Every year after Labor Day, The D&O Diary takes a step back to survey the most important current trends and developments in the world of Directors’ and Officers’ liability and insurance. This year’s review is set out below. As the following discussion shows, this is a particularly interesting time in the world of D&O.
Continue Reading What to Watch in the World of D&O
Two notable securities litigation trends over the past year have been the rise of AI-related lawsuits and claims stemming from geopolitical developments, particularly U.S.-China tensions. A securities class action complaint filed on August 4, 2026, in the Southern District of New York against Alibaba Group Holding Limited (Alibaba) and the company’s CEO combines both themes in a single action (Alibaba SCA). The complaint alleges that Alibaba misled investors concerning both its AI-related activities and the risks associated with its alleged status as a “Chinese military company” under U.S. law.
Continue Reading Securities Suit Against Alibaba Combines Two Key Litigation Trends
As The D&O Diary has emphasized in numerous posts in recent months (most recently here), geopolitical issues represent an increasing source of D&O risk. The geopolitical issues include, among other things, sanctions, tariffs, and export controls. Another geopolitical issue that can have an impact on D&O risk is the enforcement of anti-money laundering (AML) laws. In the latest example of AML enforcement translating into D&O risk, in late July a plaintiff shareholder filed a securities class action lawsuit against British money transfer technology company Wise Group, a company whose U.S. bank charter application was denied due to AML concerns. A copy of the July 31, 2026, complaint can be found here.
Continue Reading Anti-Money Laundering Enforcement and Securities Litigation Risk
Over the past couple of years, the D&O Diary has followed how geopolitical developments, including wars, sanctions, tariffs, export controls, and trade disputes, can create public company D&O exposure. These developments can present disclosure challenges and have led to securities suits arising from export controls, tariffs, and related business impacts.
A recently filed securities class action against Photronics, Inc. (Photronics) highlights how later statements about geopolitical tensions and supply chain challenges can be woven into broader claims that a company’s earlier disclosures were misleadingly incomplete. Photronics manufactures photomasks, the highly precise templates used in the process to produce semiconductors. While the complaint primarily alleges misstatements about product demand and financial performance, it also cites disclosure failures related to the U.S.-Iran conflict and supply chain disruptions.
Continue Reading What Constitutes Geopolitical Disclosure Risk?
The current Trump administration’s tariff policies have created operating challenges for many companies, challenges that in at least some cases have translated into securities class action lawsuits. In the latest example, the solar panel company First Solar has been hit with a tariff-related securities class action lawsuit after the company experienced complications in its international operations due to the tariffs. A copy of the new First Solar securities class action lawsuit can be found here.
Continue Reading Solar Panel Company Hit with Tariff-Related Securities Suit
The current conflict in Iran has enormous implications for the global and regional Middle East economy. The conflict also has important insurance implications, including with respect to D&O insurance in the Middle East region. In the following guest post, Shabnam Karim and Simon Lamb examine the ways that the current military, political, and diplomatic circumstances in the region are affecting both corporate risk exposure and the D&O insurance underwriting and claims environment. Shabnam is a partner and Simon is an associate at the Norton Rose Fulbright law firm’s Dubai office. We would like to thank Shabham and Simon for allowing us to publish their article on this site. Here is Shabnam and Simon’s article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Middle East D&O Claims Exposures in a Time of Tension
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the legal case in which the claimants are challenging the constitutionality of President Trump’s tariffs. While we await the Court’s decision in the case, the tariffs remain in place, with consequences both for the global economy and for individual businesses. In the latest example of the ways in which these consequences can translate into tariff-related securities litigation, a plaintiff shareholder has sued used car retailer CarMax, alleging that the company tried to portray the quarterly sales surge that preceded the tariffs’ impact as being due to longer-term company advantages rather than tariff-motivated consumer behavior. A copy of the new CarMax complaint can be found here.
Continue Reading CarMax Hit with Tariff-Related Securities Suit
Every year after Labor Day, I take a step back to survey the most important current trends and developments in the world of Directors’ and Officers’ liability and insurance. This year’s review is set out below. As the following discussion shows, this is a particularly interesting time in the world of D&O.
Continue Reading What to Watch Now in the World of D&O
In the following guest post, Ed Whitworth, the Head of Financial Lines at Inigo, and Yera Patel, Head of Casualty & Financial Lines Claims and Analytics for Inigo, summarize the results of a recent survey Inigo conducted of U.S. securities litigation defense counsel. The original of the survey summary previously was published on Inigo’s blog, here. I would like to thank Ed, Yera, and Inigo for allowing me to publish the report summary on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to the 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: Inigo’s 2025 Defense Counsel Survey
Rising geopolitical tensions are having an impact across a wide variety of issues, including, in particular, issues having to do with the cross-border movement of people. These issues include changes within respect to immigration and visa policies. These changes not only affect the individuals involved but also companies whose business operations are connected in some way to immigration and visa issues. A recently filed securities lawsuit against a company whose money transfer business is directly linked to the cross-border movement of students for education and study shows not only how changing visa policies, for example, can not only affect companies’ operations and financial results but can also translate into securities litigation.
Continue Reading Geopolitical Developments, Visa Policies, and D&O Risk