drug products. According to the statements of a company spokesperson, the “vast majority” of the settlement amount will be funded by the company’s D&O insurers. The settlement is subject to court approval. A copy of the parties’ January 18, 2022 stipulation of settlement can be found here. Continue Reading Teva Settles Price-Fixing-Related Securities Class Action Litigation for $420 Million

Johann Sebastian Bach is of course one of the great composers in Western Music. His innovative and prolific musical output over the course of his long life is nothing short of astonishing. As it turns out, he also lived a surprisingly interesting life, as is well told in Harvard University Professor Christoph Wolff’s excellent one-volume Bach biography, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. Continue Reading Sunday Arts: The Bach Chaconne