Today, in a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Cyan, Inc. et al. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund, et al., No. 15-1439, slip op. at __ (Mar. 20, 2018), that state and federal courts have concurrent...more
3/20/2018
/ Class Action ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
Jurisdiction ,
PSLRA ,
Removal ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
SLUSA ,
Split of Authority ,
State Law Claims
As expected, securities class action filings reached a high-water mark in 2017. In fact, last year’s total of 400-plus filings was the second-highest on record, topped only by 2001, when the number was skewed by more than 300...more
1/29/2018
/ CalPERS v ANZ Securities ,
Class Action ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
International Litigation ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Petrobras ,
PSLRA ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statute of Repose ,
Technology Sector ,
Trulia
On July 7, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit offered significant guidance regarding the circuit’s class certification requirements in In re Petrobras Securities, No. 16-1914. In addressing an issue of...more
7/10/2017
/ Ascertainable Class ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Domestic Injury ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
International Litigation ,
Investors ,
Morrison v National Australia Bank ,
Petrobras ,
Securities Litigation ,
Split of Authority
The Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari in Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver Cty. Emps. Ret. Fund, No. 15-1439 (U.S. May 24, 2016) yesterday, setting the stage for the resolution of a long-standing division among federal...more
6/28/2017
/ Certiorari ,
Class Action ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
PSLRA ,
Removal ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Act ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Split of Authority
In one of the first cases argued before new Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Supreme Court in California Public Employees’ Retirement System v. ANZ Securities, Inc. (CalPERS), No. 16-373, slip op. at 16-17 (June 26, 2017), decided...more
On June 21, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision of first impression that sets the standard for determining whether to disclose interim financial documents in a prospectus. In addition, the...more
6/26/2017
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Dismissals ,
Financial Statements ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investors ,
Materiality ,
Misleading Statements ,
Offering Documents ,
Prospectus ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reaffirmation ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Litigation
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February 2017 and April 2017. The cases address developing trends in class actions, ERISA, fiduciary duties,...more
6/9/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Bad Faith ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ESOP ,
Ethics Breach ,
Excessive Fees ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mergers ,
Misrepresentation ,
Pleading Standards ,
PLSRA ,
Regulation D ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Rule 11 ,
Sanctions ,
Scienter ,
Securities ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblowers
It has become a common phenomenon for the announcement of a significant merger transaction to be quickly followed by shareholder class action or derivative litigation challenging the terms of the transaction and the accuracy...more
2/22/2017
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Common Stock ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure-Based Settlements ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mergers ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Standard of Review
Plaintiffs filed 300 securities class actions in 2016 — a mark much higher than the annual average of 221 from 2011 to 2015 (as reported by NERA Economic Consulting). Indeed, the number of filings in 2016 was the...more
2/1/2017
/ Burden of Proof ,
CalPERS v ANZ Securities ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Foreign Issuers ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
PSLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statute of Repose ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tolling ,
Trump Administration
Recent events relating to the fixed-income markets — including volatility in the high-yield markets and the high-profile closings of a number of funds invested in high-yield and distressed assets — have raised concerns among...more
We are pleased to present Inside the Courts (Volume 7, Issue 4), Skadden’s securities litigation newsletter. This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between...more
11/19/2015
/ Auction ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
Market Manipulation ,
Misrepresentation ,
Pleading Standards ,
Scienter ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statute of Repose ,
Venue ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
This issue of Inside the Courts, Skadden’s securities litigation newsletter, includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May 2015 and August 2015. The cases address...more
10/8/2015
/ Appraisal Rights ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dismissals ,
False Statements ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
Insider Trading ,
Janus Capital Group ,
Loss Causation ,
Offering Documents ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pleading Standards ,
PLSRA ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Safe Harbors ,
Scienter ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Statute of Limitations
Significant amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure submitted to Congress in April 2015 could change discovery practices in securities litigation before the end of this year. Absent legislation to reject, modify or...more
In This Issue:
- U.S. Supreme Court:
..Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers Dist. Council Constr. Indus. Pension Fund, 135 S. Ct. 1318 (4th Cir. Mar. 16, 2015)
- Auditor Liability:
..In re Advanced Battery Techs.,...more
6/2/2015
/ Auditors ,
Books & Records ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Justifiable Reliance ,
Misrepresentation ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Fraud ,
Settlement ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statute of Repose ,
Whistleblowers
In an opinion issued yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund that an issuer may be held liable under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933...more
3/25/2015
/ Disclosure ,
Material Disclosures ,
Misleading Statements ,
Omnicare ,
Pleading Standards ,
Registration Statement ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 11 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Statement of Opinion
Today, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer that fiduciaries of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) that invest in the employer’s securities are not...more
The Supreme Court of the United States today in Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund upheld the fraud-on-the-market presumption of reliance first recognized by the Court in Basic v. Levinson, but gave defendants a new tool...more
This morning, the Supreme Court granted the writ of certiorari in Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi v. IndyMacMBS, Inc. The petition raises an issue regarding the application of American Pipe tolling to claims...more
Today, in a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Lawson v. FMR LLC that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s whistleblower protections apply to employees of a public company’s private contractors and subcontractors. Justice...more
Today, in a 7-2 decision, the United States Supreme Court appeared to narrow the scope of the “in connection with the purchase or sale of a covered security” as used in SLUSA. Justice Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court...more
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on significant securities litigation issues, including the fraud-on-the-market presumption and the SEC’s use of the discovery rule. With numerous important cases pending on topics...more
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Daimler AG v. Bauman, et al. that due process prevents a court from applying an "agency" theory to exercise general personal jurisdiction over a foreign corporation based...more
For those of you who were able to attend our annual Securities Litigation and Enforcement Seminar on December 6, you may recall that one expected development in 2014 would be a decision on whether the New York statute of...more
Today, in a case that could have significant implications for putative federal securities class actions, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc., No. 13-317. In its petition for...more
Yesterday, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated opinion addressing the continuous ownership requirement for stockholders in derivative lawsuits, derivative standing, and the fraud exception to the continuous...more