In recent years, Stanford Law School Professor Michael Klausner has led research on several critical issues involved with class action securiteis litigation and SEC enforcement actions.In the guest post below, Professor Klausner and his colleague Jason Hegland describe the two databases they have built in support of their research efforts and detail some additional findings
Local Governments and Securities Litigation Risk
In two administrative enforcement actions last month, the SEC charged two municipalities – Harrisburg, Pa. and South Miami, Fla. – with securities fraud. These high-profile actions sounded alarm bells and raised concerns about possible securities violations involving other state and local governments. But while these two actions have grabbed a great deal of attention, the unfortunate
Appellate Courts Set Aside Two Securities Suits Dismissals
In two decisions last week – one in the Sixth Circuit and one in the First Circuit – federal appellate courts set aside lower court dismissals of securities class action lawsuits. Although the two cases are different and the two appellate opinions address different legal issues, the two decisions both seem to suggest a similar
Advisen Reports on First Quarter 2013 Corporate and Securities Litigation
During the first quarter of 2013, new corporate and securities lawsuits and regulatory enforcement actions increased slightly compared to the fourth quarter of 2012 but remained well below annual averages over the last two years, according to a new report from Advisen, the insurance information firm. The April 2013 report, which can be found here
Will Obstacles Deter the SEC’s Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program?
Whistleblower information may be one of the SEC’s “most effective weapons in its new enforcement arsenal,” but the agency’s whistleblower program “faces challenges on many fronts,” according to an April 23, 2013 New York Times Dealbook article entitled “Hazy Future for Thriving S.E.C. Whistle-Blower Effort” (here). As evidence of the whistleblower program’s promise
Tracking the Timing and Size of Securities Lawsuit Settlements
What are the factors that affect the timing of securities class action lawsuit dismissals and that affect the timing and size of securities suit settlements? These are the questions examined in an April 2012 PLUS Journal article entitled “When Are Securities Class Actions Dismissed, When Do They Settle and For How Much? An Update” (
Cornerstone Research: Securities Suits Involving Accounting Allegations Less Likely to Be Dismissed, Costlier to Settle
Securities class action lawsuits involving accounting allegations are less likely to be dismissed, take longer to resolve, and make up a much greater proportion of total securities suit settlement dollars than non-accounting cases, according to a new report from Cornerstone Research. The report, entitled “Accounting Class Action Filings and Settlements: 2012 Review and Analysis,” and
What’s Happening Now? Litigation Funding, Apparently
Third-Party litigation funding’s moment may have already be here, as I have previously noted. But just the same, it is a little surprising to find stories about litigation funding at virtually every turn, with stories over the weekend appearing, for example, in The Economist and in the Wall Street Journal, among other publications.
Guest Post: As Proxy Season Begins, the Dodd-Frank Say-on-Pay Cases Are on the Brink of Death
As I have previously noted on this blog (most recently here), plaintiffs’ lawyers recently have evolved a new approach to litigation relating to the advisory “say on pay” vote required under the Dodd-Frank Act. Under this most recent version of the say on pay litigation, the plaintiffs’ lawyers seek to enjoin upcoming shareholder votes
RBS Investors, Closed Out of U.S. Courts, Pursue Claims in the U.K.
As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank, investors who purchased their shares in a company’s stock on a non-U.S. exchange are unable to pursue securities claims against the company or its management in U.S. courts. I have long thought these investors’ preclusion from U.S. courts would