On April 8, 2008, PricewaterhouseCoopers released its 2007 Securities Litigation Study, which can be found here. The PwC study follows prior reports from NERA Economic Consulting (refer here) and Cornerstone Research (refer here and here). The PwC study differs from the other studies in certain details but the studies are all directionally
Are West Coast Companies More Likely to Be Sued?
On April 1, 2008, the Wilmer Hale law firm released a report entitled “West Coast Securities Litigation & Enforcement” (here), in which the law firm reports, among other things, that “investors sued 44 public companies in the West in 2007, a striking 56 percent increase over 2006, reversing what some had hoped was
Securities Lawsuit Filings Surge in March
Driven by the growing wave of subprime-related litigation (particularly a spate of auction rate securities lawsuits), the number of new securities class action lawsuit filings surged in March 2008. The total number of new securities class action lawsuit filings — 25 – matches the number of new filings in November 2007, which in turn represented
Cornerstone Releases 2007 Securities Settlement Analysis
On March 31, 2008, Cornerstone Research released its review and analysis of 2007 securities class action settlements. Cornerstone’s press release can be found here and the full report can be found here. The Cornerstone Report differs in certain particulars from the previously released NERA Economic Consulting report (about which refer here), but the
Bear Stearns: The Lawsuit – And a Lawsuit Against Deutsche Bank, Too.
We knew it was coming but it sure got here fast. On March 17, 2008, plaintiffs’ counsel initiated a securities class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Bear Stearns and certain of its directors and officers. A copy of the plaintiffs’ lawyers’ press release can
Subprime Litigation Wave Rolls On
The wave of subprime-related securities class action litigation has continued to spread, as plaintiffs’ lawyers have filed new securities lawsuits against two different companies.
First, according to their March 12, 2008 press release (here), plaintiffs’ lawyers have filed a securities class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District
Of Rogue Traders, Risk Management, and Securities Litigation
You will never read a headline that says “Financial Institution Fires Rogue Trader Who Racked Up Massive Gains.” Therein lies the fundamental tension in financial institution risk management. It is not a merely cynical view that financial institutions tacitly tolerate control lapses as long as gains result – indeed, some of the leading commentators place the blame for
D & O Insurance and Securities Settlements: Professor Griffith Responds
Last week, I added a post (here) discussing the March 2, 2008 paper entitled “How the Merits Matter: D&O Insurance and Securities Settlements” (here) by Connecticut Law Professor Tom Baker and Fordham Law Professor Sean Griffith. In response to my invitation, Professor Griffith prepared a reply to my comments
D & O Insurance and Securities Lawsuit Settlements
Although there have been some significant exceptions in recent years, it is still generally the case that securities class action settlements are largely funded by D & O insurance. Yet the impact of D & O insurance on the process and ultimate value of securities lawsuit settlements is little understood outside the small world of
Two Prominent Life Sciences Securities Lawsuits Dismissed
As I have previously observed (most recently here), life sciences companies remain favored targets of the plaintiffs’ class action securities bar. Even during the two-year securities lawsuit filing lull between mid-2005 and mid-2007, lawsuit filings against life sciences companies continued more or less unabated. Indeed, as I noted here, during 2007, a year