Welcome to our ninth annual report on US securities class actions filed against publicly traded life sciences companies, which include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and healthcare companies....more
On January 16, 2025, Judge Trina L. Thompson of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion to dismiss a securities action asserting claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the...more
On November 13, 2024, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in an appeal from a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a putative class action asserting claims under the...more
On August 12, 2024, Judge David C. Godbey of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings in an action alleging that an oil company (the “Company”) and a...more
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has dealt a significant blow to the cybersecurity enforcement efforts of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission). In its July 18, 2024,...more
In a pair of orders issued this month, the U.S. Supreme Court signaled plans to provide further guidance in its upcoming Fall term concerning application of the heightened standard for pleading securities fraud claims...more
On May 7, 2024, Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed with prejudice a putative shareholders’ class action against a pharmaceutical company (“Company”)...more
On April 5, 2024, a jury found Matthew Panuwat civilly liable for insider trading in violation of federal securities laws in a first-of-its-kind “shadow trading” case (also referred to as “sympathy trading”), which was...more
During 2023, securities lawsuit filings rose for the first time in four years. Settlements declined last year; there were nine mega-settlements of more than $100 million, including a $1 billion settlement. Case filings...more
On January 30, 2024, Judge Susan Illston of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted with leave to amend a motion to dismiss a putative securities class action against a battery company...more
On January 5, 2024, Judge Jon S. Tigar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion to dismiss a proposed securities class action against an entertainment company that primarily...more
On December 11, 2023, Judge Charles Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California narrowed a putative class action asserting claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the...more
The U.S. Supreme Court will likely decide before the end of its current term whether the failure to make a disclosure pursuant to Item 303 of Regulation S-K can serve as the basis for a securities fraud claim under Section...more
On September 11, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled enforcement actions against nine separate investment advisory firms for alleged marketing rule violations, assessing a total of $850,000 in...more
Many publicly reporting companies often respond to lawsuits by characterizing them as “without merit” in their securities filings. If the company does not prevail in such litigation, can it still be held responsible for...more
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the dismissal of a purported securities fraud class action, because lower-level corporate officials with knowledge of an alleged fraudulent sales scheme were not...more
On July 3, 2023, Judge Josephine L. Staton of the United States District Court for the Central District of California denied a motion to dismiss a putative class action against an electric automobile company (the “Company”),...more
On March 29, 2023, Judge William G. Young of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted a motion to dismiss a putative securities class action alleging a pharmaceutical company (the “Company”),...more
On February 14, 2023, Judge Charles R. Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion to dismiss a putative securities class action alleging that a hearing aid company (the...more
On February 2, 2023, Judge Steven P. Logan of the United States District of Arizona dismissed a putative class action alleging that manufacturer of hydrogen-electric vehicles (the “Company”), the Company’s former CEO (the...more
On June 7, 2022, Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee granted a motion for class certification in a putative class action against a healthcare company (the...more
On May 20, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder...more
On May 10, 2022, Judge Edward Chen of the United States District Court for the District of Northern California unsealed an April 1, 2022 order granting in part a motion for summary judgment in a securities class action...more
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February and April 2022. Cryptocurrency Derivative Litigation Fiduciary Duties – Bylaws Material...more
On May 4, 2022, Judge Victor Marrero of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a motion to dismiss a putative class action alleging, among other things, violations of Sections 10(b) and...more