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After the 2021 peak of the SPAC IPO frenzy, many SPACs wound up liquidating, while another significant tranche of the SPACs (or the SPACs post-merger successor companies) wound up in litigation. The post-frenzy glut of SPAC-related lawsuits has since been making its way through the courts ever since, and some have made it to the settlement stage. In recent days, the parties to two of these SPAC-related lawsuits have reached noteworthy settlements. As discussed below, the two settlements – the Alta Mesa SPAC-related lawsuit settled for $126.3 million and the Grab Holdings SPAC-related lawsuit settled for $80 million – are among the largest ever SPAC-related lawsuit settlements and could potentially set standards for future SPAC lawsuit settlements. The two settlements are subject to court approval.Continue Reading Record-Setting Settlements in Two SPAC-Related Securities Suits

As I have noted in numerous posts on this site (most recently here), SPAC-related litigation has been a significant factor in the overall volume of corporate and securities litigation filings in recent years. But while I have been attentive to noting the lawsuits as they have been filed, it could be argued that I have not been as dutiful in noting how these cases are being resolved. One recent case resolution – the settlement of the various SPAC-related litigation involving ATI Physical Therapy – is particularly interesting. The court recently approved the settlement of these cases for a total of $31 million. As discussed below, there are several interesting features of these settlements. The court’s approval of the settlements is detailed in a September 24, 2024, Law360 article (here).Continue Reading ATI Physical Therapy Settles SPAC-Related Litigation for $31 Million

Securities class action litigation observers know that securities suits frequently are accompanied by shareholder derivative lawsuits based on the same essential allegations. A recent report from Cornerstone Research, entitled “Parallel Derivative Action Settlement Outcomes: 2023 Review and Analysis,” takes a look at the settlement patterns for these kinds of parallel derivative suits. As the report shows, in recent years, nearly half of all securities class action lawsuits have been accompanied by a derivative lawsuit, and the securities suits with accompanying derivative suits typically are associated with higher settlements. The Cornerstone Research report can be found here. Hat Tip to the August 26, 2024 Cooley law firm memo about the report, here.Continue Reading Parallel Derivative Suits Associated with Higher Securities Suit Settlements

Nessim Mezrahi

In the following guest post, Nessim Mezrahi reviews the ways in which the current surging stock market affects the potential exposures of publicly traded companies and the implications for the D&O insurance industry. Nessim is co-founder and CEO of the data analytics firm SAR LLC. SAR previously published a version of this article as a client alert. I would like to thank Nessim for allowing me to publish this article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to the site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Nessim’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: Securities Litigation Exposure Increases During Bull Stock Market  

Yelena Dunaevsky
Teresa Milano

As readers of this blog well know, SPAC transactions have been a frequent target of corporate and securities lawsuits. In the following guest post, Yelena Dunaevsky, Esq., Senior Vice President at Woodruff Sawyer, Executive Editor, SPAC Notebook and Teresa Milano, Esq., Vice President at Woodruff Sawyer, take a detailed look at the SPAC litigation and enforcement activity so far, including some interesting observations about recent trends. A version of this article was previously published on the SPAC Notebook (here). I would like to thank Yelena and Teresa for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the authors’ article.Continue Reading Guest Post: SPACs Poised to Turn a Corner in 2024: Annual Risk Update

In what is apparently the largest privacy and cybersecurity-related securities class action lawsuit settlement ever, the parties to the Alphabet Google+ user data securities suit have agreed to settle the action for $350 million. As discussed below, this massive settlement, which is subject to court approval, is significant for a number of important reasons. A copy of the parties’ February 5, 2024, Stipulation of Settlement can be found here. The plaintiffs’ February 5, 2024, motion for preliminary settlement approval can be found here.Continue Reading Alphabet Google+ User Data Privacy-Related Securities Suit Settles for $350 Million

Erin McGinn

As regular readers know, I have for several years been tracking on this site the largest shareholder derivative lawsuit settlements. In the following guest post, Erin McGinn, Head of Financial Lines Claims, Vantage Risk, analyses and discusses the largest recent shareholder derivative lawsuit settlements and considers the settlements’ implications for Side-A D&O insurance. A version of this article was previously published on vantagerisk.com. I would like to thank Erin for allowing me to publish her article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Erin’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: As Derivative Settlements Trend Higher, Side-A Coverage Becomes Crucial

The number of federal court securities class action lawsuit filings in the first half of 2023, if annualized, suggests a year-end total number of filings that would represent a 15% increase over the number of filings in 2022, according to a new report from NERA Economic Consulting. The report, which is entitled “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: H1 2023 Update,” also reports that while average securities suits settlement values were down in the year’s first half compared to 2022, the median suit settlement increased compared to 2022. A copy of the August 2, 2023, NERA report can be found here. NERA’s August 2, 2023 press release regarding the report can be found here. Continue Reading NERA: First Half Securities Suit Filings Point to Overall Full-Year Increase

The number of securities class action lawsuit filings involving accounting allegations increased slightly in 2022 compared to 2021, but the number of 2022 accounting-related securities suit filings remained below the long-term annual average of such filings, according to the latest annual report from Cornerstone Research. At the same time, the total number, aggregate total value, and median and average values of accounting-related securities suit settlements increased in 2022 compared to the 2021. The Cornerstone Research report, which is entitled “Accounting Class Action Filings and Settlements: 2022 Review and Analysis,” can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s April 12, 2023, press release about the report can be found here.Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: Accounting Related Case Filings and Settlements Increased in 2022

Gary Lill

Elisabeth Groehe

The D&O insurance market is cyclical and is currently going through one of its periodic cycle turns. In the following guest post, Gary Lill, Head of Professional Lines at IQUW, and Elisabeth Groehe, Professional Lines Underwriter at IQUW, examine the current D&O insurance market and discuss the challenges that D&O insurers currently face. A prior version of this article previously was published on the IQUW website. I would like to thank Gary and Elisabeth for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Gary and Elisabeth’s guest post.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Challenges in the D&O Market – A Sisyphean Task?