As reflected in my running tally of options backdating lawsuit settlements (which can be accessed here), a number of the options backdating-related derivative lawsuits have settled for some combination of an agreement to pay the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees, some adjustment to the company officials’ options grants, and the company’s adoption of corporate governance reforms.
Two Options Backdating Securities Lawsuits Dismissed
In two recent federal district court decisions, two options backdating-related securities class action lawsuits – one involving Witness Systems and one involving Jabil Circuit – were dismissed.
First, in the Witness Systems case, on March 31, 2008, Judge Clarence Cooper of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted the defendants&rsquo
Don’t Forget About Options Backdating
Amidst all the subprime hoopla, it would be easy to forget that only a year ago, options backdating was the hot topic. Options backdating might now seem passé, but several considerations suggest that options backdating remains important and that we still have a long way to go before we can be sure we have seen
A New Options Backdating Securities Lawsuit?
It has been such a while since a new options backdating securities lawsuit has appeared that it was with some surprise I noted the new case that has been filed against Teletech Holdings and certain of its directors and officers. According to the plaintiffs’ counsel’s January 25, 2008 press release (here), the lawsuit,
$65 Million KLA-Tencor Options Backdating Class Action Settlement
In its January 24, 2008 quarterly earnings release (here), KLA-Tencor also announced that it had entered into an agreement to settle the options backdating-related securities class action lawsuit that had been pending against the company and certain of its directors and officers for $65 million.
KLA-Tencor was among the companies mentioned in a
Tyson Foods “Springloading” Derivative Lawsuit Settles
A shareholders’ derivative lawsuit that generated the most prominent judicial pronouncements about options "springloading" has been settled. According to the company’s January 18, 2008 press release (here) and its filing on Form 8-K of the same date (here), the parties have settled the consolidated shareholders’ derivative lawsuit that has been been
UnitedHealth Derivative Settlement “Largest Ever”
On December 6, 2007, UnitedHealth Group announced (here) that its Special Litigation Committee had concluded its review of claims relating to the company’s option backdating practices that had been brought against certain of the company’s directors and officers.
The company also announced that its former CEO William McGuire had agreed surrender certain rights
Options Backdating Developments
As the options backdating cases flooded in a year ago, the standard explanation of the plaintiffs’ lawyers preference for shareholders derivative lawsuits over securities class action lawsuits was that stock price declines rarely accompanied companies’ options backdating disclosures. (A list showing the predominance of derivative lawsuits among options backdating cases can be found here.)
Another Dismissal Denied in Backdating Class Action
On November 6, 2007, the court in the Brooks Automation options backdating-related securities class action lawsuit substantially denied the defendants’ motions to dismiss. A copy of the opinion of Judge Rya Zobel of the District Court of Massachusetts can be found here. The Brooks Automation decisions joins the recent Openwave Systems decision (refer here
Dismissal Denied in Options Backdating Securities Case
With the recent dismissals of the options backdating securities class actions filed against Hansen Natural (refer here) and Amkor Technology (refer here), it was beginning to seem that momentum might be building against these suits. But in an October 31, 2007 opinion (here), the court denied in significant part the motion