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The newly disclosed $80 million settlement of the Yahoo data breach-related securities class action lawsuit will not make the list of the Top 100 securities suit settlements, but it is significant in its own way just the same. Because the settlement is the first substantial data breach-related shareholder lawsuit recovery, it represents a milestone development in a number of respects, as discussed below. The parties’ March 2, 2018 Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement can be found here.
Continue Reading Yahoo Settles Data Breach-Related Securities Suit for $80 million

Prior observers have already noted that in 2017 the value of securities class action lawsuit settlements plunged to lows not seen in years, largely due to from a shortage of large or even moderate settlements. These observations about the lack of larger settlement are underscored by the latest large securities suit settlement report from ISS Securities Class Action Services (ISS). In its annual report, entitled “The Top 100 U.S. Class Action Settlements of All Time (as of December 31, 2017)” (here), ISS reports that only two securities class action lawsuit settlements approved during 2017 were large enough to make the Top 100 list. The report has a number of other interesting observations about securities suit settlements as well.
Continue Reading ISS Releases Updated Top 100 U.S. Securities Suit Settlements List

As has been well-documented on this site, 2017 was an extraordinary year for securities class action lawsuit filings, with a record number of new lawsuits filed at a record rate. Among the important contributing factors to the significant volume of securities suit filings during the year was the volume of lawsuits filed against life sciences companies. The significance of the litigation activity against biopharma companies, a subset of the overall life sciences sector, was the subject of a detailed and precise analysis in a guest post earlier this week.

There is still the question of the meaning of large volume of litigation involving life sciences companies generally.  According to the latest annual analysis from the Dechert law firm, the number of securities lawsuits filed against life sciences companies in 2017 increased 30% from the previous year, and increased more than 225% from only five years earlier. The law firm’s February 8, 2018 report entitled “Developments in Securities Fraud Class Actions Against U.S. Life Sciences Companies: 2017 Edition” can be found here.
Continue Reading A Detailed Look at 2017 Securities Litigation Involving Life Sciences Companies

For the second straight year, securities class action lawsuit filings reached record levels in 2017, according to the January 30, 2018 report from Cornerstone Research. According to the report, entitled “Securities Class Action Filings: 2017 Year in Review” (here), securities suit filings during the year reached “unprecedented levels” and companies on U.S. exchanges were more likely to be the subject of a securities suit than in any previous year. Cornerstone Research’s January 30, 2018 press release about the report can be found here. My own analysis of the 2017 securities class action lawsuit filings can be found here.
Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: 2017 Securities Lawsuit Filings at “Unprecedented Levels”

According to a January 29, 2018 report from NERA Economic Consulting, there was “an explosion” of U.S. federal court securities class action litigation filing in 2017, as new securities suits were filed at a “record pace.” The report, entitled “Record Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: 2017 Full-Year Review,” can be found here. NERA’s January 27, 2018 press release regarding the report can be found here. My analysis of the 2017 securities class action lawsuit filings can be found here.
Continue Reading NERA: 2017 Securities Suits Filed at “Record Pace”

In one of the largest U.S. securities class action lawsuit settlements ever, the Brazilian-based energy company Petrobras has agreed to settle the bribery and corruption-related securities class action lawsuit pending against the company in the Southern District of New York for $2.95 billion. The settlement, which is subject to court approval, resolves only the claims of Petrobras investors who purchased the company’s securities in the U.S.; it does not resolve the claims of investors who purchased Petrobras securities in Brazil.  The settlement resolves the case just before the U.S. Supreme Court was to consider whether to take up a cert petition in which the defendants sought to have the high court address class certification issues in the case. The company’s January 3, 2017 press release describing the settlement can be found here. The plaintiffs’ lawyers’ January 3, 2017 press release about the settlement can be found here.
Continue Reading Petrobras Settles U.S. Securities Suit Based on Corruption-Related Allegations for $2.95 Billion

The world of directors’ and officers’ liability is always dynamic, but 2017 was a particularly eventful year in the D&O liability arena. The year’s many developments have significant implications for what may lie ahead in 2018 – and possibly for years to come. I have set out below the Top Ten D&O stories of 2017, with an eye to these future possibilities.
Continue Reading Top Ten D&O Stories of 2017

More securities class action lawsuits were filed in 2017 than in any year since 2001, in significant part because of the substantial number of federal court merger objection lawsuit filings during the year. But even disregarding the merger suits and looking only at the traditional securities lawsuits, the number of lawsuit filings was at the highest level since at least 2004.  While the elevated numbers of lawsuit filings is noteworthy, it is the litigation rate – that is, the number of securities suits relative to the number of public companies – that is most significant. According to my estimate, the litigation rate during 2017 was at all-time record levels.
Continue Reading Securities Suit Filings at Historically High Levels During 2017

As I noted in a post last week discussing the derivative lawsuit and settlement involving 21st Century Fox, allegations of failure to prevent alleged misconduct within company operations or at company facilities can translate into potential liability exposure for the company and its senior management. Another example of this phenomenon has emerged. In the weeks just after RYB Education completed its late September 2017 IPO, news reports began circulating of alleged child abuse at company preschool education facilities in China. Now a shareholder has filed a securities class action lawsuit in the U.S. against the company and certain of its executives. As discussed below, this new lawsuit represents the latest example of several different securities class action lawsuit filing trends.
Continue Reading Chinese Preschools’ Child Abuse Reports Lead to U.S. Securities Suit Against Recent IPO Company