Highlight the Third Circuit’s adoption of the de novo standard of review in evaluating appeals of derivative litigation demand-futility decisions;
Explore the Sixth Circuit’s recognition of the applicability of the...more
9/4/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Derivatives ,
Facebook ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
PSLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
The United States Supreme Court held that pure omissions, standing alone, are not actionable in private civil litigation under Rule 10b-5(b), which makes it unlawful to omit material facts in connection with buying or selling...more
Last year marked an increase in federal securities class action filings, with plaintiffs filing 212 cases in 2023, up from 197 in 2022 and ending an overall decline in filings since 2019. Life sciences companies remained...more
In 2023, plaintiffs filed 33 securities class action lawsuits against non-U.S. issuers, down by one from the 34 filings in 2022. This number indicates a continued decline in non-U.S. issuer filings, since a recent high of 88...more
The year 2023 witnessed a recovery in the cryptocurrency and digital assets market corresponding with fewer crypto-related securities class action litigation actions than in 2022. Despite this decrease, the nature of the...more
As we close out 2023 and begin the first quarter of 2024, securities and derivative litigation continues to evolve. In this quarterly update, we examine trends in federal securities class action filings, which saw an uptick...more
2/20/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Biotechnology ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
False Statements ,
Infrastructure ,
International Maritime Organization (IMO) ,
Investors ,
Japan ,
Life Sciences ,
Macquarie Infrastructure Corp v Moab Partners LP ,
Philip Morris ,
Private Actors ,
Private Right of Action ,
Regulation S-K ,
Rule 10(b) ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
The past year saw significant developments in the Delaware courts for books and records inspection demands pursuant to Section 220.
In a first-of-its-kind decision, the Court rejected an inspection demand as lacking a...more
Examine a major Ninth Circuit decision affirming dismissal of a Section 14(a) derivative action based on a forum-selection clause;
Highlight the Third Circuit’s adoption of the Omnicare standard for securities fraud claims;...more
7/24/2023
/ Books & Records ,
Capitalization ,
Class Action ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Derivative Suit ,
Disney ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Forum Selection ,
Mergers ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Waivers
Chancellor McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an Opinion on July 6, 2023, in Anderson v. Magellan Health, Inc., imposing a new, heightened standard of review of requests for mootness fees predicated on...more
In this edition of Dechert’s Securities & Derivative Litigation Quarterly Update, we:
Examine the first criminal insider trading prosecution based on a 10b5-1 trading plan;...more
5/15/2023
/ Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement ,
Fraud ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Settlement ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Trading Plans
The 2022 decline in the cryptocurrency and digital assets market resulted in a year with more crypto securities class action litigation than any previous year. This article explores the 2022 crypto securities class action...more
3/30/2023
/ Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Investors ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Securities ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
In 2022, there were 197 federal securities class actions filed, which is a slight drop from the 211 filings in 2021, and a significant drop from the over 400 filings in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and over 300 in 2020. There were...more
2/9/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Litigation ,
Settlement ,
Slack ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
In 2022, there were 197 federal securities class actions filed, which is a 6.6% drop from the 211 filings in 2021, and a significant drop from the over 400 filings in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and over 300 in 2020. Despite a...more
2/7/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenwashing ,
Litigation Strategies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Settlement ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
In this edition of Dechert’s Securities & Derivative Litigation Quarterly Update, we examine: (1) the Delaware Court of Chancery’s latest post-trial decision showing how the special committee process is critical in the...more
11/2/2022
/ Bad Faith ,
Breach of Duty ,
Burden of Proof ,
Delaware ,
Derivatives ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
En Banc Review ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Mortgage-Backed Securities ,
Regulation FD ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Litigation
In 2021, securities class actions declined compared to the year before, and were significantly less than the number of filings in the previous three years. According to statistics from the Stanford Law School Securities Class...more
Delaware Supreme Court Articulates a New Standard for Demand Futility and Overturns Gentile v. Rosson - In the third quarter, two new cases from the Delaware Supreme Court altered the legal landscape of derivative actions...more
As securities class actions are being filed at a slower pace over the past year, a few notable developments continued into the second quarter of 2021. In particular, the U.S Supreme Court clarified an important issue...more
For the first time in several years, securities fraud cases declined in 2020, largely due to the pandemic. However, we don’t expect this decrease to continue. Just three months into 2021, there are a number of issues trending...more
The once-in-a-century pandemic has triggered not only market turbulence, but also unprecedented mass layoffs and furloughs. As the markets continue to fluctuate and public companies plan reductions in staff, companies—and...more
2/8/2021
/ Confidential Witnesses ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Layoffs ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities Fraud ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Whistleblowers
Corporations started inserting federal forum provisions in light of the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund, 138 S. Ct. 1061 (“Cyan”) (2018), which reaffirmed...more
Event-driven litigation continues to fuel the rise of securities class actions against public companies, and that has certainly been the case with COVID-19 related litigation. Pandemic-related events have formed the basis for...more
12/2/2020
/ Chamber of Commerce ,
Class Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cruise Ships ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Misleading Statements ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation
Key Takeaways -
Salzberg, et al. and Blue Apron Holdings, Inc., et al. v. Sciabacucchi, Case No. 346, 2019, 2020 WL 1280785 (Del. Mar. 18, 2020), is a landmark decision critically important to companies preparing...more
Life sciences companies were popular targets of class action securities lawsuits in 2018.
In the most recent edition of our annual survey, Dechert litigators David H. Kistenbroker, Joni S. Jacobsen and Angela M. Liu examine...more
2/13/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Class Action ,
Clinical Trials ,
FDA Approval ,
Fraud ,
Life Sciences ,
Material Misstatements ,
Mismanagement ,
Misrepresentation ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Surveys
2017 was a record year for class action securities litigation, and life sciences companies continued to be popular targets of such lawsuits. During 2017, plaintiffs filed a total of 88 class action securities lawsuits against...more
2/9/2018
/ Bribery ,
Class Action ,
FDA Approval ,
Insider Trading ,
Life Sciences ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Scienter ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Surveys
As securities markets become increasingly interconnected, multi- national public corporations continue to be a part of a significant sea change in the globalization of securities fraud litigation—a change that began with the...more
11/22/2017
/ Australia ,
Banks ,
Canada ,
Class Action ,
Collective Actions ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Issuers ,
Forum Shopping ,
Global Marketplace ,
India ,
International Litigation ,
Italy ,
Japan ,
Jurisdiction ,
Litigation Funding ,
Morrison v National Australia Bank ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Litigation ,
Spain ,
Third-Party Relationships