For some time now, some observers had been predicting that we would be seeing a bunch of data breach-related securities class action lawsuits, but the predicted wave never seemed to materialize. However, with a recent uptick in these kinds of cases, that could be changing. On October 8, 2018, in the latest of these kinds of lawsuits to be filed, a plaintiff shareholder filed a securities class action lawsuit against China-based Huazhu Group. As discussed below, there are a number of interesting features of this latest data breach-related securities suit.
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Educational Services Company Hit With Data Breach-Related Securities Suit
One of the most-watched corporate and securities litigation trends in recent years has been the incidence of D&O claims after companies experience data breaches. Although there have been a number of high profile claims along the way, the volume of data breach-related D&O claims has never quite lived up to the hype. Just the same, these kinds of claims have continued to be filed. The most recent case is a securities class action lawsuit that has now been filed against educational services company Chegg, Inc., after its recent announcement of a data breach involving customer data. The Chegg lawsuit, filed on September 27, 2018 in the Northern District of California, can be found here.
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Plaintiff’s Sexual Assault Complaint Asserts Claims Against Michigan State’s Board of Trustees
Stories of alleged sexual misconduct have dominated recent headlines. Allegations of sexual assault raised against Supreme Court Brett Kavanagh have been the lead story all week, and there has also been extensive coverage of the criminal sentencing of Bill Cosby for sexual assault. These stories arise as part of a broader series of revelations of sexual misconduct involving media figures, politicians, and corporate executives.
In the midst of this depressing litany one of the most disturbing sets of disclosures has been the revelations of the sexual misconduct involving former Michigan State University and U.S. Olympic gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar. Allegations relating to Nassar are back in the news again because of a new lawsuit a former MSU athlete has filed. The plaintiff’s allegations raise a number of issues. As discussed below, the new complaint contains extensive allegations against MSU’s Board of Trustees, underscoring how the allegations raised in the current wave of sexual misconduct allegations can lead to claims against organization’s directors and officers.
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Plaintiffs Files Cannabis-Related Securities Class Action Lawsuits
For those of us involved in day to day D&O insurance transactions, it is a recognized fact that cannabis-related companies represent a tough class of insurance business. Different insurers take different approaches to the business, but at best it is a risk class that most carriers approach warily. There are reasons for the caution, mostly having to do with questions relating to legality across and between jurisdictions. The question of potential claims is a little less certain, as there arguably are relatively few claims examples. However, a recent securities class action lawsuit involving a Canadian-based cannabis business may provide some insight into the kinds of claims in which these kinds of companies may become involved – at least those that are publicly traded.
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Guest Post: Cyber and Privacy Risks: The Next Australian Securities Litigation Frontier?
As readers of this blog know, data breach, cyber, and privacy-related issues have become a new important area of securities class action litigation in the U.S. In the following guest post, Andrew Miers, Jason Symons, and Shonagh Rasmussen of the HWL Ebsworth law firm review the possibilities or this type of securities lawsuit in Australia. I would like to thank the authors for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the authors’ guest post.
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What to Watch Now in the World of D&O
Every year just after Labor Day, I take a step back and survey the most important current trends and developments in the world of Directors’ and Officers’ liability and D&O insurance. This year’s survey is set out below. Once again, there are a host of things worth watching in the world of D&O.
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While You Were Out
September is here. Labor Day has come and gone. Time to put away the swim trunks, parasols, flip flops, bungee cords, ukuleles, sun screen, boomerangs, bongos, snorkels, vorpal blades, and unicycles, and get back to work. Yes, it is time to answer all those emails and return all of those phone messages. And most importantly of all, it is time to catch up on what has been happening in the world of directors’ and officers’ liability and insurance. Here is what happened while you were out.
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Yet Another D&O Claim Arising out of Revelations of Sexual Misconduct
As I have noted in recent posts, the #MeToo movement has led to a number of D&O lawsuits as the accountability process has led not only to claims against the wrongdoers but also against the wrongdoers’ company and other company executives for turning a blind eye or failing to disclose the problems. On August 30, 2018, in the latest of these D&O claims arising out of revelations of sexual misconduct, investors filed a securities class action lawsuit against Papa John’s International, following news reports of sexual harassment at the company involving the company’s founder and former CEO and Chairman, John H. Schantter, as well as other executives at the company.
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Is Litigation Financing “The New Black”?
Litigation financing is one of the most important recent developments in the global claims arena. There is a very simple reason why it has become an increasingly important phenomenon, and that is because it is so highly remunerative. An August 27, 2018 Bloomberg article entitled “For the World’s Super Rich, Litigation Funding is the New Black” (here) takes an interesting look at the recent growth in litigation funding, as well as the reasons for and consequences of the growth. According to the article, for many institutional investors and other sources of investment capital, litigation funding is now viewed as just another asset class, albeit one with superior returns (for now, at least). The question is whether all of the current litigation financing fund raising is shrinking the opportunities and possible future returns.
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Investor Files Sexual Misconduct-Related Securities Suit Against CBS
As I have noted in prior posts, one of the noteworthy aspects of the whole #MeToo movement has been that the accountability efforts have included not only claims against the wrongdoers themselves, but also against the wrongdoers’ companies and company executives for enabling the misconduct or turning a blind eye. In the latest of these kinds of sexual misconduct-related lawsuit, a CBS shareholder has filed a securities class action lawsuit against CBS Corporation based on revelations that the company’s CEO, Leslie Moonves, allegedly engaged in sexual harassment at the company. The lawsuit underscores the fact that revelations of sexual misconduct represent an emerging area of corporate liability.
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