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Just as the overall number of securities class action lawsuit filings declined in 2021 relative to the year prior (as discussed in detail here), the number of securities suits filed against non-U.S. companies declined in 2021 as well, although the number of suits against foreign companies as a percentage of all 2021 securities suit filings decreased only slightly, as reflected in a new report from the Dechert law firm. The February 24, 2022 report, entitled “2001 Developments in U.S. Securities Fraud Class Actions Against Non-Issuers,” can be found here.
Continue Reading Securities Suit Filings Against Non-U.S. Companies Declined in 2021

In my round-up of top D&O stories from 2021, I cited the recent rise of U.S. derivative lawsuit filings against the boards of non-U.S. companies as one of the year’s most important D&O liability and insurance stories. I was not alone in identifying this trend as a key development. Allianz identified the threat of these kinds of U.S. derivative suits against non-U.S. companies’ boards as one of the “five D&O mega trends companies should watch for and guard against in 2022.” However, recent developments could be interpreted to suggest that the threat from these kinds of lawsuits may turn out to be something less than feared.

As Alison Frankel noted in a January 4, 2022 post on her On the Case blog (here), “last week, two Manhattan state-court judges called off the revolution.” In the final week of 2021, two New York state judges granted motions to dismiss in separate derivative lawsuits filed in N.Y. courts against the boards of two non-U.S. companies. As discussed below, these two rulings potentially could spell the end for these kinds of lawsuits; at a minimum, it could mean that the threat may turn out to be significantly less than was feared – although as also noted below, there could yet be more of this story to be told.
Continue Reading Do Derivative Suit Dismissals Signal End of Non-U.S. Companies’ U.S. Liability Threat?

The number of federal court securities class action lawsuits filed during 2021 declined significantly compared to the number filed in 2020, and the number of 2021 filings was sharply below the elevated number of securities suits filed each year during the period 2017-2019. The most significant factor in the 2021 drop-off was the decline in the number of federal court merger objection class action lawsuit filings during the year, although there were other factors at work as well. Though the number of filings in 2021 declined relative to the elevated number of annual filings during period 2017-2020, the number of 2021 filings was above longer-term historical annual filings levels prior to 2017, as discussed below.
Continue Reading Securities Filings Declined in 2021 Relative to Recent Elevated Years, Closer to Long-Term Levels

Joseph Burke
John Cheffers

One of the more noteworthy and interesting observations emerge the 2020 year end securities class action lawsuit filing review was the finding that, while the overall number of lawsuit filings declined in 2020 relative to 2019, the number of lawsuits filed against non-U.S. U.S.-listed companies actually increased during the year. In the following guest post, Joseph Burke and John Cheffers, take a closer look at the securities lawsuit filings against non-U.S. companies and suggest some possible causes for the amount of litigation. Joe is the Senior Economist and Data Scientist at Watchdog Research, Inc. and John is Director of Research and legal counsel for Watchdog Research. This summary article is also available on Watchdog Research’s website and the full report is available on request. I would like to thank Joe and John 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 Joe and John’s article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Foreign Restatements and Securities Class Action Suits

One of the interesting things about the 2020 securities class action lawsuit filing numbers is that even though the overall number of securities suit filings went down in 2020, the number of securities class action lawsuits filed against non-U.S. companies actually increased during the year. The 2020 securities suit filings against non-U.S. companies are reviewed in detail in a new report from the Dechert law firm entitled “2020 Developments in U.S. Securities Fraud Class Actions Against Non-U.S. Issuers.” The March 8, 2021 report can be found here.
Continue Reading U.S. Securities Suit Filings Against Non-U.S. Companies Increased in 2020

In the course of my various foreign travels, I have had occasion to speak to many underwriters and brokers who place D&O insurance for non-U.S. companies whose American Depository Receipts (ADRs) trade in the U.S. There is a pervasive, inexplicable, and mistaken belief among some underwriters and brokers that companies whose Level I ADRs trade in the U.S cannot be subject to a U.S. securities suit. These individuals persist in this error despite the Toshiba case, in which the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of the securities suit brought by investors in Toshiba’s unsponsored Level I ADRs. Because of the persistence of the error about the potential liability of companies with ADRs trading in the U.S., it is mandatory for every single underwriter or broker who places D&O insurance for a non-U.S. ADR company to read the latest court ruling in the Toshiba case. As discussed below, the U.S. securities lawsuit brought against Toshiba brought by purchasers of the company’s unsponsored Level I ADRs is going forward. 
Continue Reading U.S. Securities Suit of Toshiba’s Unsponsored ADR Investors to Proceed – Including Even Their Japanese Law Claims