As I have previously detailed (here), 2016 was a record year for securities class action litigation in the U.S. The number of class action lawsuits filed in Canada more than doubled in 2016 compared to the year before, but the filing pace during the year was still below the pace during the period from 2010 to 2014, according to a new report from NERA Economic Consulting. The February 22, 2017 report, entitled “Trends in Canadian Securities Class Actions: 2016 Update,” which sets out a comprehensive overview of Canadian securities class action filing and case resolution trends, can be found here. NERA’s February 22, 2017 press release about the report can be found here.
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A Closer Look at Securities Litigation Involving Life Sciences Companies
As I noted in my survey of 2016 securities class action litigation (here), one of the factors contributing to the rise in securities litigation last year was the volume of litigation filed against companies in the life sciences sector. According to an analysis of life sciences-related securities suits by the Dechert law firm, the annual number of securities suits filed against companies in the sector rose by over 70% between 2014 and 2016. The law firm’s February 17, 2017 report, entitled “Developments in Securities Fraud Class Actions Against U.S. Life Sciences Companies,” can be found here.
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Cornerstone Research: Securities Lawsuit Filings Rise to Highest Level in 20 Years
According to the latest annual securities litigation survey, securities class action lawsuit filings were at “record” levels in 2016. A surge of federal court merger objection lawsuit filings during the year accounted for much of the activity, but even so-called “traditional” securities lawsuit filings were at elevated levels, according to report, which was release jointly by Cornerstone Research and the Stanford Law School Class Action Clearinghouse. The January 31, 2017 report, entitled “Securities Class Action Filings: 2016 Year in Review,” can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s and the Stanford Law School Class Action Clearinghouse’s January 31, 2017 press release can be found here.
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Record Setting Securities Suit Filing Pace Accelerates Into New Year
As the various annual securities suit filing reports have been coming out, it has become clear that federal securities class action lawsuit filings were at record levels in 2016, largely as a result of a rise of merger objection lawsuit filings in federal court. Now that 2017 is well underway, it is clear that the heightened pace of securities suit filing has continued, and arguably even accelerated, in the New Year.
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NERA Economic Consulting: Record Number of Securities Suit Filings in 2016
According to NERA Economic Consulting’s latest annual securities litigation report, there were a “record number” of securities class action lawsuit filed in 2016. The January 23, 2017 report, which is entitled “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: 2016 Full-Year Review” (here), attributes the growth in filings during the year largely to the number of federal court merger objection lawsuits, which more than doubled from the previous year. NERA’s January 23, 2017 press release about the report can be found here.
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Early 2017 Securities Suit Filings Show Continued Active Pace, Life Sciences Focus
In the Bard’s timeless words, what’s past is prologue. And in that same vein, many of the last year’s most pronounced securities class action lawsuit filing trends are already showing signs of strong continuity in the early days of the New Year. As shown in my recent annual securities class action lawsuit filings analysis, by year-end, a record number of securities suits had been filed during 2016, with life sciences companies among the most frequent lawsuit targets. We are only just a few days into 2017, but these securities suit filings trends already appear to be continuing in the New Year, as so far this year both the continued strong filing pace and the heightened levels of securities suit activity involving life sciences companies are already appear to be well-established.
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2016 Securities Lawsuit Filings Surge to Record Levels
Largely driven by a surge in the number of federal court merger objection class action lawsuits, the number of securities class action lawsuit filings during 2016 reached record high levels. The number of filings in 2016 accelerated as the year increased, with a significantly greater number of filings in the year’s second half, compared to the number of filings in the year’s first half.
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Class Action Litigation in Australia Poised for Further Growth
Class actions have been a big deal in the U.S. for a long time now, but what is really interesting is that class actions (and other forms of collective action) are now becoming a big deal outside of the U.S. One place in particular where class actions have become a very big deal indeed is in Australia. As detailed in a recent study, class actions have in recent years become a well-established part of Australia’s litigation landscape. Recent judicial developments seem likely to make Australia an even more attractive jurisdiction for class action litigation.
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The Securities Litigation Storm is Already Here
In an interesting post on his D&O Discourse blog earlier this fall (here), Doug Greene of the Lane Powell law firm raised the question whether there is a securities litigation storm brewing. Citing a number of different factors ranging from the SEC whistleblower program to changes in the plaintiffs’ bar, Greene suggested that we could be headed toward a significantly increased number of securities class action lawsuits. I agree with most of what Greene said, except for one thing. The securities litigation storm isn’t on the horizon – it is already here.
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The Rise of Collective Shareholder Actions in Europe
In numerous recent posts, I have noted the global rise of investor collective actions (refer for example here). These lawsuits, which take a variety of different forms according to the applicable forum laws, have been filed in a number of different countries. Among other regions that have seen a recent rise in this type of litigation is Europe. In an interesting November 16, 2016 publication entitled “Rise of European Shareholder Class Action? (here), AIG Europe takes a look at the recent rise of collective investor actions, noting among other things that these types of actions are “on the rise in Europe” as a result of “a number of converging factors.”
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