As I have previously noted, the prevalence of misrepresentation-related securities litigation in Japan increased significantly after the 2004 revisions to the Japanese securities laws. The increase largely has been due to the legislative changes and to a number of high-profile accounting and financial scandals. There are features of the Japanese law that, according to a recent review, make Japan “an attractive forum for securities litigation.” However, claimants still face a number of hurdles, as a result of which, according to a recent academic study, securities litigation in Japan “is still not a widespread phenomenon.” The June 15, 2016 Law 360 article entitled “A Look at Shareholder Remedies in Japan,” can be found here. University of Tokyo Professor Gen Goto’s January 2016 article “Growing Securities Litigation Against Issuers in Japan: Its Background and Reality” can be found here.
Continue Reading Securities Litigation in Japan
Securities Litigation and Life Sciences Companies: An Update
Life sciences companies are among the most frequent targets of securities class action litigation as I noted in a recent post. However, according to a recent law firm report, life sciences company defendants fared well in securities litigation in 2015. The recently released report, written by the Sidley Austin law firm and entitled “Securities Class Actions in the Life Sciences Sector: 2015 Annual Survey,” can be found here. This comprehensive report reviews all of the district court and appellate court decisions in 2015 in securities class action lawsuits pending against life sciences companies, and also reviews the new securities suits that were filed in 2015 against life sciences companies. The report provides a broad overview of the important issues involved with securities class against litigation against life sciences companies.
Continue Reading Securities Litigation and Life Sciences Companies: An Update
After the Hulk Hogan Lawsuit Funding Flap, Is it Time for a Look at Litigation Financing Regulation?
In recent years, one of the most important developments in litigation in the U.S. has been the rise of the litigation funding industry. Indeed, the industry’s rise has more recently been fueled by increasing investor interest, even as the industry itself has diversified into lawsuit portfolio investing (as opposed to individual-case investing). The industry’s rise and increasing importance already had attracted scrutiny and criticism, but nothing compared to the deluge of attention that has followed revelations that Hulk Hogan’s privacy litigation against Internet scandal site Gawker was funded by Silicon Valley mogul Peter Thiel. The news about Thiel’s financial involvement has produced a cascade of commentary about litigation funding, which in turn has arguably put the litigation industry on the defensive. The news has also fueled a debate about whether there should be more transparency about litigation funding, and even whether there should be other litigation funding industry regulation, as discussed below.
Continue Reading After the Hulk Hogan Lawsuit Funding Flap, Is it Time for a Look at Litigation Financing Regulation?
Divided Loyalties? Defense Counsel in M&A Litigation
What is the role of defense counsel in deal litigation? What impact does the involvement of “top” deal litigation firms have on lawsuit outcomes? And what will the impact on deal litigation be from the advent of forum selection by-laws and the recent court crackdown on disclosure-only settlements? These are the questions addressed in an interesting May 2, 2016 paper entitled “Divided Loyalties? The Role of Defense Litigation Counsel in Shareholder M&A Litigation” (here), by C.N.V. Krishnan of Case Western Reserve University; Steven Davidoff Solomon of University of California Berkeley Law School; and Randall Thomas of Vanderbilt Law School. A summary of their paper appears in a May 23, 2016 post on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation (here).
Continue Reading Divided Loyalties? Defense Counsel in M&A Litigation
Guest Post: IPO Companies, Section 11 Suits, and California State Court
One of the interesting (and challenging) quirks of the federal securities laws is that Section 22 of the ’33 Act provides concurrent state court jurisdiction for liability actions under the Act. Many courts have taken the view that legislation subsequent to the ’33 Act preempts state court jurisdiction under Section 22, as discussed here. While the courts continue to struggle with the preemption question, some plaintiffs are continuing to file ’33 Act actions in state court, particularly in California.
In the following guest post, Priya Cherian Huskins, Donna Moser, and Vysali Soundararajan of Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. take a look at these state court securities lawsuits, and in particular at the recently increased numbers of state court filings in California, as well as the practical implications. I would like to thank Priya, Donna and Vysali for their willingness to publish their article on my 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 Priya, Donna, and Vysali’s guest post.
