On January 10, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court affirmed the dismissal of a putative securities class action brought by a pension plan alleging that a hearing aid manufacturer (the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled last week that the securities-law requirement to plead a “strong inference” of scienter does not apply to claims under § 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act even where...more
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between August and October 2019. The cases address developing trends in the definition of a security, fiduciary...more
On October 9, 2019, Judge C. Darnell Jones, II of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed a putative securities class action asserting claims under the Securities Exchange Act of...more
On May 7, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit summarily affirmed the judgment by Judge Edgardo Ramos of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granting defendants’...more
On March 27, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Lorenzo v. SEC,[i] affirming the expansive view of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) that, under the right circumstances,...more
In a 6 to 2 opinion Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to extend its holding in Janus Capital Grp., Inc. v. First Derivative Traders, 564 U.S. 135 (2011) beyond Exchange Act Rule 10b-5(b), and held that a person who...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on a case in which the defendant appealed a verdict claiming the court abused its discretion and issued a “highly excessive” judgment when it ordered him to disgorge...more
Although the United States Supreme Court has never directly addressed the issue, many lower courts have inferred that a private right action exists under Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act. That may not come of much a...more
On April 20, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that scienter is not required for securities claims brought under Section 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Varjabedian v. Emulex...more
On April 13, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in a summary order, affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action against Deutsche Bank and certain of its officers asserting claims under...more
On November 15, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a putative securities fraud class action against PowerSecure International, Inc. (the “Company” or “PowerSecure”), and...more
On July 28, 2017, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court decision dismissing a putative class action lawsuit against Quality Systems, Inc., (“QSI” or the “Company”), a...more
On March 6, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found that the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina had erred in dismissing a class action lawsuit filed under Section 10(b) of the...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a class action by investors in Gold Resource Corp. (GRC) alleging that the company and four of its officers violated Section 10(b) of the...more
In This Issue: - AUDITOR LIABILITY: ..Athale v. Sinotech Energy Ltd., No. 11 Civ. 05831(AJN) (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 21, 2014) - BYLAWS: ..ATP Tour, Inc. v. Deutscher Tennis Bund (German Tennis...more