News & Analysis as of

Class Action D&O Insurance

A class action is a type of legal action where a representative individual or group of individuals can bring a claim on behalf of a larger group or class who share a common legal interest.
Woodruff Sawyer

Special Report: Biotechnology Companies & Securities Class Action Litigation (2024)

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In 2024, biotechnology companies were the second most targeted industry for securities class action litigation, according to the D&O Databox™, Woodruff Sawyer’s proprietary database of securities class action suits. The...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Securities Litigation Trends: Key Takeaways from a 2025 PLUS D&O Symposium Panel

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The 2025 PLUS D&O Symposium brought together leading voices in the professional liability space to discuss the evolving risks corporate leaders are facing. I was privileged to moderate the panel on securities litigation, a...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Securities Motion to Dismiss Trends (Part 3): The Central District of California

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In this last article in his three-part series, my partner and securities litigator Walker Newell looked at motion to dismiss trends in the Central District of California, which covers Los Angeles and Orange County. The CD...more

McCarter & English, LLP

Delaware Court Holds Settlement of Underlying Securities Litigation Is Covered Under D&O Policy, Rejecting Insurers’ Assertion of...

A Delaware court recently found for the policyholders in determining that a directors and officers (D&O) liability policy covered the settlement of an underlying action alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of...more

Kennedys

Delaware Supreme Court reverses trial court for failing to apply "Interrelated Wrongful Acts" analysis correctly

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On February 4, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court, sitting en banc, determined that the Wrongful Acts alleged in a securities class action against Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. had a “meaningful linkage” with the Wrongful Acts...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Securities Motion to Dismiss Trends (Part 1): The Northern District of California

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In securities class actions, the motion to dismiss is the key event. If the company wins, the case goes away and costly discovery is avoided. If shareholders win, a significant settlement in the future is likely. In these...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Superior Court Holds That Bump-Up Exclusion In D&O Insurance Does Not Apply To Securities Claims Arising Out Of An M&A...

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On January 3, 2025, Judge Paul R. Wallace of the Superior Court for the State of Delaware granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in a directors and officers (“D&O”) insurance denial case against. Harman Int’l Indus....more

Woodruff Sawyer

A New Generation of SPACs Leads the Way Into 2025

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After a two-and-a-half-year lull in SPAC activity, the second half of 2024 brought glimmers of sunshine to the otherwise gloomy world of SPACs. New SPAC IPO activity picked up pace in the summer of 2024 and continued to grow,...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Large Derivative Suit Settlements and Your Side A D&O Insurance

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Traditionally, this has been the main type of derivative suit that has resulted in large settlements. Merger and acquisition cases are common here. Examples of these types of suits include Paramount Global (CBS-Viacom merger)...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Looking Ahead to 2025: Navigating a Shifting D&O Insurance Landscape

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In a market known for volatility, public company D&O (directors & officers) insurance has certainly lived up to its reputation in recent years—pricing has been on a roller coaster, fluctuating between skyrocketing increases...more

Woodruff Sawyer

[Webinar] D&O Insurance Trends: Looking Ahead to 2025 - September 17th, 10:00 am - 11:00 am PT

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The streak of good news in D&O litigation risk ends this year, with a rise in class action filings and bigger settlements. But the D&O market is still soft, so staying on top of the evolving risk landscape will help you...more

Woodruff Sawyer

The Price Is Wrong: Limiting D&O Exposure at Class Certification

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In federal securities class action litigation, the motion to dismiss is typically the main event, and class certification is something of a backwater. But earlier this year, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals wrote a...more

Woodruff Sawyer

[Webinar] D&O Insurance Trends Looking Ahead to 2024 - September 26th, 10:00 am - 11:00 am PT

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The softening D&O market has continued into 2023, with 91% of our clients experiencing a cost reduction in their renewal in the first half of the year. Self-insured retentions have also continued to fall. The soft market is a...more

Foley Hoag LLP

The SVB Bankruptcy Decision and Its Lessons for D&O Insurance Programs

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Directors and Officers (D&O) policies are intended first and foremost to protect a company’s individual directors and officers from significant claims which may be asserted against those individuals in their capacities as...more

Woodruff Sawyer

SPAC Litigation by the Numbers: Surprisingly Positive Trends in 2022

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Tumultuous, exasperating, difficult, nerve-wracking, and frustrating are all apt descriptions of the 2022 SPAC market. We’ve summarized some of its ups and downs in our year in review blog post from October and have touched...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Securities Class Actions Report: Mid-Year Update

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Good news: The downward trend of securities class actions against public companies continues as we look at the first half of 2022. If the trend holds for the second half of 2022, the rate of securities class action litigation...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Coverage for SXSW Refund Lawsuit Barred by Contract Exclusion

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A magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas has issued a report and recommendation to the District Court concluding that the contract exclusion in a directors and officers...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Insurance For SPACs Just Got a Lot Better

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With all the current doom and gloom in SPACland, a ray of sunshine from an unlikely corner—D&O insurance carriers—is making our day a lot brighter. For over two years, we have been making the case that representations and...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Securities Class Action Trends for Life Sciences, 2021: REPORT

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Insights Priya Cherian Huskins, Esq.Senior Vice President, Management LiabilityEditor, Management Liability/D&O May 10, 2022 /Management Liability/D&O While the life sciences sector has experienced a slowdown in IPO activity...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Delaware Superior Court Reaffirms That Appraisal Action Is Not A Claim For A Wrongful Act Under D&O Policy

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The Delaware Superior Court has held that an insurer is not obligated to reimburse or advance an insured’s attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in defense of an appraisal action because the appraisal action is not a claim for a...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

Insurance Update - April 2022

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Cases in our April Insurance Update address several questions: •Are costs incurred to comply with a subpoena covered? •What must an insured show to rebut the presumption of prejudice in a late notice situation? •What...more

Cozen O'Connor

Delaware Supreme Court Rejects Fundamentally Identical Relatedness Standard

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On March 16, 2022, in a unanimous decision the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed a Superior Court ruling that a securities class action and a later-filed opt out action were related claims, and thus the subsequent action was...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Decision Below in Favor of Insurers, Holds “Relatedness” is Determined By Policy Language and Not...

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In a win for Wiley Rein’s client, the Delaware Supreme Court has affirmed the trial court’s decision that a securities class action and an opt-out case constitute related Claims, such that the opt-out case is excluded from...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Securities Class Actions Report: Filings Against Public Companies Down for Second Year in a Row

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In 2021, 182 securities class actions were filed against issuers of stock listed on US exchanges. This statistic means that the total number of annual filings in 2021 was down 13% compared to 2020. As highlighted in our...more

Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld LLC

Delaware Supreme Court Finds Fraud Insurable

In a recent decision, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that insuring against fraud does not per se violate Delaware public policy and held that the insured’s D&O policy covered claims alleging securities fraud. RSUI Indemnity...more

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