In the opinion issued yesterday in Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund (“Omnicare”), the Supreme Court rejected the two extremes advocated by the parties regarding how the truth or falsity of statements of opinion should be considered under the securities laws, and instead adopted the middle path advocated in
6th Circuit
Top 5 Securities and Corporate Governance Litigation Developments of 2014
By Doug Greene on
Posted in 2nd Circuit, 3rd Circuit, 5th Circuit, 6th Circuit, 7th Circuit, 9th Circuit, Class Certification, Confidential Witnesses, Corporate Governance, Delaware Courts, Fraud-on-the-Market Doctrine, Litigation Reforms, M&A Litigation, Plaintiffs' Bar, SEC, SEC Enforcement, Section 220, Securities Class Action, Shareholder Derivative Action, Statements of Opinion, Supreme Court
This year will be remembered as the year of the Super Bowl of securities litigation, Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc. (“Halliburton II”), 134 S. Ct. 2398 (2014), the case that finally gave the Supreme Court the opportunity to overrule the fraud-on-the-market presumption of reliance, established in 1988 in Basic v.
Omnicare Court Ponders Two Middle Paths: One Rocky, One Smooth
By Doug Greene & Claire Loebs Davis on
Monday’s oral argument before the Supreme Court in Laborers District Counsel Construction Industry Pension Fund v. Omnicare, Inc. (“Omnicare”) was remarkable in that, as Omnicare attorney Kannon Shanmugam noted, it was the “rare case in which none of the parties is defending the reasoning of the court of appeals below.”
As we explained in last…
Matrixx Did Not, and Could Not, Authorize Shortcuts in Reform Act Scienter Analysis, Despite Plaintiffs’ Claims to the Contrary
As I have previously written, the Sixth Circuit’s erroneous interpretation of the scienter component of the Supreme Court’s decision in Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. v. Siracusano, 131 S. Ct. 1309 (2011), is one of the biggest threats to the protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.
The resulting flawed analysis – which I …
Sixth Circuit Takes Wrong Turn in Cases Challenging Opinions: A Statement of Opinion is not False if it is Genuinely Believed
By Doug Greene & Claire Loebs Davis on
When is an opinion a false or misleading statement? If a company official says “I think the deal is fair,” is it a false statement just because the deal is objectively unfair? Or only if the official also did not subjectively believe the deal was fair when he voiced that opinion?
With the Sixth Circuit’s…
Looking Ahead: Forthcoming 2013 Securities and Corporate Governance Litigation Developments
This promises to be an eventful year in securities and corporate governance litigation. A number of looming developments have the potential to change the landscape for many years to come. This is the first of two posts – or three, if I get carried away – discussing some of these developments.
The Delaware Supreme Court’s …