Columbia Law School
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Litigation
Paul Weiss Discusses Second Circuit Decision on Falsity in Securities Fraud Cases
On December 26, 2023, the Second Circuit in In re Philip Morris Int’l Inc. Securities Litigation issued a decision on two matters of first impression relating to falsity in the securities fraud context. [1] First, the court held that statements …
Why Is the Number of Securities Class Actions Alleging Insider Trading Dropping?
In a typical year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brings a few dozen enforcement cases against individuals for insider trader. These cases are typically settled before a decision by a court. Many of the issues raised by insider selling …
The Federal Arbitration Act Should Not Cover Consumer Claims
Consumer protection laws face a fundamental enforcement issue: Because consumer claims are typically for small amounts, and litigation is expensive, it rarely makes economic sense for consumers to litigate their claims individually. Partly to deal with this problem, lawmakers created …
How Litigation Finance Strengthens the Attorney-Client Relationship
When Bloomberg Law recently previewed its top six litigation issues for 2024, five were probably familiar: abortion, administrative law, antitrust enforcement, transgender rights, and opioids.
But the sixth might have surprised you: litigation finance.[1]
It’s a sign of how …
Cleary Gottlieb Discusses Roadblocks for Plaintiffs in Generative Artificial Intelligence Lawsuit
On October 30, 2023, U.S. District Judge William Orrick of the Northern District of California issued an Order[1]largely dismissing without prejudice the claims brought by artists Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan and Karla Ortiz in a proposed class action …
SEC Grapples with Jarkesy Case as Meta Lawsuit Waits in the Wings
The legal world witnessed a riveting face-off last week as the Supreme Court delved into the intricacies of SEC v. Jarkesy. The case, stemming from a divided opinion by the Fifth Circuit in May 2022, challenges the constitutionality of …
101 Lawyers: Attorney Appearances in Twitter v. Musk
Corporate law’s trial of the century was set to begin on October 17, 2022, in a small Wilmington, Delaware courtroom. Twitter v. Musk had it all. Celebrity. The world’s richest person. A product that helped foment revolutions around the world …
John C. Coffee, Jr. – The Trump Civil Trial: Has Anyone Looked at the Statute?
The end is in sight for New York Attorney General Letitia James’ suit against Donald Trump, but the most important questions have still not been posed or addressed. Indeed, much has proceeded in the reverse of the usual order. The …
John C. Coffee, Jr. – Mass Torts and Corporate Strategies: What Will the Courts Allow?
Within a month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, L.P.,[1] a case that (i) could radically change the potential for bankruptcy to serve as the preferred mechanism for corporations seeking to resolve mass torts, …
ISS Discusses the Risks of Participating in Securities Collective Actions Outside the U.S.
In contrast to class actions in the United States, the general principle in litigation abroad is that the loser pays the winner’s costs. This concept is known as “adverse costs,” and the risk of paying these costs can be daunting …
When Does Securities Litigation Affect Corporate Reputation?
Many academics, managers, lawyers, and others believe that nonmeritorious securities fraud class actions – those that will be dismissed or settled for nuisance amounts – damage corporate reputations. For example, litigation public relations experts claim that individuals adopt a “guilty …
Cleary Discusses Second Circuit Decision That Syndicated Loans Are Not Securities
On August 24, 2023, the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of state-law securities claims in Kirschner v. JP Morgan Chase,[1] concluding that the plaintiff failed to adequately plead that the syndicated term loans at issue were securities. This …
Why Short Attacks May Compel a Company to Sue
In a recent post on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, three partners at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP give practical advice to companies in preparing for and responding to a short attack. With respect …
Will the Common Good Guys Come to the Shootout in SEC v. Jarkesy? And Why It Matters
During my recent visit to Columbia Law School, Professor John Coffee shared with me a draft of a short article that later appeared in the New York Law Journal.[1] Coffee’s article assessed the prospects in the U.S. Supreme …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Second Circuit Decision on Class Certification in Securities Fraud Cases
On August 10, 2023, the Second Circuit handed down its highly anticipated decision in Arkansas Teacher Retirement System v. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.[1] The court reversed the district court’s decision to certify a class action and remanded with …
The Ripple and Terraform Cases Tee Up a Dramatic Showdown over Cryptocurrency Regulation
On July 31, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in New York decided a case with significant implications for how and even whether the Securities and Exchange Commission can regulate cryptocurrencies as a security. His decision contrasts sharply with a ruling …
Wachtell Discusses the U.S. Supreme Court’s Business Docket for the October Term 2022
As was true last year, the recently completed Supreme Court Term was marked by several high-profile and contentious decisions in which a conservative 6-to-3 majority, for example, ended race-conscious affirmative action in higher education, scuttled President Biden’s student debt relief …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Supreme Court Decision on Pennsylvania’s Consent-to-Jurisdiction Law
On June 27, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. to uphold a Pennsylvania law that requires out-of-state corporations that register to do business in Pennsylvania to consent to be sued there in …
A Consequential Circuit Split Casts Doubt on Whether Borak Is Still Good Law
On June 1, the Ninth Circuit en banc in Lee v. Fisher issued a consequential decision calling into question the scope of the implied right of action recognized by J.I. Case Co. v. Borak and creating a stark split with …