I am pleased to reproduce below a guest post from my friend and colleague, David S. De Berry. Dave is an attorney and CEO of Concord Specialty Risk, a series of a Delaware limited liability companies owned by RSG Specialty Group, LLC. I want to emphasize that while Dave and I are now
Book Review: “Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion”
Any list of the most important and influential Americans of the 20th century would have to include William Brennan, whose 34-year tenure as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court coincided with –and in many ways both reflected and influenced – a period of extraordinary change both in American society and in
N.D. Cal. Applies Morrison to Dismiss Non-U.S. Purchasers from Infineon Securities Suit
It has been a long road — one that included among other things, an amicus brief filed at the U.S. Supreme Court in connection with Morrison v. National Australia Bank – but the defendants in the Infineon Technologies securities suit have managed to have the court dismiss the claims of company shareholders who purchased their
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Cert in Apollo Group Securities Suit, Allowing Plaintiffs’ $277.5 Million Jury Verdict to Stand
On March 7, 2011, in the latest development in a long-running securities suit that is among the few securities class action lawsuits to go to trial and that had previously resulted in a $277.5 verdict in plaintiffs’ favor, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Apollo Group’s petition for writ of certiorari. As a result, the
Cornerstone Research Releases 2010 Securities Class Action Settlement Study
Though the average dollar value of securities class action settlements approved in 2010 declined slightly compared to 2009, the median settlement amount reached record levels, according to Cornerstone Research’s annual 2010 Securities Class Action Settlement Study. Cornerstone’s March 10, 2010 press release about the study can be found here, and the study itself can
CalSTRS Wins Rare Securities Suit Jury Verdict Against Homestore CEO
Securities lawsuits rarely go to trial, but on February 24, 2011, just three months after the last securities suit trial concluded, a Central District of California rendered a verdict on behalf of plaintiffs against the sole trial defendant, the former CEO of the defunct Homestore company. The jury found that the defendant, Stuart H. Wolff
Vivendi Court Narrows Securities Suit Class, Applying Morrison
In the long-awaited rulings on the post-trial motions in the Vivendi securities case, Judge Richard Holwell has entered a February 22, 2011 order materially narrowing the plaintiff class based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Morrison v. National Australia Bank. A copy of Judge Holwell’s opinion, in which he eliminated ordinary shareholders
Satyam Agrees to Pay $125 Million to Settle Securities Suit
In a settlement that has a number of interesting features, Satyam Computer Services, an Indian technology outsourcing company, has agreed to pay $125 million to settle the consolidated securities class action litigation pending against the company in Southern District of New York.
The only settling defendant is the company itself, which is now known
Second Circuit Reinstates Blackstone Group IPO Securities Suit
In a February 10, 2011 opinion (here), the Second Circuit reversed the lower court’s dismissal of the securities class action lawsuit relating to The Blackstone Group’s June 2007 IPO. The decision, which represents a noteworthy victory for plaintiffs, contains an extensive analysis of "materiality" requirements and could prove significant in the many other
A Couple of Links for the Second Day of the PLUS D&O Symposium
The storm has passed and the sun is shining down on chilly Times Square for the second day of the PLUS D&O Symposium. For those at the conference and for those stranded at home by the weather, I wanted to pass along a couple of links as an accompaniment for today’s conference panels.
First