In early August 2023, wildfires broke out on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The wildfires caused the deaths of at least 115 people, and also caused massive property damage. In the aftermath, questions began to circulate about what had caused the fires. Among those under the spotlight is Hawaii’s largest electrical utility, Hawaiian Electric Industries. Indeed, on August 24, 2023, Maui County filed a lawsuit against the utility, alleging that its power lines caused the wildfire. With the adverse publicity, the utility’s share price has slumped. Now, a plaintiff shareholder has filed a securities lawsuit against the company. As discussed below, the new securities lawsuit may represent something of a prototype for future litigation involving companies whose business operations are disrupted by changing climate conditions and by the increase in extreme weather conditions and events. A copy of the securities suit complaint can be found here.Continue Reading Electric Utility Linked to Maui Wildfires Hit with Securities Suit

Long-time readers know that a litigation phenomenon on which I have frequently commented is the filing of securities class action lawsuits in the wake of antitrust enforcement actions. These follow-on civil actions represent something of a translation of an antitrust matter into a securities lawsuit. In the latest example of this phenomenon, a plaintiff shareholder has filed a securities suit against the concert company Live Nation following news reports of an imminent U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit against the company and its ticketing service Ticketmaster relating to allegations that the concert company pressures clients to use the ticketing service. The new lawsuit raises a number of interesting issues, as discussed below. A copy of the August 4, 2023 complaint can be found here.Continue Reading Antitrust Enforcement Leads to Follow-On Securities Suit Against Live Nation

The number of federal court securities class action lawsuit filings in the first half of 2023, if annualized, suggests a year-end total number of filings that would represent a 15% increase over the number of filings in 2022, according to a new report from NERA Economic Consulting. The report, which is entitled “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: H1 2023 Update,” also reports that while average securities suits settlement values were down in the year’s first half compared to 2022, the median suit settlement increased compared to 2022. A copy of the August 2, 2023, NERA report can be found here. NERA’s August 2, 2023 press release regarding the report can be found here. Continue Reading NERA: First Half Securities Suit Filings Point to Overall Full-Year Increase

Earlier this year, challenges arising from rising interest rates, as well as concerns surrounding liquidity and other issues, led to three of the largest banking failures in U.S. history. The three that failed were not the only banks facing challenges in the rising interest rate environment, and while there have been no further failures since May, questions from the turbulence earlier this year remain for many banks. Now, in a sign that these kinds of challenges and questions can lead to securities litigation even in the absence of bank failure, a plaintiff shareholder has filed a securities class action lawsuit against KeyCorp (the bank holding company of KeyBank) after questions about the bank’s liquidity and interest rate income in a rising interest rate environment caused a drop in the company’s share price. A copy of the August 4, 2023, complaint filed against Key can be found here.Continue Reading Liquidity and Interest Income Concerns Draw Securities Suit Against Bank

In a milestone development in the long-running Dutch collective investor action brought against Petrobras and related entities, a Netherlands court has ruled on the merits in favor of the Foundation bringing the action on behalf of investors, holding that Petrobras harmed investors by publishing misleading financial information. Though the case is not done – the Court will next consider certain legal issues pertaining to the investors’ claimed damages – the Court’s recent ruling is an important step in this significant and high-profile case. An English translation of the Court’s July 26, 2023, judgment can be found here. The July 26, 2023, press release of the International Securities Association & Foundations Management Company, the administrator of the Foundation brining the action, which summarizes the rulings in the Court’s judgment, can be found here.Continue Reading Dutch Court Enters Interim Merits Judgment in Favor of Petrobras Investors

Earlier this week (here), I noted the securities class action lawsuit that a plaintiff shareholder filed against AT&T in the wake of the Wall Street Journal’s series of articles about the network of lead telephone cables in the U.S. Now, another plaintiff has initiated a separate but parallel lawsuit against Verizon. This latest lawsuit, which was filed by the same plaintiff law firm as filed the AT&T lawsuit, alleges that Verizon was aware of but failed to disclose to investors the risks and hazards the company faced owing to its ownership of the lead telephone cables. A copy of the August 1, 2023, complaint against Verizon can be found here.Continue Reading Verizon Hit with Lead Telephone Cable-Related Securities Suit

The COVID-19-related public health crisis ended earlier this year; the CDC declared the end of the public health emergency in May. While the pandemic may be over, many of the changes that the pandemic wrought remain. Some of these changes resulted in significant alterations to the operating environment for many businesses. The difficulties that businesses face in trying to adapt to the new environment has, in turn, and at least for some businesses, translated into securities lawsuits. The latest example of this phenomenon is the lawsuit filed last week against clinical trial company Syneos, whose business operations were not only disrupted by the pandemic, but also changed in ways that caused ongoing disruption the company’s business and financial results. The lawsuit alleges that the company and its executives misrepresented both the company’s response to the pandemic and to the changed business circumstances the company faced due to the pandemic. A copy of the July 27, 2023, complaint filed against the company can be found here.Continue Reading Clinical Trials Company Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit

The number of federal and state court securities class action lawsuits filed in the first six months of 2023 was up compared to the number of filings in the second half of 2022, but in line with the number of filings in the first half of 2022 as well as with the long-term half-year average number of filings, according to the latest report from Cornerstone Research. The report, written in conjunction with the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, is entitled “Securities Class Action Filings: 2023 Midyear Assessment,” and can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s July 20, 2023, press release about the report can be found here.Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: 1H23 Securities Suit Filings Increased Relative to 2H22

From the very beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, one related phenomena that immediately became apparent was the emergence of coronavirus-related securities class action lawsuits and other corporate and securities litigation. I have been tracking the COVID-related securities litigation since the very beginning, and now, even though we are now well into the pandemic’s fourth year, the COVID-related securities suits are continuing to be filed. In the latest example of a COVID-related securities suit filing, a plaintiff shareholder this week sued Danaher Corporation for the company’s disclosures related to the impact of the pandemic on the company’s sales. This latest filing suggests that the COVID-19-related securities litigation phenomenon may have further to go yet. A copy of the complaint in the new lawsuit against Danaher can be found here.Continue Reading Danaher Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit Filing

In my 2022 year-end wrap up of D&O insurance developments, I identified macroeconomic factors as among the sources of D&O claims during the past year including, among other things, interest rate increases, economic inflation, labor supply and supply chain disruption, and the Ukraine War. In various posts this year, I have noted that these factors continue to affect companies and to contribute to the number of securities class action lawsuit filings. In the latest example of the way in which these macroeconomic factors can translate into securities litigation, the drug and healthcare company Baxter International was sued last week due to the decline in the company’s share price after the company’s announcement that continuing supply chain woes were setting back its operations and financial results more significantly than the company had anticipated. The new lawsuit shows that macroeconomic factors such as supply chain constraints are continuing to contribute to securities lawsuit filings. A copy of the July 12, 2023, complaint against Baxter can be found here.Continue Reading Baxter Hit with Supply Chain-Related Securities Class Action Lawsuit