Among the agencies largely closed by the current partial U.S. federal government shutdown is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the following guest post, John Reed Stark, President of John Reed Stark Consulting and former Chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, takes a look at what the SEC’s closure means for … Continue Reading
Every year just after Labor Day, I take a step back and survey the most important current trends and developments in the world of Directors’ and Officers’ liability and D&O insurance. This year’s survey is set out below. Once again, there are a host of things worth watching in the world of D&O.… Continue Reading
As I have noted in prior posts, a number of commentators have proposed that companies filing with the SEC to complete IPOs ought to be able to include in their bylaws a mandatory arbitration provision requiring shareholder claimants to submit claims – including even claims under the federal securities laws – to arbitration. This idea, … Continue Reading
As I noted at the time, on March 20, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision in Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund, holding that state courts retain concurrent jurisdiction for liability actions under the Securities Act of 1933. In the following guest post, Doug Greene, Jessie Gabriel, Marco Molina, and … Continue Reading
In a June 27, 2017 order (here), the United States Supreme Court granted the petition of Cyan, Inc. for a writ of certiorari to consider the question of whether or not state courts retain concurrent jurisdiction for liability lawsuits under the ’33 Act, or whether as a result of changes to the relevant statutes under … Continue Reading
We have seen the scenario before – shortly after its debut, an IPO company releases unexpected results, the company’s share price declines, and the lawsuits appear. Usually when this happens, the updated results pertain to reporting periods following the IPO. But what about a situation where the disappointing results pertain to a reporting period that … Continue Reading
There are fewer public companies in the U.S. than there were in the nineties. Understanding the reason for the decline in the number of public companies is important to understanding whether or not the decline is a cause for concern, as well for thinking about what if anything policymakers should about it. In an interesting … Continue Reading
In the following guest post, attorneys from the Paul Weiss law firm review and analyze a November 3, 2016 Second Circuit decision (here) in which the appellate court held that the standard pre-IPO lock-up agreements between a company’s pre-IPO shareholders and the company’s lead IPO underwriters do not make those parties a “group” within Section … Continue Reading
One of the interesting (and challenging) quirks of the federal securities laws is that Section 22 of the ’33 Act provides concurrent state court jurisdiction for liability actions under the Act. Many courts have taken the view that legislation subsequent to the ’33 Act preempts state court jurisdiction under Section 22, as discussed here. While … Continue Reading
As I have noted previously on this site, there are many fewer publicly traded companies in the United States now than there were within past decades. I have noted this phenomenon primarily within the context of observing that while the annual number of securities class action lawsuits has remained broadly stable within a range, the … Continue Reading
Although the IPO pace is off from last year’s sizzling levels, the number of companies completing IPOs on U.S. exchanges remains at heightened levels. In addition, the number of completed IPOs picked up as the year progressed, suggesting that IPO activity in the U.S. in the year’s second half will also be lively. U.S. … Continue Reading
It has been three years since Congress passed the JOBS Act in the hope that aiding “Emerging Growth Companies” would help create jobs. Among other things, the Act’s IPO on-ramp provisions were designed to encourage fledgling companies to go public, on the theory that that would boost employment. As discussed below, the legislation’s jobs creation … Continue Reading
In a recent post, I noted the curious phenomenon of plaintiffs filing IPO-related securities class lawsuits in state court. Plaintiffs have this option under the concurrent jurisdiction provisions of the ’33 Act, but I still wondered why a plaintiff would chose to proceed in state court. I also noted that there is a split in … Continue Reading
One of the more interesting recent developments in the D&O liability arena has been the emergence of issues surrounding fee-shifting bylaws. As readers will recall, in May 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court in the ATP Tours case upheld the validity of a non-stock corporation’s bylaw imposing attorneys’ fees on an unsuccessful claimant in an intra-corporate … Continue Reading
All eyes may be on the record-setting IPO of Chinese Internet firm, Alibaba, but the real IPO story for 2014 may be the significant number of IPOs this year involving smaller companies. The number of companies completing IPOs this year is on pace for the highest annual level since 2007, a surge in initial public … Continue Reading
In several posts of the last several months (most recently here), I have commented that with the increased number of IPOs, an increase in IPO-related securities litigation would likely follow. If the securities litigation filing activity over the last couple of weeks is any indication, the anticipated increase in IPO-related securities litigation has arrived. Interestingly, most … Continue Reading
The number of companies with shares listed on U.S. stock exchanges increased last year compared to 2012, which is the first annual increase in the number of publicly traded companies in the U.S. since 1997, according to information from the World Federation of Exchanges. As reflected in a February 5, 2014 Wall Street Journal … Continue Reading
Led by Twitter’s successful offering earlier this year, IPO activity in the U.S. during 2013 has been at its highest levels since 2007. While the listing activity seems to bode well for the general economy as well as for the financial markets, the increased number of IPOs has also led to an uptick in IPO-related … Continue Reading
That sure didn’t take long. GT Solar International completed its $500 million IPO on July 23, 2008. Then on August 1, 2008, a mere seven trading days later, the plaintiffs’ lawyers initiated a purported securities class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire against the company and … Continue Reading
Chinese companies’ listing debuts are a vital force in the current global IPO marketplace. According to a December 8, 2007 Wall Street Journal chart (here), 195 Chinese companies listed their shares through November, raising $87.3 billion – representing a 26.7% share of the 2007 global IPO volume. By contrast, the IPOs of 174 U.S. domiciled … Continue Reading
In a July 18, 2007 publication entiled "IPO Executive Insights 2007" (here) the Nixon Peabody law firm published the results of its survey of 100 chief executive officers and chief financial officers whose companies conducted initial public offerings in the past three years. The report contains a number of interesting observations, but perhaps the most … Continue Reading
Regular readers know that I have previously questioned (most recently here) the case for regulatory reform. Among the grounds the reformers routinely cite as the basis for regulatory reform is the U.S.’s loss of global IPO marketshare. A February 20, 2007 Wall Street Journal article entitled "Do Tough Rules Deter Foreign IPO Listing in the … Continue Reading
An October 25, 2006 article in the Raleigh, N.C. News and Observer entitled “Voyager Hit by New Lawsuit” (here) provides an interesting example of the kinds of claims and liability exposures that officials at pre-IPO companies can face, particularly where the anticipated IPO fails to launch. Voyager Pharmaceuticals is a Raleigh, N.C.-based pharmaceutical company focused … Continue Reading
