The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes continues to agitate the employment practices litigation arena while at the same time both EEOC enforcement activity and wage and hour litigation continue to surge, according to the annual review of workplace litigation by the Seyfarth Shaw law firm. The law firm’s January
Fourth Quarter Slowdown Drives Decline in 2012 Securities Class Action Filings
Largely as a result of a slowdown in new filings during the fourth quarter, 2012 securities class action lawsuit filings were below the filing levels of recent years and below historical averages. Filing levels remained elevated in the natural resources, life sciences and computer services industries, and filings against non-U.S. companies, though off from 2011
Cornerstone: FDIC D&O Lawsuit Filings Increased During Fourth Quarter
The FDIC’s filing of lawsuits against former directors and officers of failed banks increased “markedly” during the fourth quarter of 2012 after a “lull” during the second and third quarters of the year, according to a new study from Cornerstone Research. The study, released December 18, 2012 and entitled “Characteristics of FDIC Lawsuits Against Directors
NERA: Securities Suit Filings Stable, But Settlements and Dismissals Are Down
New securities class action lawsuit filing levels were comparable to historical norms during 2012, but the number of settlements and of dismissals were both down for the year, according to the analysis and projections of NERA Economic Consulting in their December 11, 2012 publication “Flash Update: 2012 Trends in Securities Class Actions” (here).
Are the New Wave Say-on-Pay Lawsuits “Gaining Steam”?
As discussed in an earlier guest post on this site (here), entrepreneurial plaintiffs’ lawyers seem to have hit upon a new way to extract a fee from the fights over executive compensation. This new wave of executive comp suits, in which the plaintiff’s seek to enjoin upcoming shareholder votes on compensation or employee
InSights: “What to Watch Now in the World of D&O”
Every fall, I assemble a list of the current hot topics in the world of Directors and Officers (D&O) Liability Insurance. While the past 12 months have not seen as many headline-grabbing D&O related events as in some past years, the issues that are currently unfolding have had a significant impact on the marketplace. In
M&A Lawsuits after the Merger Closes
As I have frequently noted on this blog (most recently here), one of the most distinctive litigation phenomenon has been the rise in litigation involving M&A activity. It has gotten to the point that virtually every merger now also involves a lawsuit (or, more often, multiple suits). These cases have proven attractive to plaintiffs&rsquo
NERA Releases Study of Securities Suits against Non-U.S. Companies
The volume of securities litigation against non-U.S. companies has ‘reached record levels” despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank, according to a recent report from NERA Economic Consulting. The report, written by Robert Patton of NERA, and entitled “Recent Trends in U.S. Securities Class Actions Against Non-U.S.
With More Third-Year Anniversaries Looming, Is the FDIC Ramping Up the Failed Bank Litigation?
After a nearly three-month period in which the FDIC filed no new lawsuits against the former directors and officers of a failed bank, the agency has in recent days filed two new suits, both involving banks that were approaching the third anniversary of their closure. The FDIC’s latest lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of
What to Watch Now in the World of D&O
Every fall since I first started writing this blog, I have assembled a list of the current hot topics in the world of directors’ and officers’ liability. This year’s list is set out below. As should be obvious, there is a lot going on right now in the world of D&O, with further changes just