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
When is a Securities Suit Stale?
When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling earlier this year in the Merck case pertaining to the question of what triggers the running of the statute of limitations in securities cases, there was some speculation that the decision might encourage an influx of cases involving events from the distant past. There really have not
Morrison Precludes Claims Based on Non-U.S. Purchased Shares, Even if Company Shares “Listed” in U.S.
On September 14, 2010, in another ruling that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank precludes claim by "f-squared" claimants – that is, U.S. residents who purchased shares of a Non-U.S. company on a foreign exchange – Southern District of New York Judge Victor Marrero dismissed the claims of investors who
Another Loan Loss Reserve Disclosure Case Dismissal
In the latest ruling to address the pleading adequacy of a securities suit based on a financial institution’s loan loss reserve disclosures, a federal judge has found that the plaintiffs’ allegations in the SunTrust Trust Preferred Securities lawsuit were not sufficient to state a claim under the securities laws. Northern District of Georgia Judge William
Guest Post: The Professors Respond
A recent article by three academics raising the question whether corporate securities lawsuit defendants underperform financially after their case settles has generated significant commentary on this site. In this post, the professors respond to the commentary.
The article in question is a March 18, 2010 paper entitled "Lying and Getting Caught: An Empirical Study
What Difference Does it Make that Paulson “Instructed” Lewis Not to Disclose the Fed Backstop of the BofA/Merrill Deal?
One of the most interesting aspects of the complicated sequence of events surrounding the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch merger is the suggestion that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson instructed BofA’s CEO Ken Lewis not to disclose to BofA shareholders that the government, in order to keep BofA from backing out of the deal, was backstopping BofA
Guest Post: Bill Lerach on Whether Companies Underperform After Settling Securities Suits
In a post last week, I discussed a recent article by three academics in which they considered whether companies involved in securities lawsuits financially underperform after the cases are settled. The prior post provoked an unusual level of reader commentary. Among the comments posted was one from former plaintiffs’ securities class action attorney William Lerach.