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
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Though Case Previously Dismissed , Wells Fargo Settles Wachovia Investor Suit for $75 Million
In an interesting twist on a long –running credit-crisis related securities suit, Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $75 million to settle the Wachovia equity investor securities class action lawsuit, even though their suit had been dismissed at the district court level and was on appeal at the time of the settlement. The parties’ November …
Court Overturns Apollo Group Securities Lawsuit Jury Verdict
The $277.5 million jury verdict in the Apollo Group securities lawsuit caused a great sensation at the time it was returned in January 2008 (as discussed here). The verdict heartened plaintiffs’ attorneys and it served as a counterweight to the defense verdict in the virtually contemporaneous JDSU Uniphase securities lawsuit trial (which is discussed…
A Slew of New Subprime Lawsuits
In the past week, plaintiffs’ lawyers filed a raft of new subprime and credit crisis related securities lawsuits. The cases involve a wide variety of claimants and defendants, and a diverse array of legal theories. But while the lawsuits themselves are diverse, they do all evidence a common theme, which is that the subprime and…
Class Action Opt-Outs: The Impact of Competition on Securities Lawsuit Resolution
I have previously noted (most recently here) the increasing significance of opt-out actions as a part of securities lawsuit resolution. Columbia Law School Professor John Coffee, in a March 27, 2008 paper entitled “Accountability and Competition in Securities Class Actions: Why ‘Exit’ Works Better Than ‘Voice’” (here) examines the opt-out phenomenon…
Subprime-Related Derivative Lawsuits: The List
Regular readers know that I have been tracking subprime-related class-action lawsuits (here). In a recent post, I noted my interest in trying to develop a similar list of subprime-related derivative lawsuits. In response to my request, a number of readers supplied helpful information, and as a result I have been able to develop…
About Those Auction Rate Securities Lawsuits…
Add E*Trade and SunTrust Bank to the growing list of companies that have been sued in purported class action lawsuits on behalf of auction rate securities investors against companies that sold them the instruments. The plaintiffs’ attorney’s April 2, 2008 press release regarding the E*Trade auction rate securities lawsuit can be found here, and…
Jury Awards Plaintiff $277.5 Million in Apollo Group Securities Trial
On January 16, 2008, a civil jury in the Apollo Group securities lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona entered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff class on all counts, awarding damages of $5.55 per share, an amount that according to Bloomberg (here) could reach as much…