On December 14, 2010, NERA Economic Consulting released its annual year-end study of securities class action lawsuit filings and settlements. The report, entitled "Trends 2010 Year-End Update," can be found here. Among other things, the NERA study reports that class action filings "picked up substantially" in the second half of 2010, and that median
Two 2010 Securities Suits Filing Trends Converge
Among 2010 securities class action lawsuit filing trends are two phenomena that emerged in the second-half of the year – the flurry of lawsuits filed against for-profit education companies and the proliferation of suits involving companies domiciled in China. These two filing trends converged in a single case filed last week against a Chinese
Foreclosure Fiasco Fallout Now Also Includes Securities Suit
The foreclosure paperwork and processing mess has been unfolding on the front pages of the nation’s news papers for several weeks now. While the situation has created a lot of uncertainty, the one thing that seemed probable was that litigation would follow. But while the likelihood for lawsuits seemed high, it did not necessarily follow that
Jury Returns Plaintiffs’ Verdict in the BankAtlantic Credit Crisis-Related Securities Suit
In the first securities class action jury verdict to arise out the credit crisis, on Thursday November 18, 2010, the jury in the BankAtlantic securities lawsuit in federal court in Miami returned a verdict in the plaintiffs’ favor, finding seven of the statements at issue to have been false, and awarding damages of $2.41 per
Does D&O Insurance Undermine the Deterrence Effect of Securities Litigation?
All too often, the securities class action litigation process seems like a complicated and costly mechanism for transferring large amounts of money to the lawyers involved but only small amounts to the aggrieved investors, all at the expense of the D&O insurers. It is hard not to wonder sometimes what the whole process accomplishes, other
A Securities Litigation Stalwart Takes a Loss
Although the world of electoral politics may seem distant from the directors’ and officers’ liability arena, there was one development in Tuesday’s elections that potentially could affect the D&O claims environment, and it happened right here in The D&O Diary’s home state of Ohio. It has not drawn much national attention, but Ohio’s activist Attorney
The Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Provisions: Some Other Things to Worry About
Among the many innovations introduced in the massive Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act enacted this past July are the new whistleblower provisions, designed to encourage employees and others to report securities law violations to the SEC. The bounty award provided for in the whistleblower provisions seem likely to encourage fraud reporting, but
Advisen Releases 3Q10 Corporate and Securities Litigation Report
Overall levels of corporate and securities litigation remained at elevated levels in the most recent quarter even as securities class action filing levels remained flat, according to the third quarter 2010 report of the insurance information firm, Advisen. The October 2010 report can be found here.
Preliminary Notes
The litigation analyzed in the
Swiss Re Subprime Securities Suit Dismissed Based on Morrison
Yet another securities class action lawsuit against a non-U.S. company has been dismissed based on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Morrison v. National Bank of Australia. In a decision that specifically addresses many of the questions that have been discussed in the wake of Morrison, Southern District of New York Judge John Koeltl
3Q10 Securities Class Action Filings Remain Below Historical Averages
New securities class action lawsuit filings in the third quarter of 2010 remained below longer term historical averages, although consistent with filing levels in more recent quarters. There were 39 new securities class action lawsuits filed in the third quarter, bringing the 2010 YTD total number of new filings to 125, as of September 30