Securities Law Commons^™

Halliburton Ii: A Loser's History, Adam C. Pritchard

Articles

The Supreme Court was presented with an opportunity to bring fundamental reform to securities class actions last term in Halliburton Co. v. Erica P John Fund, Inc.. The Court ducked that opportunity, passing the buck to Congress to undo the mess that the Court had created a quarter century prior in Basic Inc. v. Levinson. Congress's history in dealing with securities class actions suggests that reform is unlikely to come from the legislature anytime soon. The Securities and Exchange Commission appears to be satisfied with the status quo as well. With these institutional actors resisting reform, corporations and …

A Blended Approach To Reducing The Costs Of Shareholder Litigation, Valian A. Afshar

Michigan Law Review

Multiforum litigation and federal securities law class actions impose heavy costs on corporations and their shareholders without producing proportionate benefits. Both are largely the result of the agency problem between shareholders and their attorneys, driven more by the attorneys’ interests in generating fees than by the interests of their clients. In response to each of these problems, commentators have recommended a number of solutions. Chief among them are forum selection and mandatory arbitration provisions in a corporation’s charter or bylaws. This Note recommends that corporations unilaterally adopt both forum selection and mandatory arbitration bylaws to address shareholder lawsuits under state …

Federal Discovery Stays, Gideon Mark

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In federal civil litigation, unless a discretionary stay is granted, discovery often proceeds while motions to dismiss are pending. Plaintiffs with non-meritorious cases can compel defendants to spend massively on electronic discovery before courts ever rule on such motions. Defendants who are unable or unwilling to incur the huge up-front expense of electronic discovery may be forced to settle non-meritorious claims. To address multiple electronic discovery issues, Congress amended the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 2006 and the Federal Rules of Evidence in 2008. However, the amendments failed to significantly reduce costs and failed to address the critical issue …

Revitalizing Motive And Opportunity Pleading After Tellabs, Marvin Lowenthal

Michigan Law Review

Congress passed the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA") to prevent frivolous lawsuits that had been draining resources from businesses. This legislation included provisions for heightening the pleading requirements for the scienter, or state of mind, requirement for securities law violations. Many circuit courts debated whether the motive and opportunity test for scienter, applied initially by the Second and Third Circuits, survived the passage of the PSLRA. This Note argues that while the motive and opportunity test has been discounted by numerous circuits, it not only remains viable for pleading scienter under the PSLRA, but it accomplishes the …

The Unjustified Judicial Creation Of Class Certification Merits Trials In Securities, Michael J. Kaufman, John M. Wunderlich

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The class action device is vital to deterring securities fraud and remedying its victims, who almost never suffer losses sufficient to justify an individual suit. Nonetheless, the federal courts have begun to convert the class certification process into a premature trial on the merits, thereby precluding victims of securities fraud from pursuing otherwise valid claims of financial wrongdoing. In particular, in a series of important decisions, the federal courts have required plaintiffs to prove the essential elements of their securities fraud claims at the preliminary class certification stage.

This Article demonstrates why this trend should end. The judicial creation of …

Loss Causation And Class Certification, Steven Serajeddini

Michigan Law Review

Courts have long faced difficulty interpreting loss causation under Section 10b-5 of the Securities Act of 1934. This difficulty stems from the seemingly irreconcilable conflict between this core element of common law fraud and the procedural demands of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the typical vehicle for a 10b-5 class action. Recently, some courts and commentators have begun to consider loss causation as an individualized inquiry that is not common among class members, and one that therefore warrants consideration at the class certification stage. The existing justifications center on the conceptually distinct 10b-5 element of reliance, …

The Corporate Monitor: The New Corporate Czar?, Vikramaditya Khanna, Timothy L. Dickinson

Michigan Law Review

Following the recent spate of corporate scandals, government enforcement authorities have increasingly relied upon corporate monitors to help ensure law compliance and reduce the number of future violations. These monitors also permit enforcement authorities, such as the Securities & Exchange Commission and others, to leverage their enforcement resources in overseeing corporate behavior. However there are few descriptive or normative analyses of the role and scope of corporate monitors. This paper provides such an analysis. After sketching out the historical development of corporate monitors, the paper examines the most common features of the current set of monitor appointments supplemented by interviews …

What Counts As Fraud? An Empirical Study Of Motions To Dismiss Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, Adam C. Pritchard, Hillary A. Sale

Articles

This article presents the findings of a study of the resolution of motions to dismiss securities fraud lawsuits since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) in 1995. Our sample consists of decisions on motions to dismiss in securities class actions by district and appellate courts in the Second and Ninth Circuits for cases filed after the passage of the Reform Act to the end of 2002. These circuits are the leading circuits for the filing of securities class actions and are generally recognized as representing two ends of the securities class action spectrum. Post-PSLRA, the Second …

Pleading Under Section 11 Of The Securities Act Of 1933, Krista L. Turnquist

Michigan Law Review

The Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") requires full and fair disclosure of the nature of securities sold in interstate and foreign commerce. Section 11 of the Securities Act prohibits false or misleading registration statements. It also provides buyers a private remedy for false or misleading statements against any signer of the registration statement, any partner or director of the issuer, any professional involved in preparing or certifying the statement, and any underwriter. The rule appears simple: if there is a material misstatement or omission in the registration statement, the buyer may sue the seller. Courts disagree, however, over how …

In Re Silicon Graphics Inc.: Shareholder Wealth Effects Resulting From The Interpretation Of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act's Pleading Standard, Marilyn F. Johnson, Karen K. Nelson, Adam C. Pritchard

