In 2024, plaintiffs filed 36 securities class action lawsuits against non-U.S. issuers, up by three from the 33 filings in 2023. Also last year, courts rendered 22 decisions resolving motions to dismiss securities class...more
Examine trends in federal securities class-action filings, which saw a slight uptick in 2024, with an increase in AI-related cases and notable declines in SPAC and cryptocurrency-related filings;
Discuss recent decisions...more
2/21/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Fraud ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
NVIDIA ,
PSLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
The United States Supreme Court held that employers seeking to prove an employee is exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act must only satisfy a preponderance of the evidence...more
1/29/2025
/ Compliance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Evidence ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Proof ,
Wage and Hour
Court of Chancery rejects Plaintiffs’ claims that directors engaged in “affirmative lawbreaking for profit”, finding alleged “trifling or technical” violations are ones “over which reasonable minds can differ.”
Court...more
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 Delaware Court of Chancery issued an order in Palkon v. Maffei on February 20, 2024, holding that a decision by the boards of directors and the controller of TripAdvisor, Inc. (“TripAdvisor”) and Liberty TripAdvisor...more
5/14/2024
/ Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Governance ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Incorporation ,
Interlocutory Orders ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Shareholder Litigation
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
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 Court of Chancery continues its consideration of whether a director or officer’s oversight duties, set forth in the seminal case of In re Caremark International Inc. Derivative Litigation and its progeny, apply to...more
NSA and CISA Release Report on “Top Ten” Cybersecurity Misconfigurations; CISA Calls for Software Manufacturers to Implement Best Practices -
On October 5, 2023, the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and...more
10/20/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Transfers ,
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fines ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Investigations ,
Law Enforcement ,
Manufacturers ,
National Security Agency (NSA) ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Software ,
UK ICO
Employees in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas can now state a Title VII disparate-treatment claim if they plead discrimination in hiring, firing, compensation, or the “terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.” An...more
9/1/2023
/ Appeals ,
Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Employment Discrimination ,
En Banc Review ,
Executive Compensation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Title VII
FTC Settles with Experian for Alleged Customer Spamming -
On August 14, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a proposed settlement involving Experian Consumer Services (“Experian”). A federal court entered...more
9/1/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biometric Information ,
CAN-SPAM Act ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cybersecurity Summit ,
Data Brokers ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Draft Guidance ,
Experian ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Opt-Outs ,
Penalties ,
Personal Data ,
Risk Assessment ,
Settlement ,
Spam ,
UK ,
UK GDPR
Although legal fees spent preparing Paragraph IV notice letters must be capitalized (and thus amortized over 15 years), legal fees spent defending ANDA suits launched in response to those letters may be taken as deductions in...more
8/2/2023
/ Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) ,
Certifications ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Hatch-Waxman ,
IRS ,
Legal Fees ,
Manufacturers ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Tax Court
Proof that an inspection demand is improperly “lawyer-driven” will overcome a stockholder’s pretextual claim for investigating wrongdoing.
A stockholder does not have a proper purpose for investigating an “ordinary...more
7/7/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Delaware ,
Disney ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Florida ,
Inspections ,
LGBTQ ,
Shareholders
Montana and Tennessee on Verge of Joining Other States in Passing Comprehensive Privacy Laws -
On April 21, 2023, the state legislatures of Montana and Tennessee passed comprehensive privacy legislation bills. To become...more
5/15/2023
/ Cyber Threats ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
ENISA ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Personal Data ,
Privacy Laws ,
State Privacy Laws
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
At an open meeting on March 15, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission voted three to two to propose a new rule, form and amendments (together, “Proposed Rule”) and published an accompanying release (“Release”)...more
5/11/2023
/ Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Incident Response Plans ,
MSBSPs ,
New Rules ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
SBSD ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
SEC Proposes Significant Updates to Regulation S-P and Cyber Risk Management Rule for Market Entities -
At an open meeting on March 15, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission) issued a release and...more
3/31/2023
/ Colorado ,
Cybersecurity ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Scams ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sensitive Personal Information ,
Social Media
The Proposed EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Faces Potential Obstacles -
On February 14, 2023, the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (the “EP Committee”) released a draft opinion...more
This week the Department of Justice rolled out its new United States Attorney’s Offices’ Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy.
The Policy, which is effective immediately, details when a company will be considered to have made...more
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)
FBI Seizes Hive Ransomware Servers—Blocks US$130 Million in Demanded Ransoms -
On January 26, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Department of Justice dismantled the “Hive” ransomware group, which had...more
2/3/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Big Tech ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Cookie Banners ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) ,
Extortion ,
FBI ,
Investigations ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Ransomware
Corporate officers owe the same fiduciary duty of oversight as directors.
Just as with directors, officers fulfill their oversight duty by acting in good faith....more
1/30/2023
/ Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Officers ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware ,
Directors ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Oversight ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Good Faith
Biden Administration to Introduce New National Cyber Strategy for Critical Infrastructure -
The Biden administration is reportedly working on a National Cyber Strategy for critical infrastructure that will advocate a more...more
1/20/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Chemicals ,
Class Action ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Security ,
Energy Sector ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Information Technology ,
National Security ,
NIST ,
Oil & Gas ,
OMB ,
Pipelines ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Safety ,
Railways ,
Settlement ,
TSA ,
Water