The number of securities class action lawsuit filings rose slightly in 2014 compared to 2013, although the number of filings during the year was below longer term annual average number of filings. Companies in the life sciences sector were particularly hard hit, as were companies in the computer services and in the financial services and
ACA Employer Mandates and Potential Liability Issues
The employer mandate provisions of the Affordable Care Act – better known as Obamacare – are among the more controversial parts of the legislation. The mandates were originally scheduled to go into effect in 2014, but after lobbying efforts from various business groups, the mandates’ effective dates were postponed. However, for many employers, the mandates
Two Recent Massive Merger Objection Lawsuit Settlements Include Significant D&O Insurer Contributions
One of the great litigation curses in recent times in the corporate litigation arena has been the rise of merger objection litigation. These kinds of lawsuits, which these days arise in connection with almost every M&A transaction, often are settled for nothing more than an agreement to make additional disclosures and to pay the
SEC: Number of Whistleblower Reports Continues to Increase
The number of whistleblower reports to the SEC increased again in the latest fiscal year, according to the annual report of the SEC whistleblower office. The report, which the SEC is required by the Dodd-Frank Act to provide to Congress annually, is entitled the “2014 Annual Report to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program” and
A Whole Bunch of Interesting Litigation and Enforcement Statistics and Analyses
A single case may involve a host of interesting issues but sometimes the important lessons can only be discerned when many cases are considered collectively. This past week saw the release of some interesting analyses of aggregate litigation and enforcement statistics, each set of which told some interesting tales to tell and identified some important
Advisen Releases Third Quarter Corporate and Securities Claims Trends Report
Continuing an recent downward trend, corporate and securities litigation filings during the third quarter declined, both compared to the prior quarter and compared to the third quarter last year, according a new report from Advisen, the insurance information firm. In its report, entitled “D&O Claims Trends: Q3 2014” (available here), Advisen reports that corporate
More Shareholder Litigation Involving Corporate Inversion Transactions
One of the more distinctive business trends in recent months has been the surge of so-called corporate inversion transactions, in which a domestic U.S. company merges with a non-U.S. company, with the the successor company to be based in the foreign country in order to take advantage of a more favorable corporate tax regime. These
InSights: What to Watch in the World of D&O
Every year 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. In the latest issue of InSights (here), I review this year’s survey. Once again, there are a host of things worth watching in
IPO-Related Securities Litigation Picks Up
In several posts of the last several months (most recently here), I have commented that with the increased number of IPOs, an increase in IPO-related securities litigation would likely follow. If the securities litigation filing activity over the last couple of weeks is any indication, the anticipated increase in IPO-related securities litigation has arrived.
What to Watch 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.
What Will