Articles

This Article presents an empirical study of changes in shareholder wealth resulting from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in In re Silicon Graphics Inc. Securities Litigation, which interpreted the pleading provision established in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act"). Congress passed the Reform Act as part of an ongoing effort to protect corporations from abusive suits alleging "fraud by hindsight." In such suits, plaintiffs claimed that a sudden drop in a company's stock price was evidence that the issuer and its management covered up the bad news that led to the price drop. …

Stockholder's Derivative Actions By Holders Of Convertible Debentures, Robert A. Malstrom

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article focuses on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.1. That rule provides a particularly convenient vehicle for discussing the protective limitations which prevent abuse of the derivative action. Analogous protective limitations exist in the statutory or case law of most jurisdictions, therefore the discussion here applies equally to actions brought in the courts of many states. Moreover, the economic and public policy arguments presented are applicable to actions in both federal and state courts.

Shareholder Derivative Actions: A Modest Proposal To Revise Federal Rule 23.1, Robert A. Kessler

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The purpose of this article is to suggest the addition of two words, "if necessary"-or better yet, the phrase "if necessary under the law of the forum state"-to clause (1) of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.1. This Rule sets forth the requirements for a shareholder's derivative action in the federal courts.

Corporations - Shareholders - Right To Bring Derivative Action For Treble Damages Under Antitrust Laws, William K. Davenport S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, owner of 50 percent of the stock in a theater corporation, brought a derivative action in federal court for treble damages for loss of profits allegedly suffered from defendant's violation of the antitrust laws. The district court sustained defendant's motion to dismiss. On appeal to the court of appeals, held, reversed and remanded. Under the new federal rules, a stockholder may bring a derivative action for treble damages under the antitrust laws. Fanchon & Marco, Inc. v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., (2d Cir. 1953) 202 F. (2d) 731.

Federal Procedure-Jurisdiction-Determination Of Amount In Controversy In Class Actions Under Federal Rule 23, James W. Callison

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff owned 50 shares of common stock valued at $950. She brought an action in behalf of herself and all other stockholders to enjoin a sale of unissued stock by the corporation to its president, claiming a violation of her preemptive right. The district court ruled on the merits. On appeal, held, the plaintiff's interest was but a small fraction of the $3,000 required to invoke the jurisdiction of the federal courts. Although the action was representative, the claims of other stockholders in a like situation could not be cumulated. Ames v. Mengel Co., (2d Cir. 1951) 190 …

Federal Procedure-Jurisdiction-Diversity Of Citizenship Required In Stockholder's Derivative Suit, Morris G. Shanker

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a citizen of New York, instituted a stockholder's suit on behalf of a New York corporation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Individual officers and directors of the corporation, all citizens of Connecticut, were charged with mismanagement and were joined with it as party defendants. Since plaintiff and defendant corporation were both citizens of New York, requisite diversity did not exist, and the district court dismissed the claim for lack of jurisdiction. Upon appeal, held, judgment affirmed. The section of the Federal Judicial Code providing that "any civil action by a …

Election Of Remedies - As Between Conversion And Replevin - Measure Of Recovery

Michigan Law Review

Through fraud, defendant received from plaintiff certain shares of stock together with other securities to secure a loan of $300,000 to the plaintiff. Defendant wrongfully hypothecated this stock. Plaintiff, after learning of the conversion, sued for the specific stock in replevin. During the course of the action he changed his demand to one in damages for conversion. The court held that plaintiff may not change the theory of his cause of action from replevin to conversion. Satterwhite v. Harriman Nat. Bank & Trust Co., (D. C. N. Y. 1935) 13 F. Supp. 493.

Note And Comment, Charles A. Kent, Horace Lafayette Wilgus, Willard J. Banyon, John T. Creighton

Michigan Law Review

A Criticism of President Hadley's Views on "The constitutional Position of Property in America"; Inconsistent Defenses; Vacation of Corporation Directors; Right of the United States to Recover Money Paid on Pension Checks Bearing Forged Indorsements; Damages Recoverable on Stock Broker's Failure to Purchase as Directed;

Recent Important Decisions, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Bankruptcy--Assignment--Validity--Possession of Res.; Carriers--Assaults by Employees on Passengers; Constitutional Law--Judicial Powers--Legislative Action of City Council Not Enjoined; Constitutional Law--Privileges and Immunities; Constitutional Law--Taxation of Imports; Contracts--Accord and Satisfaction--Consideration; Corporations--Liability of Bondholders on "Bonus Stock"; Covenants--Creation by Acceptance of Deed Poll; Criminal Law--Habeas Corpus--Want of Jurisdiction; Damages--For Wrongful Cutting of Timber--Value of the Manufactured Lumber; Evidence--Admissions of a Tenant in Common; Evidence--Effect of Plaintiff's Refusal to Submit to Physical Examination; Equity--Laches; foreign Corporations--What Constitutes "doing Business" in the State--Restrictions on State in Case of Interstate Commerce; Injunction--Suspension of Operative Force Pending Appeal; Judgment--conclusiveness--Matters Concluded; Judgment--foreign Judgment--Enforcement; Landlord and Tenant--Trade Fixtures--Right of …

Note And Comment, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A National Incorporation Law; The Northern Securities Case; Controversies Between States; Liability of Members of Congress for Bribery; Exempting of Lawyers from Service of Civil Process While Attending Court; Law Governing the Validity of a Note Executed and Delivered in One State, But Payable in Another