The securities fraud defense bar had quite a bad day at the Supreme Court this week. By a 6-3 decision in Amgen, the Court rejected the defendants’ newfangled theory that would have required securities fraud plaintiffs to prove materiality to … Continue reading
Everyone agrees that to win a securities fraud claim at trial, shareholders must prove that defendants’ false statements had a material effect on the company’s stock prices. Materiality is an element of this claim for the jury to resolve on … Continue reading
As I reported earlier this year, ever since the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the famous 1980 case of Filartiga v. Pena-Irala ruled that foreign victims can sue under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) in U.S. courts for being … Continue reading
It’s open season for politics. Eagerly reporting the results of a survey taken by the ever-so-fair-and-balanced groups calling themselves “Sick Of Lawsuits” and the American Tort Reform Association, The Wall Street Journal last week told us that “89% of voters … Continue reading
Class actions are about fairness and efficiency. While some corporate defendants act as if class actions are beasts from the Book of Revelation, class actions simply involve a person representing the interests of a larger group of people having common … Continue reading
On June 8, 2012, Dr. John Howard, the health administrator of the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program, in an eagerly-anticipated decision, proclaimed that dozens of types of cancer should be covered by a $4.3 billion federal fund to treat … Continue reading
When the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11, 2001, a mushroom cloud of toxic dust surged through lower Manhattan. Countless victims at the crash site, including firefighters and police, were caked in a thick grey dust covering their bodies, burning … Continue reading
A power shift is underway in corporate America. Emboldened by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, shareholders nationwide in 2012 are making their voices heard in boardrooms demanding greater disclosures in corporate governance. And a key demand … Continue reading
“I am convinced that there was direct line between at least some of the terrorists who carried out the September 11th attacks and the government of Saudi Arabia, and that a Saudi government agent living in the United States, Omar … Continue reading
Today, millions of Americans have had their lives turned upside down by the mortgage crisis. The internet abounds with stories of underwater mortgages, defaults and foreclosures. What you may not have heard, however, is how some of the most prestigious … Continue reading