Without a doubt, during 2014, cyber security emerged as one of the critical topics for discussion. In the following guest post, Bill Boeck, who is senior legal and claim resource worldwide for cyber and executive risk coverages and claims at Lockton Financial Service, takes a look at the top cyber risk developments to watch in
litigation trends
Advisen Releases 2014 Corporate and Securities Litigation Report
New corporate and securities lawsuit filings and enforcement actions were down for the third consecutive year in 2014, according to the latest annual report from the insurance information firm, Advisen. According to the report, which is entitled “D&O Claims Trends: 2014 End of Year Wrap-Up,” and which can be found here, the decrease in …
NERA Securities Litigation Report: Filings Flat, Number and Value of Settlements Plunge
The number of securities class action filings in 2014 was level with recent years’ filings but the number and dollar value of settlements during the year plunged, according to the latest annual report from NERA Economic Consulting. This year’s report is quite detailed and contains a number of new analyses of lawsuit filings and case …
Massive and Unusual Freeport-McMoRan Derivative Lawsuit Settlement Finalized
The parties to the Freeport-McMorRan Copper & Gold, Inc. Derivative Litigation have finalized an agreement to settle the consolidated litigation pending in the Delaware Chancery Court in exchange for a payment of $137.5 million and for the company’s agreement to adopt certain corporate governance reforms. The settlement represents the third largest derivative lawsuit settlement ever. …
The Top Ten D&O Stories of 2014
The year just ended was an eventful one in the world of directors’ and officers’ liability. Many of the year’s key events represented significant changes in the D&O liability environment. Many of the changes during 2014 have important implications for 2015 – and possibly for years to come. The list of the Top Ten D&O …
Securities Lawsuit Filings Increase Slightly in 2014
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 …