Securities Law

Suits Announced Against Fannie Mae and Merrill Lynch

Investors unhappy with the government takeover of Fannie Mae and the buyout of Merrill Lynch are filing lawsuits against the companies. The suit against Fannie Mae will be filed by investors who were encouraged to buy the company’s preferred shares, Reuters reports. They are represented by Joseph Cotchett of Cotchett,…

Sep 16, 2008 5:49 PM CDT

Lehman’s Impact Stretches from Corporate Lawyers to Litigators

It’s not just corporate lawyers who fear the ripple effect from the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. Litigators and plaintiffs lawyers are also worried. New York law firms dominate the market because of their work for investment banks. They fear turmoil in the financial markets could lead to more bankruptcies and new…

Sep 16, 2008 11:39 AM CDT

Top SEC Lawyer in NY to Join Gibson Dunn

The top enforcement lawyer for the Securities and Exchange Commission in New York is jumping to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. Mark Schonfeld, who has held his current SEC position since 2004, is expected to leave his post within a month, the Wall Street Journal…

Sep 11, 2008 4:40 PM CDT

Coughlin Stoia Files Suit on Behalf of Fannie Mae Investors

Plaintiffs securities law firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins filed suit against Fannie Mae just one day after its takeover by the government was announced. The suit filed Monday claims four current and former Fannie Mae officials misrepresented the financial health of the company, Legal Times reports. The suit…

Sep 10, 2008 12:36 PM CDT

Will Misdated Report About United Airlines Bring Legal Consequences?

Updated: A report yesterday that United Airlines had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy sent the company’s stock plunging from over $12 to less than $3, in under an hour, before the erroneous news was corrected and the share price largely recovered. But it’s unclear whether there will be any legal…

Sep 9, 2008 4:25 PM CDT

Judge Approves Record $688M Attorney Fees in Enron Securities Case

Securities class action law firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins is among the plaintiffs law firms awarded a record $688 million in fees in Enron shareholder litigation. U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon approved the award, the largest ever in a securities fraud case, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.).…

Sep 9, 2008 12:25 PM CDT

Judge: Broadcom Co-Founder’s Plea Deal Suggests Justice is for Sale

A federal judge in Santa Ana, Calif., has tossed a plea deal that involved a hefty fine but no jail time in the backdating case against Broadcom co-founder Henry Samueli. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney said the deal creates the impression that “justice is for sale,” the Daily Journal reports…

Sep 9, 2008 11:54 AM CDT

Judge Finds Oracle CEO Withheld E-Mail in Investor Suit

A federal judge in San Francisco has found that Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison deliberately destroyed or withheld e-mail and failed to preserve tape recordings in an investor lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said jurors will be told they could infer the documents and tapes would have shown Ellison…

Sep 3, 2008 1:33 PM CDT

A Lesson Unlearned

Sixteen years after watershed case, lawyers may yet be subprime targets

Sep 1, 2008 1:05 PM CDT

Auction Rate Settlements Are Bad News for Plaintiffs Firms

Recent settlements in which brokerage firms are buying back auction-rate securities may put a damper on lawsuits filed on behalf of investors. The Am Law Daily recently dubbed New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo its litigator of the week for the settlements he has reached with financial institutions such as…

Aug 27, 2008 11:23 AM CDT

Andrew Cuomo Dubbed ‘Litigator of the Week’

The Am Law Daily has dubbed New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo its litigator of the week for settlements he has spurred in cases dealing with auction-rate securities. The publication cites several settlements Cuomo reached with financial institutions last week. Wachovia agreed to pay a $50 million fine and buy…

Aug 25, 2008 3:40 PM CDT

Two Law Firms to Earn $8M in Fees for Serving as Brocade Co-Counsel

Two San Diego plaintiffs law firms will earn at least $8 million in fees to drop their backdating lawsuits against Brocade Communications and assist the company’s special litigation committee in its suit. The payment arrangements for Johnson Bottini and Robbins Umeda & Fink were disclosed under an order by U.S.…

Aug 25, 2008 11:37 AM CDT

Appeals Court Upholds Sarbanes-Oxley Law

A federal appeals court in a 2-1 decision has upheld a corporate accountability law passed following the collapse of Enron. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected contentions that the Sarbanes-Oxley law gave too much power to a nonprofit board that oversees accounting firms that audit companies,…

Aug 25, 2008 10:46 AM CDT

2nd Circuit Turns Down Milberg’s Request for a Fee Boost to $101M

A federal appeals court has turned down a request by securities class action firm Milberg to reap $101 million in fees in a settlement against Nortel Networks Corp. Milberg had sought 8.5 percent of the settlement, which amounted to about $101 million, the New York Law Journal reports. A federal…

Aug 20, 2008 4:19 PM CDT

Ex-Apple GC Settles SEC Case for $2.2M, Wants to Seek Social Justice

Former Apple general counsel Nancy Heinen has agreed to pay $2.2 million in a civil settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve allegations of stock options backdating. The amount includes disgorgement of gains from the sale of backdated stock options, interest on the gains, and a $200,000 fine,…

Aug 15, 2008 11:51 AM CDT