Securities class-action lawsuits play a crucial role in holding corporations accountable for financial misdeeds. They typically involve allegations of securities fraud, where a company makes misleading statements or omits important information that leads to an inflated stock price. When the …

Plaintiffs’ attorneys often issue marketing releases after public companies announce adverse corporate events. These releases typically say the attorneys are “investigating potential claims” against the company and encourage shareholders who have been harmed to contact the law firm. In a …

Traders in the United States now routinely trade hundreds of crypto assets in secondary crypto markets, and the pool of tradable assets is growing. Through these transactions, traders have seen financial gains and losses, which at times have been substantial. …

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 …

Audit firms’ risk of being sued has historically been an important factor driving audit quality and firm valuation in U.S. capital markets. Investors have traditionally targeted auditors in class action suits as “deep pockets” with a greater ability to pay …

When the removal provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act) and the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) conflict, the 1933 Act should prevail. The conflict arises in cases involving initial offerings of noncovered securities when plaintiffs …

This is a speech that Professor Coffee is scheduled to deliver today as part of a webinar program that will pay tribute to Judge Jack Weinstein and will be presented jointly by Columbia Law School and the Institute of Judicial …

The class action is indispensable to private enforcement of SEC Rule 10b-5, which prohibits fraudulent practices in the secondary securities market.  Though Rule 10b-5 is a criminal provision, courts have long inferred a private civil right of action, allowing defrauded …

Securities litigation is almost inevitable for any public company.  Often, investors sue because the firm’s managers engaged in fraud that directly harmed the shareholders – say, by doctoring the firm’s financials or lying about known business prospects.  However, shareholders also …