securities class action litigation

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rising numbersSecurities class action lawsuit filings have been going crazy. Securities suit filings during the first quarter 2017 set a pace that if continued would mean an unprecedented number of securities lawsuit by year end. But even more significant than the sheer number of lawsuits is the rate of litigation. The percentage of listed companies sued in the first quarter, if annualized, would mean that U.S. public companies are being sued at four times the long-term historical rate. As discussed below, three factors account for much of the upsurge in securities suit filings.
Continue Reading You Need to Know This: YTD Securities Class Action Lawsuit Filings are Off the Charts

life sciences1As I noted in my survey of 2016 securities class action litigation (here), one of the factors contributing to the rise in securities litigation last year was the volume of litigation filed against companies in the life sciences sector. According to an analysis of life sciences-related securities suits by the Dechert law firm, the annual number of securities suits filed against companies in the sector rose by over 70% between 2014 and 2016. The law firm’s February 17, 2017 report, entitled “Developments in Securities Fraud Class Actions Against U.S. Life Sciences Companies,” can be found here.
Continue Reading A Closer Look at Securities Litigation Involving Life Sciences Companies

fedsecurities-binderThe interpretation and application of the federal securities laws has in recent years proven to be a rapidly changing arena. For that reason, it is a particularly welcome development that the authors of the “Federal Securities Litigation: A Deskbook for the Practitioner” have released the latest update of their single-volume resource on litigation under the U.S. federal securities laws. The authors – Daniel Kramer and Audra Soloway of the Paul Weiss law firm, Jeff Hammel and David Brodsky of the Latham & Watkins law firm – have produced a fully updated version of the book, with changes reflecting important recent developments in the securities case law. The result is an updated volume that is clear, concise, and well-organized. Information about the 2016 update can be found here.
Continue Reading Book Review: Federal Securities Litigation

Red arrow on business graphAs the various annual securities suit filing reports have been coming out, it has become clear that federal securities class action lawsuit filings were at record levels in 2016, largely as a result of a rise of merger objection lawsuit filings in federal court. Now that 2017 is well underway, it is clear that the heightened pace of securities suit filing has continued, and arguably even accelerated, in the New Year.
Continue Reading Record Setting Securities Suit Filing Pace Accelerates Into New Year

yahooI wouldn’t ordinarily write about the same company or set of circumstances two days in a row, but because of developments following in the wake of the data breaches Yahoo announced last year, the company’s name has come up again. Yesterday, I wrote about the investigation the SEC reportedly is pursuing in connection with Yahoo’s alleged delays in disclosing the data breaches. It turns out that yesterday a plaintiff shareholder also filed a securities class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California against Yahoo and certain of its directors and offices relating the company’s reported data breaches. A copy of the complaint the plaintiff filed on January 24, 2017 can be found here.
Continue Reading Shareholder Files Data Breach Securities Class Action Lawsuit Against Yahoo

NERA_horizontal_2945_4cAccording to NERA Economic Consulting’s latest annual securities litigation report, there were a “record number” of securities class action lawsuit filed in 2016. The January 23, 2017 report, which is entitled “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: 2016 Full-Year Review” (here), attributes the growth in filings during the year largely to the number of federal court merger objection lawsuits, which more than doubled from the previous year. NERA’s January 23, 2017 press release about the report can be found here.
Continue Reading NERA Economic Consulting: Record Number of Securities Suit Filings in 2016

cornerstone reserach pdfSecurities class action lawsuit filings in the first half of 2016 leapt to their highest level in years, according to a recent report from Cornerstone Research. According to the report, which is entitled “Securities Class Action Filings: 2016 Midyear Assessment,” both the number of lawsuit filings and the rate of litigation were well above long-term historical semiannual averages in the first six months of 2016. The increases are attributable in part to the increase in federal court M&A-related securities litigation, as discussed below. The report can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s July 26, 2016 press release about the report can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s analysis is largely consistent with my own review of the first half securities suit filings, which can be found here.
Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: First Half Securities Suit Filings at Highest Level in Years

globe2The following post previously appeared as an article in a recent issue of the Munich Re publication, Schadenspiegel. The article also appeared as a post on the Munich Re website, Topics Online. The article is reprinted here with the permission of Munich Re.

The liability arena for corporate directors and officers has long been characterized by a dynamic claims environment. In the past, the highest-profile developments in this arena have taken place primarily in the United States, due to long-standing patterns of litigiousness there. However, in the last few years changes in applicable laws and in the regulatory environment, as well as a series of high-profile scandals, have increased the significance of D&O insurance across the world.
Continue Reading D&O Liability Exposures: Developments in the US and Globally

Klausner
Michael Klausner
Hegland
Jason Hegland

There have been a number of important developments in class action securities litigation case filings in the recent years. In the following guest post, Michael Klausner, Professor of Law, Stanford Law School, and Jason Hegland, Executive Director, Stanford Securities Litigation Analytics, using the Stanford Securities Litigation Analytics database, identify and review several of these developments. As their guest post explains, there have been a number of interesting changes with respect to the kinds of cases that are being filed, as well as with respect to who is filing them. I would like to thank Mike and Jason for their willingness to publish their guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to readers of this site. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Mike and Jason’s guest post.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Deeper Trends in Securities Class Actions 2006-2015

lifesciencesLife sciences companies are among the most frequent targets of securities class action litigation as I noted in a recent post. However, according to a recent law firm report, life sciences company defendants fared well in securities litigation in 2015. The recently released report, written by the Sidley Austin law firm and entitled “Securities Class Actions in the Life Sciences Sector: 2015 Annual Survey,” can be found here. This comprehensive report reviews all of the district court and appellate court decisions in 2015 in securities class action lawsuits pending against life sciences companies, and also reviews the new securities suits that were filed in 2015 against life sciences companies. The report provides a broad overview of the important issues involved with securities class against litigation against life sciences companies.
Continue Reading Securities Litigation and Life Sciences Companies: An Update