Continue Reading Guest Post: IPO Companies, Section 11 Suits, and California State Court
Cornerstone Research: Aggregate and Average Securities Suit Settlements Surged in 2015
Aggregate and average securities class action lawsuit settlements increased significantly in 2015 compared to the year before, according to the latest annual report from Cornerstone Research. Among reasons for the increase in aggregate settlement amounts is the increase in the absolute number of settlements during the year. The increase in the average settlement amount is largely attributable to an increase in the number of “mega” settlements. While overall and average settlement amounts increased during the year, the number of smaller settlements also increased, and median settlement amounts held steady. The Cornerstone Research report, entitled “Securities Class Action Settlements: 2015 Review and Analysis,” can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s March 29, 2016 press release about the report can be found here.
Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: Aggregate and Average Securities Suit Settlements Surged in 2015
Guest Post: Seven Lessons Learned from D&O Litigation During the Financial Crisis
The financial crisis generated a great deal of litigation, much involving the directors and officers of companies affected by the crisis. As the crisis recedes further into the past and as the litigation it generated winds down, it is worth taking a look at what happened to determine what can be learned from the litigation. In the following guest post, Dennis Klein of the Hughes Hubbard & Reed law firm provides an overview of what he views as the takeaways for corporate directors and officers from the financial crisis D&O litigation. A longer version of this article will appear in the April 2016 issue of The Review of Banking and Financial Services. I would like to thank Dennis for his willingness to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to readers of this site. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Dennis’s guest post.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Seven Lessons Learned from D&O Litigation During the Financial Crisis
Guest Post: Year in Review: Securities Litigation
This past year was an eventful one in the corporate and securities litigation arena, with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Omnicare case, important rulings in the lower courts applying the Supreme Court’s Halliburton II decision, and a host of other important decision on critical securities law issues. In the following memorandum from the Haynes and Boone law firm, attorneys from the firm’s Securities and Shareholder Litigation group take a look at the important securities litigation developments during 2015. I would like to thank the firm and the group for their willingness to publish their memorandum on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to readers of this site. Please contact me directly if you are interested in submitting a guest post. Here is the Haynes and Boone firm’s memorandum.
*********************************************
Each year our Year in Review comments on significant securities-related decisions by the Supreme Court, federal appellate courts and district courts, notes key developments in SEC enforcement, and summarizes significant rulings in state law fiduciary litigation against directors and officers of public companies.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Year in Review: Securities Litigation
Securities Suit Frequency Means Challenging D&O Insurance Market for Life Sciences Companies
In 2015, as was the case for several years prior, companies in the life sciences sector experienced a disproportionately greater number of securities class action lawsuits than companies in other industries. As I detailed in my analysis of 2015 securities class action lawsuit filings (here), 39 of the 191 securities class action lawsuits filed in 2015 involved companies in the life sciences sector, representing about one in five of all securities suit filings during the year. No other sector experienced anywhere near this number of securities class action lawsuit flings. For example, the sector with the second-most number of filings, software companies, had eleven filings during 2015, representing about 6% of securities suit filings during the year.
There are a number of reasons why there are more securities suit filings involving life sciences companies, as discussed below. The frequency and severity of lawsuits against companies in the life sciences sector have important D&O Insurance implications as well, as also discussed below.
Continue Reading Securities Suit Frequency Means Challenging D&O Insurance Market for Life Sciences Companies
NERA: Canadian Securities Class Action Filings in 2015 at Lowest Level in Years
In the United States, securities class action lawsuit filings were at their highest level in years in 2015. The situation in Canada during 2015 was completely the opposite. According to a February 11, 2016 report from NERA Economic Consulting, securities class action lawsuit filings in Canada during 2015 were at their lowest levels since 2003. According to the report, which is entitled “Trends in Canadian Securities Class Actions: 2015,” and subtitled “Are We in Bear Territory?” (here), there were only four securities class action lawsuits filed in Canada in 2015, well below the levels seen in recent years and well below historical averages. Indeed, according to the report, case resolutions far outpaced new filings in 2015. NERA’s February 11, 2016 press release about the report can be found here.
Continue Reading NERA: Canadian Securities Class Action Filings in 2015 at Lowest Level in Years