Securities class action lawsuits were filed at a record pace in the first half of 2017, according to the latest report from Cornerstone Research. While the surge in securities suit filings is due in part to the rise of federal court merger objection lawsuit filings, both traditional securities suit filings and M&A filings were “at historic levels.” The Report, jointly prepared by Cornerstone Research in conjunction with the Stanford Securities Class Action Clearinghouse and entitled “Securities Class Action Filings – 2017 Mid-Year Assessment,” can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s July 25, 2017 press release about the report can be found here. My own analysis of the first half securities suit filings can be found here.
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Turning Events into Securities Suits
It may come as little surprise that litigation has emerged in the wake of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in London last month. Some may find it surprising, however, that among the lawsuits arising from the London building fire is a securities class action suit filed in the United States. The lawsuit is just the latest example of the follow-on securities suit, a phenomenon that, as discussed below, is one of several factors that helps explain the current elevated pace of securities class action lawsuit filings in the U.S.
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First Half 2017 Securities Suit Filings Continue at Exceptional Levels
Largely as a result of the continuing upsurge in the number of federal court merger objection lawsuits, securities class action lawsuits were filed at historic levels during the first half of 2017 and well above last year’s elevated pace. Though the number of filings in this year’s second quarter were slightly lower than in the first quarter, the total number of filings in the first six months of the year overall were on pace for the highest annual number of securities class action lawsuits since 2001.
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Record Number of Settlements Added to Top 100 Securities Suits Settlement List in 2016
Thirteen of the 100 all-time largest securities class action lawsuit settlements were finalized in 2016, the highest number of settlements during any one year period, according to a recent report from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). Two of the 2016 settlements among the top 100 were among the eleven largest of all times. The report, which also ranks the plaintiffs’ law firms by the number of top 100 settlements in which they were involve, entitled “The Top 100 U.S. Settlements of All Time,” can be found here.
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Guest Post: SEC Enforcement Data: Midyear Review
In the following guest post, Tammy Yuen and Ted Carleton of the Skarzynski Black law firm review and analyze the May 9, 2017 Cornerstone Research report entitled “SEC Enforcement Activity: Public Companies and Subsidiaries, Midyear FY 2017 Update” (here), which details the SEC’s enforcement activity during the first half of the current fiscal year. I would like to thank Tammy and Ted for their willingness to allow me to publish their article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Tammy and Ted’s guest post.
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PwC Annual Study Reports Record Number of Securities Suits
Largely driven by a “dramatic” increase in the number of federal court merger objection lawsuits, securities class action litigation filings rose to the highest level ever in 2016, according to PwC’s most recent annual securities litigation report. The report also noted that for the first time securities litigation rose though the stock market performance during the year did not, contrary to prior patterns. The April 2017 report, entitled “A Rising Tide or a Rogue Wave? 2016 Securities Litigation Study,” can be found here.
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Cornerstone Research: 2016 Accounting-Related Securities Suit Filings and Settlements Again Increased
According to Cornerstone Research’s latest annual survey of accounting-related securities suits, the number of accounting-related securities suit filings rose to the highest level in years in 2016, largely as a result of the number of federal court merger objection lawsuit filings involving accounting-related allegations during the year. The total value of accounting settlements during the year was also at the highest level in years. The Report, entitled “Accounting Class Action Filings and Settlements: 2016 Review and Analysis,” can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s April 5, 2017 press release about the report can be found here.
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Biotech Companies Sued Frequently But Do They Really Represent a Heightened Risk Class?
As has been documented on this blog and elsewhere, life sciences companies in general, and developmental stage biotechnology companies in particular, are frequent securities class action litigation targets. But does that really justify the perception of early stage biotech companies as representing a heightened securities litigation risk class for D&O insurers? A recent law firm paper contends that “contrary to popular belief, development stage biotech companies actually have less to fear from federal securities cases that do many other types of corporate defendants that have a far easier time securing insurance coverage.”
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Cornerstone Research: Securities Class Action Settlement Values Increased in 2016
The number of securities class action settlements as well as the aggregate, average, and median securities class action settlement values all increased in 2016 compared to the prior year, according to the latest annual report from Cornerstone Research. The report, entitled “Securities Class Action Settlements: 2016 Review and Analysis can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s March 15, 2017 press release regarding the report can be found here.
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How Will the Trump Administration Affect D&O Claims?
A recurring question – one that I am getting now on just about a daily basis – arises from concerns about the Trump administration’s possible impact on the world of directors’ and officers’ liability. Implicit in the question is the assumption that the new administration’s policies and actions will indeed affect D&O claims. While I agree with this assumption – that the new administration’s actions will have an impact–at this point it is still far too early to tell what that impact might be. For now, I think all we can do is watch some key indicators. In this blog post, I review what I think are the key indicators, and what the indicators may tell us about what lies ahead for D&O claims.
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