Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch went through, so we will (fortunately) never know what would have happened if the deal had collapsed. But as detailed in the April 23, 2009 letter (here) from New York AG Andrew Cuomo to Sen. Chris Dodd, Rep. Barney Frank and others, if it had been
Judge Calls Plaintiffs’ Firm’s “Monitoring” Services “Shocking Conflict of Interest”
One of the recurring issues in securities litigation is the way the erstwhile class counsel and their clients, the prospective class representatives, come together. In what one federal judge described as a "blatant, shocking conflict of interest," it appears, from testimony at a recent lead plaintiff selection hearing, that the leading plaintiffs’ firms are providing
More About Life Sciences Companies and Securities Litigation
In prior posts (most recently here), I discussed the fact that while litigation against the financial sector has predominated recent securities lawsuit filings, plaintiffs’ attorneys also have targeted other sectors, including in particularly the life sciences sector. An April 2009 memorandum by David Kotler of the Dechert law firm entitled "Dechert Survey of Securities
Alleged Anticompetitive Behavior and Follow-on Securities Litigation
Antitrust regulation and securities enforcement each involve entirely separate areas of the law. However, an increasingly frequent follow-on effect of a regulatory investigation for allegedly anticompetitive conduct is an ensuing class action lawsuit under the securities laws. A lawsuit recently filed in the Southern District of New York, which also has some unique characteristics all
Radian Group Subprime Securities Suit Dismissed
On April 9, 2009, the subprime securities lawsuit pending against Radian Group joined the growing list of subprime-related cases in which the dismissal motions have been granted. Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Mary McLaughlin entered the order dismissing the case, without leave to amend. A copy of the opinion can be found here.
A Case of Divided Loyalties
The possibility that a conflict of interest could arise when an attorney or law firm simultaneously representes a corporation and one or more of its officers or directors is a a frequently recurring issue. The issue was raised recently, for example, in the civil complaint that former Stanford Financial Group CFO Laura Pendergest-Holt filed against the
IPO Laddering Cases Settled for $586 Million
The consolidated IPO Laddering Cases, that superannuated vestige of a long-gone era that has continued to grind on despite numerous procedural setbacks, apparently has been settled (again), at least according to the parties’ April 1, 2009 settlement stipulation (here). Hat tip to the WSJ.com Law Blog for the link to the
PwC Releases 2008 Securities Litigation Study
On April 1, 2009, PricewaterhouseCoopers issued this year’s version of its annual study of securities class action litigation (here). The PwC report differs in certain particulars from previously released studies of the 2008 securities lawsuit filings, but the overall findings are directionally consistent with the prior reports. The PwC report also adds some
Heightened Securities Lawsuit Filing Pace Continues in 1Q09
Largely driven by litigation in the financial sector arising from the ongoing credit crisis, the heightened pace of securities filings continued during the first quarter of 2009.
There were a total of 57 separate, new securities class action lawsuits filed during the first quarter. The 57 new securities lawsuits represents an annualized pace of
Rare Securities Lawsuit Jury Trial Commences in Case with Predatory Lending Issues
A rare jury trial has commenced in a long-running securities lawsuit that resonates with overtones of the current subprime mortgage meltdown. On March 30, 2009, Northern District of Illinois Ronald Guzman began empanelling a jury in the securities class action lawsuit styled as Lawrence E. Jaffee Pension Plan v. Household International, Inc., a case that