litigation trends

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cornerstone reserach pdfOne of the most distinctive recent developments in the litigation environment has been the rise of merger objection litigation, in which nearly every merger attracted at least one lawsuit challenging the transaction. Many of these cases settled quickly based on the defendants’ agreement to make additional transaction-related disclosures and to pay the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees. However, in a series of rulings culminating in the January 2016 ruling in the Trulia case, the Delaware Court of Chancery has shown its disapproval of the disclosure-only settlement model. It now appears that as a result of the Chancery Court developments that fewer mergers are attracting lawsuits and fewer lawsuits overall are being filed.

As detailed in an August 2, 2016 report from Cornerstone Research entitled “Shareholder Litigation Involving Acquisition of Public Companies: Review of 2015 and 1H 2016 M&A Litigation” (here), the percentage of merger transactions attracting litigation began to fall to the lowest levels in years during the second half of 2015, and the litigation dropped even further in the first half of 2016, as detailed further below. Cornerstone Research’s August 2, 2016 press release about the report can be found here.
Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: Since Trulia, Merger Objection Lawsuit Filings Have Plunged

cornerstone reserach pdfSecurities class action lawsuit filings in the first half of 2016 leapt to their highest level in years, according to a recent report from Cornerstone Research. According to the report, which is entitled “Securities Class Action Filings: 2016 Midyear Assessment,” both the number of lawsuit filings and the rate of litigation were well above long-term historical semiannual averages in the first six months of 2016. The increases are attributable in part to the increase in federal court M&A-related securities litigation, as discussed below. The report can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s July 26, 2016 press release about the report can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s analysis is largely consistent with my own review of the first half securities suit filings, which can be found here.
Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: First Half Securities Suit Filings at Highest Level in Years

gavel2013Continuing 2015’s elevated pace, the number of securities class action lawsuit filings during the first half of 2016 accrued in numbers well above both historical averages and recent levels. The first half 2016 levels puts the securities suit filing activity on pace for the most active year for securities class action lawsuit filings since 2004.
Continue Reading Securities Class Action Lawsuit Filings Continue at Elevated Pace in the Year’s First Half

Klausner
Michael Klausner
Hegland
Jason Hegland

There have been a number of important developments in class action securities litigation case filings in the recent years. In the following guest post, Michael Klausner, Professor of Law, Stanford Law School, and Jason Hegland, Executive Director, Stanford Securities Litigation Analytics, using the Stanford Securities Litigation Analytics database, identify and review several of these developments. As their guest post explains, there have been a number of interesting changes with respect to the kinds of cases that are being filed, as well as with respect to who is filing them. I would like to thank Mike and Jason for their willingness to publish their 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 Mike and Jason’s guest post.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Deeper Trends in Securities Class Actions 2006-2015

japanAs 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

lifesciencesLife 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

floridaIn 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?

janusWhat 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

californiaOne 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 reserach pdfAggregate 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