Securities class action lawsuit filings were "down sharply" according to the annual study of securities class action litigation released jointly today by the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse and Cornerstone Research. The full report can be found here and the January 5, 2010 press release accompanying the report can be found here.
A Closer Look at the 2009 Securities Lawsuits
What a difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago, the subprime and credit crisis litigation wave was in full spate, and the onslaught of Madoff and other Ponzi scheme cases had just begun to surge. And while both of these lawsuit filing trends continued well into 2009, by year’s end both of these phenomena
NERA Releases 2009 Securities Litigation Study
On December 15, 2009, NERA Economic Consulting released its annual study of securities class action litigation trends. The study, entitled "Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: 2009 Year-End Update," and written by my friends Stephanie Plancich and Svetlana Starykh, can be found here. The study concludes that, notwithstanding the decline in credit
NERA Releases SEC Settlement Trends Update
On December 7, 2009, NERA released its most recent update on trends in the numbers and values of settlements of SEC enforcement actions. The latest study, which is as of September 30, 2009 and complete through the end of the SEC’s 2009 fiscal year, shows that the number of settlements during the year declined for
Bankruptcy Filings Continue to Surge
Bankruptcy cases filed in the U.S. federal courts continued to surge in the twelve months ended September 30, 2009, according to statistics released on November 25, 2009 by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The statistical release, which can be found here, shows that for year ending on September 30, 2009, there
Securities Suit Filings Rebound in Third Quarter
After a brief lull during the second quarter, securities class action lawsuit filings during the third quarter were closer to historical norms, although the filings levels did drop again during September.
By my count, there were 49 new securities class action lawsuits during the third quarter. For reasons discussed below, my count could
The List: ERISA Class Action Lawsuit Settlements
As D&O maven Dan Bailey noted in a recent memo (here), ERISA class action litigation represents a significant and growing liability exposure for benefit plan fiduciaries. With the recent addition of the $70.5 million settlement in the Tyco ERISA class action lawsuit (about which refer here) and the $55 million settlement in
NERA Releases Mid-Year 2009 Securities Litigation Study
On July 27, 2009, NERA Economic Consulting became the latest to publish a mid-year analysis of the year to date securities litigation developments. The NERA report, written by Stephanie Plancich and Svetlana Starykh, is entitled "Recent Trends in Securities Class Actions Litigation: 2009 Mid-Year Update," and can be found here. The NERA Report
Lawsuits May Be Down, But the Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Haven’t Gone Away
As I have shown (Second Quarter Securities Lawsuit Filings Dip
While the number of securities class action filings through the year’s first half still project to an annualized filing rate consistent with historical averages, there was a noticeable slackening in the number of new securities lawsuits filed as the second quarter of 2009 progressed. New filings in the second quarter were well below the number