In an August 27, 2010 opinion so massive that its table of contents alone is five pages long, Southern District of New York Judge Kevin Castel granted in part and denied in part the motions to dismiss in the consolidated securities and derivative litigation arising from Bank of America’s January 2009 acquisition of Merrill Lynch
Do Defendant Companies Financially Underperform Following Securities Lawsuit Settlements?
Most securities lawsuits settle. The common assumption is that once the cases are settled, the litigation wraps up and everybody moves on. But does the litigation have a lingering effect on the defendant company? Is there a "hidden dark side" for companies that settle securities lawsuits?
That is the question asked in a March
Inadequate Loan Loss Reserve Disclosure Case Dismissed
In a recent post, I discussed several recent decisions in which securities cases involving failed or troubled banking institutions survived dismissal motions. By contrast, however, in an August 16, 2010 ruling (here), Southern District of New York Judge Robert Patterson, Jr. granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss without prejudice in the securities
The Latest Securities Litigation Target
Among the very, very latest trends in securities class action lawsuit filings are suits against for-profit educational companies. Just since the middle of last week, at least five companies in this sector have been tagged with new lawsuits, four of which were securities class actions.
These lawsuits have been accumulating in the wake of
Dismissal Motions Denied in Failed and Troubled Bank Securities Cases
Though we are in the midst of the dog days of summer (at least in the northern hemisphere), the federal courts, at least, have been busy. In the last several days alone, several courts have issued dismissal motion rulings in lawsuits arising out of the subprime meltdown and the credit crisis.
As noted below, several
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal in Securities Case that Involved Rare Trial
In the latest development in the long-running lawsuit that is among the very few securities cases to actually have gone to trial, the Ninth Circuit – in its second crack at the case – affirmed the district court’s dismissal. The Ninth Circuit’s August 9, 2010 opinion (here) in the Thane International securities class
NERA Releases Updated Study of Japanese Securities Litigation
The amount of damages awarded in 2009 Japanese securities cases exceeded "the aggregate amount of securities litigation damages determined by court decisions in Japan for the entire previous decade," according to a new study of Japanese securities litigation from NERA Economic Consulting. The report, dated August 2, 2010 and entitled "Trends in Japanese Securities Litigation:
Guest Post: A Response to the Vivendi Plaintiffs About Morrison v. National Australia Bank.
Earlier this week, I hosted a guest post from the counsel for the plaintiffs in the Vivendi securities class action lawsuit, in which plaintiffs’ counsel summarized their position on the impact that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank had on their case.
In response to their post, University of
First-Filed Subprime Securities Suit Settles for $125 Million
The New Century Financial securities class action lawsuit – which was the first of the subprime-related securities class action lawsuits when it was filed in February 2007 – has been settled for $124,827,088, subject to court approval. The plaintiffs’ July 30, 2010 unopposed motion for settlement approval can be found here.
The settlement
Guest Post: Vivendi Plaintiffs’ Argument on the Impact of Morrison v. National Australia Bank
In a series of recent posts (most recently here), I have been taking a look at the practical impact that the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24, 2010 decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank will have on securities litigation in the United States involving non-U.S. companies. Among the cases seemingly most impacted by the