In a three-ring circus — where the first is the motion to dismiss, the second is class certification, and the third is summary judgment — the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has introduced a new act in the second ring for...more
On June 3, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed the final two counts in an action against California biotech firm Vaxart, Inc., finding that plaintiffs failed to adequately allege that certain non-public information...more
On June 21, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System,1 vacating the 2nd Circuit’s previous decision and remanding for further consideration as to...more
Key Takeaways - The Supreme Court clarified its prior securities class-action decisions in Basic v. Levinson (“Basic”), Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co. (“Halliburton II”), and Amgen Inc v. Connecticut Retirement...more
On December 11, 2020, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in a shareholder securities litigation against Goldman Sachs. On appeal, Goldman argues that federal securities law permits issuer defendants in...more
On April 7, in Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, et al. v. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., a Second Circuit panel declined to narrow the scope of the inflation-maintenance theory of securities fraud and split 2-1 in affirming...more
In sports, it is often said that “winning cures everything.” The same concept applies to uncovering fraud. When the economy is strong and most investors are making money, there is little incentive to ask difficult questions...more
On January 3, 2020, Judge Edmond E. Chang of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division granted Plaintiffs’ motion to certify a class of investors in an action alleging that two...more
On May 13, 2019, Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr., of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed all claims asserted against four individual defendants under Sections 12(a)(1) of the Securities...more
Attorneys who appear in both state and federal courts must be familiar with the differences between the two systems. While some rules have harmonized over time,[1] other procedures are entirely distinct. As a matter of...more
As we previously noted in this post, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed the Volkswagen Bondholder Plaintiff’s first amended complaint, with leave to amend, holding that it could...more
This case stems from alleged misstatement made by Volkswagen Group of America Finance (“VWGoAF”) in an Offering Memorandum governing the issuance of three sets of bonds. The bonds were offered in private placements with...more
This quarter's issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between November 2017 and January 2018. The cases address developing trends in appraisal, class certification, core...more
On February 28, 2018, Judge Peter Sheridan of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey granted class certification in an action against Aeterna Zentaris, Inc. and certain of its executives. Li V....more
Last month, in Arkansas Teachers Retirement System v. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., the Second Circuit vacated the Southern District of New York’s order certifying a class in a Rule 10b-5 securities fraud class action. At issue...more
A California District Court granted certification to a group of SeaWorld investors in a shareholder securities fraud case following the release of the documentary “Blackfish.” ...more
On December 5, 2017, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied class certification in a putative securities fraud class action against Finisar Corporation (“Finisar”), a technology...more
In Waggoner v. Barclays PLC, No. 16-1912 (2d Cir. Nov. 6, 2017), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in a Rule 10b-5 securities fraud action, affirmed the district court’s order granting class...more
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
In the long-running Halliburton securities litigation, a dispute has arisen between two rival class proponents. While readers of this blog are no doubt familiar with The Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co. case and...more
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
2016 was an active year in securities litigation. In the first half of 2016 alone, plaintiffs filed 119 new federal class action securities cases. It was also a busy year for SEC enforcement proceedings, with a record 868...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a putative class action case that posed whether common questions of law or fact predominate on the reliance element of Plaintiffs' Section 10(b) claims. The court concluded...more
On September 27, 2016, the Second Circuit ruled against an opt-out action brought in the continuing Vivendi litigation. The recently issued opinion, however, does have positive implications for institutional investor class...more
In so-called “price maintenance” securities fraud cases, plaintiffs argue that a misrepresentation that does not cause a stock’s price to rise can nevertheless be actionable under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange of...more