On July 27, 2009, NERA Economic Consulting became the latest to publish a mid-year analysis of the year to date securities litigation developments. The NERA report, written by Stephanie Plancich and Svetlana Starykh, is entitled "Recent Trends in Securities Class Actions Litigation: 2009 Mid-Year Update," and can be found here. The NERA Report
litigation trends
Lawsuits May Be Down, But the Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Haven’t Gone Away
Cornerstone Releases Mid-Year 2009 Securities Litigation Report
The 2009 securities lawsuit filings have been characterized by an overall decline in filing activity, particularly in the second quarter, as well as the continued prevalence of lawsuits against financial sector issuer-defendants, according to a July 20, 2009 study by the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse in cooperation with Cornerstone Research. The…
Second Quarter Securities Lawsuit Filings Dip
While the number of securities class action filings through the year’s first half still project to an annualized filing rate consistent with historical averages, there was a noticeable slackening in the number of new securities lawsuits filed as the second quarter of 2009 progressed. New filings in the second quarter were well below the number…
How Are Plaintiffs Faring in Credit Crisis Lawsuits? A Casino Counting Analysis
Most of the cases filed in the subprime and credit crisis-related litigation wave are still in their earliest stages, but as the early returns have trickled in, one recurring question as been how the cases are faring. More than once (refer here for example) I have questioned whether the plaintiffs are doing poorly in dismissal…
A Backlog of Securities Suits Against Companies Outside the Financial Sector?
By now, it is well-established that the recent heightened securities lawsuit filing activity has been largely concentrated in the financial sector. However, litigation involving companies in other sectors has by no means gone away. In addition, recent filings suggest that while the plaintiffs’ lawyers have been concentrating on the financial sector, a backlog of actions…
More About Life Sciences Companies and Securities Litigation
In prior posts (most recently here), I discussed the fact that while litigation against the financial sector has predominated recent securities lawsuit filings, plaintiffs’ attorneys also have targeted other sectors, including in particularly the life sciences sector. An April 2009 memorandum by David Kotler of the Dechert law firm entitled "Dechert Survey of Securities…
PwC Releases 2008 Securities Litigation Study
On April 1, 2009, PricewaterhouseCoopers issued this year’s version of its annual study of securities class action litigation (here). The PwC report differs in certain particulars from previously released studies of the 2008 securities lawsuit filings, but the overall findings are directionally consistent with the prior reports. The PwC report also adds some…
Heightened Securities Lawsuit Filing Pace Continues in 1Q09
Largely driven by litigation in the financial sector arising from the ongoing credit crisis, the heightened pace of securities filings continued during the first quarter of 2009.
There were a total of 57 separate, new securities class action lawsuits filed during the first quarter. The 57 new securities lawsuits represents an annualized pace of…
A Comprehensive Look at FCPA Settlements
A recurring theme on this blog has been the growing threat of civil litigation following in the wake of increased Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement activity. (Refer for example, here.) A recent study both establishes both the overall scale of FCPA enforcement activity and quantifies the magnitude of the FCPA follow-on securities litigation.
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As I have shown (