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In my recent write-up about the number of securities class action lawsuit filings in the first half of 2025, I noted that there had been a significant drop off in the number of COVID-19-related securities suit filings in the first six months of 2025 compared to last year. The interesting thing is that though there has been an unmistakable drop off in the number of COVID-related securities suit filings, the fact is that now – even after more than five years since the initial COVID outbreak in the U.S. — new COVID-related securities suits are still being filed. In the latest example, late last month a shareholder filed a securities suit against Petco Health and Wellness, alleging the pet supply company had misleadingly contended that the company’s pandemic-related tailwinds could be sustained post-pandemic. A copy of the new Petco complaint can be found here.Continue Reading Pet Supply Company Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit

In recent months, a number of companies have been hit with AI-washing securities class action lawsuits alleging that the defendant companies overstated their AI-related capabilities or opportunities (such as, for example, the securities suit filed late last week against Tempus AI, as discussed here). While there have been quite a number of AI-washing related securities suits, I have long though that the larger and longer-term AI-related securities litigation risk is not as much with respect to allegations that companies overstated their AI capabilities, as from allegations that companies understated their AI-related risks.

In a new securities class action lawsuit that reflects these latter kinds of risk, last week a plaintiff shareholder sued online platform Reddit, alleging that the company misled investors by downplaying the impact on the company’s site traffic and ad revenue from Google’s adoption of artificial intelligence search results. As discussed below, these kinds of AI-risk related allegations could represent a potential new area of AI-related securities litigation risk. A copy of the June 18, 2025, complaint against Reddit can be found here.Continue Reading Reddit Downplayed Impact of Google’s AI-Related Changes, Suit Alleges

In the latest AI-washing related securities class action lawsuit to be filed, a plaintiff shareholder has filed a securities suit against AI-based health care company Tempus AI, alleging, among other things, that the company overstated its AI capabilities. The lawsuit comes after the company’s share price declined following the publication of a short seller report critical of the company and its management. A copy of the June 12, 2025, complaint against Tempus AI can be found here.Continue Reading AI-Washing Securities Suit Filed Against Tempus AI

Among the many executive orders launched at the outset of the current Trump administration was the January 23, 2025 Executive Order that declared the administration’s commitment to maintaining the U.S. at the “forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.” The Executive Order set out the administration’s commitment to removing policies and directives that “act as barriers to American AI innovation.”

The Executive Order meant a variety of things when it referred to removing barriers, and the statement does at least raise the question about what the administration’s – and in particular, the SEC’s – enforcement approach to AI will be, if the goal is to remove barriers. As discussed below, there are signs to suggest that the administration will continue to monitor and address AI-related misrepresentations, notwithstanding its commitment to removing barriers to AI innovation.  Continue Reading What About AI-Related Enforcement Under the Trump Administration?

Two decisions last week by the New York Court of Appeals – New York’s highest court – may represent the end of plaintiffs’ lawyers’ recent attempts to turn the state’s courts into a focal point for derivative litigation involving non-U.S. companies. Both of the Court’s decisions affirmed the dismissals of derivative suits that had been filed in New York state court against directors of non-U.S. companies — Barclays and Bayer, respectively — asserting claims against them under their respective home countries’ laws. A copy of the court’s May 20, decision in the Barclays case can be found here. A copy of the court’s May 20 decision in the Bayer case can be found here.Continue Reading NY’s Highest Court Affirms Dismissals of Derivative Suits Involving Non-US Companies

Sarah Abrams

Litigation funding as a topic has been around for years, but it recently has been back in the headlines of the business pages. In light of the recent renewed focus on litigation funding, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, explores the background regarding litigation finance and considers the implications for D&O insurers. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest for this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article. Continue Reading Guest Post: Litigation Finance (Litigation Funding)

As part of our beat here at The D&O Diary, we read all of the new securities class action lawsuit complaints as they come in. As a result, we have become quite accustomed to the reality that, as Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine famously put it, “everything, everywhere is securities fraud.” But our experience did not quite prepare us for the new complaint filed earlier this week against UnitedHealth Group that works the CEO’s murder into the complaint’s allegations. A copy of the May 7, 2025, complaint filed against UnitedHealth can be found here.Continue Reading Event-Driven Litigation, Sure, But Even Where the Event is the CEO’s Murder?

As I noted in a recent post (here), even though we are now more than five years past the initial COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., companies continue to be hit with securities class action lawsuits alleging that the lingering effects of the pandemic’s disruption continue to affect their operations and financial results. The latest COVID-related securities lawsuit example provides an interesting variant on the typical allegations. The complaint in a new securities suit against pharma supply company West Pharmaceutical Services alleges not that the company failed to disclose the full impact of the pandemic on its operations and financial results, but rather that the company’s reports about the pandemic’s pervasive disruption masked other undisclosed customer losses.  A copy of the complaint against West can be found here.  Continue Reading Pharma Supply Company Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit

Long-time observers of securities class action litigation filing patterns know well that life sciences companies are frequent targets of securities suit, reflecting a litigation frequency pattern that has been well-established for years. While in more recent years the overall number of securities suits filed against life sciences has shown a marginal decline, in 2024, the number of securities suits filed against life sciences companies increased to the highest level in several years, according to the latest annual report from the Sidley law firm. A copy of the law firm’s recent memo, entitled “Securities Class Actions in the Life Sciences Sector: 2024 Annual Survey” can be found here. A two-page summary of the report can be found here.Continue Reading A Detailed Look at the 2024 Securities Litigation Against Life Sciences Companies

The number of securities class action lawsuit settlements increased in 2024 compared to the year prior, but the median, total, and average settlement amounts decreased during the year, according to a new report from Cornerstone Research. Cornerstone Research’s March 26, 2025 press release about the report can be found here. The report itself, which is entitled “Securities Class Action Settlements — 2024 Review and Analysis,” can be found here.Continue Reading More Securities Suit Settlements in 2024, Settlement Amounts Decline