On April 11, 2025, a cryptocurrency platform (the “Company”) moved to certify for interlocutory appeal the September 5, 2024 decision by Judge Brian R. Martinotti of the United States District Court for the District of New...more
On March 7, 2025, Judge John P. Cronan of the Southern District of New York granted a motion for judgment on the pleadings in a putative class action asserting claims under Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, on remand from the United States Supreme Court, unanimously reversed the district court’s denial of a technology company’s (the “Company”) motion to dismiss claims...more
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
On September 25, 2024, Judge Orelia E. Merchant of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss a putative securities class action against an...more
The number of filings increased slightly despite a large decline in federal Section 11 and state 1933 Act filings....more
Overall filing volume increased slightly in 2023 to 215 filings from 208 in 2022. The number of “core” filings—those excluding M&A filings—also increased slightly. The size of core filings when measured by Maximum Dollar Loss...more
Cryptocurrency-related filings continue to see a high level of activity. The number of securities class action filings increased in the first half of 2023, according to a report released today by Cornerstone Research and...more
On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court (the Supreme Court) issued a much-anticipated decision in the case captioned Slack Technologies, LLC, fka Slack Technologies, Inc. (Slack), et al. v. Pirani (the Slack Decision), which...more
A unanimous Supreme Court today made it more difficult for shareholders to file suits under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act or the Act). The Court held in Slack Technologies, LLC v. Fiyyaz Pirani...more
Supreme Court Hears Argument on Traceability Requirement in Circuit-Split Slack v. Pirani - Key Points - - Before the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in a high-profile securities case...more
Alston & Bird’s Securities Litigation Group analyzes the issues facing the U.S. Supreme Court in an appeal that will determine whether companies face potential liability under the 1933 Act for shares made available to the...more
On April 25, 2022, U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman dismissed a putative securities class action alleging that a fintech company (the “Company”) misrepresented its internal control weaknesses and financial results in its...more
Ninth Circuit Holds that Purchasers of Unregistered Shares in Slack’s Direct Listing May Bring Securities Act Claims; Small Class of Crypto Purchasers Recommended for Certification; Tether to Pay $41 Million to Settle...more
On September 20, 2021, in Pirani v. Slack Technologies, Inc., a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that investors who purchase stock in a “direct listing”—in which pre-existing shares are...more
On December 3, 2020, the New York State Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department dismissed an action alleging claims under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) in Lyu v. Ruhnn Holdings Limited....more
In Salzberg v. Sciabacucchi, No. 346, 2019 (Del. Mar. 18, 2020), the Delaware Supreme Court upheld the validity of corporate charter provisions designating federal courts as the exclusive forum for the litigation of claims...more
This issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between October 2019 and January 2020. ...more
On March 18th, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a key decision upholding the validity of corporate charter provisions that designate federal courts as the exclusive forum for the litigation of 1933 Act claims. This opinion...more
On October 31, 2019, Vice Chancellor Kathaleen S. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed a stockholder derivative suit against the directors of LendingClub Corporation for failure to plead demand futility. In...more
The Third Circuit recently issued an important decision for private fund advisors who serve on corporate boards. In a precedential decision on a matter of first impression, the Third Circuit distinguished the role of...more
On July 11, 2019, Justice Andrew Borrok of the New York State Supreme Court, County of New York, Commercial Division, dismissed a putative securities class action against a Brazilian based online retailer (the “Company”),...more
On February 25, 2019, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute of Legal Reform (the “ILR”) published a report entitled “Containing the Contagion: Proposals to Reform the Broken Securities Class Action System” (the “Report”)....more
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between September 2018 and October 2018. ...more
Last Friday's post discussed the possibility of avoiding potential liability under Section 11 of the Securities Act by relying on the Section 3(a)(10) exemption from registration. Eliminating Section 11 liability does not...more