Category: Securities fraud
Securities Plaintiffs Pursuing Crypto, Banking and High-Dollar-Value Cases in 2023, According to Cornerstone Research Report
Cornerstone Research (a top consulting and expert testimony firm) recently issued its highly anticipated midyear report on securities class action filings. The report examines recent trends in securities class action filings and provides insights about the types of cases filed, maximum dollar loss (MDL) amounts, and the impact of recent […]
Securities Litigation + Enforcement Highlights From Q2 2023
As 2023 reached its midpoint, Cooley’s securities litigation + enforcement practice continued its track record of obtaining victories for clients while serving as thought leaders on issues impacting the securities litigation and enforcement landscape. Below, we’ve rounded up key insights and developments from our team over recent months.
District Court Upholds Forum Selection Provision for Claims Brought Derivatively Under Section 10(b)
In what appears to be a novel decision, the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas recently upheld a Delaware forum-selection clause as to claims asserted derivatively under Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act. As Cydney Posner observes in this Cooley PubCo post (and as we recently wrote […]
On Remand, Texas District Court Concludes Fifth Circuit Dealt ‘Iatrogenic Blow’ to Securities Plaintiff, Dismisses Case
As discussed in a previous blog post, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a January 2023 decision that reversed the dismissal of a putative securities class action against Six Flags on the grounds that the plaintiff’s complaint adequately stated a claim for securities fraud. In a […]
Ninth Circuit Upholds Delaware Forum-Selection Clause, Dismisses Federal Derivative Action
On June 1, 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in a split en banc decision that forum-selection clauses requiring shareholders to file derivative claims in the Delaware Court of Chancery are enforceable as applied to claims asserted derivatively under Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange […]
Fourth Circuit Issues Decisive Opinion Affirming Dismissal of Securities Class Action Against MacroGenics
Biotech companies are often faced with a dilemma – they need to raise capital to develop novel therapies, and in doing so, they often express honest optimism about interim and topline results from their drugs in development. But they cannot be reasonably expected to disclose all results or interpretations of […]
Oklahoma Firefighters Pension & Retirement Systems v. Six Flags:
Fifth Circuit Opinion Reviving Securities Class Action Creates Tension with Other Circuits on Key Issues
Introduction On January 18, 2023, the Fifth Circuit unanimously reversed the Northern District of Texas’s dismissal of a securities class action contending that Six Flags and two of its executives misled investors by projecting impossible timelines for opening new theme parks in China, which were anticipated to be highly profitable. […]
In re Nektar Therapeutics: Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Securities Class Action Arising from Failure of Clinical Drug Trial
Summary On May 19, 2022, a panel of the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a putative securities fraud class action accusing Nektar Therapeutics and several of its executives of misleading investors about the results of a clinical drug trial. The court held that even if Nektar […]
Plumbers & Steamfitters Local v. Danske Bank: Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Securities Class Action Arising from Money Laundering at Estonian Branch of Denmark Bank
Summary On August 25, 2021, the Second Circuit unanimously affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of a securities class action accusing Danske Bank and several of its former executives of downplaying a money-laundering scandal at Danske’s Estonian Branch. The court held that while the Estonian Branch’s failure to follow anti-money laundering […]
Can Hypothetical Risk Factors Be Misleading?
In In re Alphabet Securities Litigation, the State of Rhode Island, as lead plaintiff, filed a Rule10b-5 action against Google LLC, its holding company Alphabet, Inc., and certain executives, alleging that the defendants failed to timely disclose certain cybersecurity defects and vulnerabilities. The district court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss the […]