Largely as a result of the number of suits filed against smaller companies, the number of securities class action lawsuits filed in 2015 increased for the third year in a row, to the highest level since 2008, according to a new report from PwC. The April 2016 report, entitled “Small Companies, Big Targets: 2015 Securities Litigation Study,” can be found here. The numbers in the PwC report differ slightly from the figures reported in previously released annual securities class action litigation studies by Cornerstone Research (here) and NERA Economic Consulting (here), but the reports are directionally consistent. My own analysis of the 2015 securities litigation filings can be found here.
Continue Reading PwC Report: Surge of Suits Involving Smaller Companies Drove 2015 Securities Suit Filing Increase
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An Active First Half for Securities Class Action Litigation
The first half of 2015 was an active period for new securities class action lawsuit filings. The filings through the year’s first six months suggest we are on pace for the highest annual number of new filings since 2011. The heightened levels of lawsuits involving non-U.S. companies and IPO companies contributed to the uptick in securities suit filings in the year’s first half.
Continue Reading An Active First Half for Securities Class Action Litigation
First Half Securities Lawsuit Filings Consistent with Recent Years’ Filing Levels
The number of securities class action lawsuit filings during the first half of 2014 was slightly above the number of filings in the first half of 2013. On an annualized basis this year’s filings are consistent with the full year filing figures for 2012 and 2013, though well below longer term historical averages.
During the …
Cornerstone Research: Securities Suits “Depressed” in Year’s First Half
Securities class action lawsuit filings “remained at depressed levels” during the first half of 2013 according to the latest report from Cornerstone Research and the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse. The report, entitled “Securities Class Action Filings: 2013 Mid-Year Assessment,” can be found here. The organizations’ July 24, 2013 press release about…
Dismissal Denied in New Century Subprime Lawsuit
Following closely on the heels of the denial of the motion to dismiss in the Countrywide case earlier this week (about which refer here), on December 3, 2008, Judge Dean Pregerson of the Central District of California issued an opinion (here) denying the defendants’ motions to dismiss in the New Century Financial…
Former Refco CEO Aids Class Action Plaintiffs–An Insurance Issue?
In a development that is in my experience absolutely unprecedented, Phillip Bennett, the former CEO of defunct futures trader Refco, after having pled guilty to criminal charges, is actively cooperating with the lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the civil securities lawsuit pending against the company and its former directors and officers. As discussed below…