litigation trends

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As I have noted in recent posts (most recently here), a few of the many SPAC-related securities lawsuits that have been filed in the last 18 months are so are reaching the dismissal motion stage, and in at least some cases the dismissal motions are being denied, at least in part. In the latest example, the federal judge presiding over the SPAC-related securities class action lawsuit involving commercial space travel firm Momentus and Stable Road Acquisition Corp, its SPAC partner, as well as the SPAC sponsor and certain SPAC executives, has largely denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss. As discussed below, the securities suit may be unusual in that it was only filed after the SEC launched a securities enforcement action against the same entities and individuals and involving the same allegations; however, the court’s rulings nevertheless may have some implications for the many other pending SPAC-related suits.
Continue Reading Securities Suit Against SPAC and SPAC Merger Target Largely Survives Dismissal Motion

It is so interesting to me that, notwithstanding the passage of time since the initial coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. in March 2020, plaintiff shareholders continue to file COVID-19-related securities class action lawsuits — as we saw, for example, in the infrastructure overcapacity lawsuit filed last week against Amazon. In yet another case showing how COVID-related concerns are continuing to roil companies and attract securities suits, earlier this week a plaintiff shareholder filed a securities class action lawsuit against developmental-stage pharmaceutical company Molecular Partners AG in part owing to setbacks the company encountered in its efforts to develop a COVID-19 treatment candidate. A copy of the July 12, 2022 lawsuit filed against Molecular Partners can be found here.
Continue Reading Drug Development Company Hit with COVID-19-Related Securities Suit

As readers of this blog well know, over the last 18 months or so there has been an onslaught of SPAC-related securities class action litigation. Most of these cases have only just been filed and therefore have not yet reached the motion to dismiss stage. However, a number of the earlier filed cases are now reaching that dismissal motion stage, and although the results so far are mixed, some of the cases are surviving the initial pleading hurdles, at least in part.

On July 1 ,2022, and in the latest example of a SPAC-related securities suit surviving the dismissal motion at least in part, Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston partially denied the motion to dismiss in the SPAC-related securities suit filed against Velodyne Lidar and certain of the executives of the SPAC into which Velodyne merged. As discussed below, there are several interesting features of Judge Illston’s opinion, a copy of which can be found here.
Continue Reading SPAC-Related Securities Suit Partially Survives Dismissal Motion

It has been well over two years since the initial coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., but the pandemic continues to affect businesses. Many companies that found themselves making business decisions at the outset of the pandemic are still dealing with the consequences of those decisions. In at least some cases, the consequences from those business decisions are leading to securities class action litigation, as the lawsuit filed this week against Amazon shows.
Continue Reading Amazon Hit With Securities Suit Over Pandemic-Related Infrastructure Overcapacity

As readers of this blog know, as a follow-on effect to the massive wave of SPAC activity in the U.S., there has also been a surge of securities class action lawsuits involving companies that engaged in SPAC transactions. Many of these suits have only just been filed, so it is too early to tell how they will fare. But some of the cases are now reaching the motion to dismiss stage. If the recent motion to dismiss ruling in the SPAC-related lawsuit against mobile gaming technology company Skillz is any indication, many of these cases could encounter substantial hurdles as they go forward.
Continue Reading Motion to Dismiss Granted in SPAC-Related Securities Suit Against Gaming Company

The number of securities class action lawsuit filings in the first half of 2022 remained at the lower levels that prevailed last year and below the more elevated levels that prevailed during the period 2017-2020. Though the number of securities class action lawsuit filings in the year’s first six months is below the recent higher levels, the number of suits filed is still consistent with long-term averages. The difference in the number of filings so far this year and the elevated numbers during the recent period were both largely due to merger objection lawsuit filings patterns.
Continue Reading Pace of Securities Suit Filings in First Half 2022 Slightly Below Last Year’s Annual Level

In a recent post, I noted that while companies may face investor and regulator pressure to address ESG-related issues, ESG-related actions can also entail operational and financial risks — and litigation risks, as well. In the latest example of a company whose ESG-motivated actions went awry, leading to securities litigation, Wells Fargo has been sued in a securities class action lawsuit after media reports that its efforts to diversify its work force led to fake job interviews, allegedly contrary to the company’s disclosures concerning its diversity efforts. A copy of the June 28, 2022 complaint against Wells Fargo can be found here.
Continue Reading Another Example of ESG-Related Actions Leading to a Securities Lawsuit

According to a new report about SPACs and SPAC-related securities litigation, even though the market for SPAC IPOs may have cooled in recent months, SPAC-related litigation has “yet to heat up.” Indeed, according to the report, litigation involving the 977 SPACs that completed IPOs during the period January 2019 and April 2022 “may continue to grow over the next few years.” The report, which is entitled “SPAC Federal Securities Litigation Analysis” and was written by David P. Abel, Managing Attorney, U.S. Market Advisors Law Group PLLC, can be found here.
Continue Reading Further SPAC-Related Securities Litigation Filings Likely in the Months Ahead?

In an article published last month, the Wall Street Journal chronicled the difficulties that many of the SPACs launched during the SPAC IPO frenzy in late 2020 and early 2021 are having trying to identify a suitable merger target. Many of the SPACs, the article suggested, might be forced to liquidate; still others, the article suggested, could “pursue low-quality companies” as the SPAC sponsors seek to “stave off possible losses.” I had occasion to recall the Journal article as I read the allegations in a newly filed SPAC-related shareholder derivative suit. The new lawsuit illustrates the one of the types of litigation risk some SPACs could face as they mull last minute mergers before the approaching end of their 24-month search period.
Continue Reading Derivative Suit Alleges SPAC Merged with Company Outside the Targeted Industry

In the now more than two-and-a-quarter years since the initial COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., a significant number of COVID-related securities class action lawsuits have been filed. What is surprising is not that the suits have been filed; rather, it is that even at this late date, the COVID-related suits continue to be filed. As time has gone by, however, it has become increasingly challenging to say with clarity whether a particular lawsuit is or is not “COVID-related.” The securities class action lawsuit filed late last week against online information platform, Yext, illustrates the increasing difficulty of making the COVID-related categorization, as discussed below.
Continue Reading The Growing Challenge of Identifying COVID-Related Securities Suits