(1) Given that the PSLRA has been in effect since 1995, federal courts of appeals have been spending a surprising amount of time lately addressing writs of mandamus on how to interpret the statute’s lead plaintiff provisions. Just last month, a Ninth Circuit panel held that a district court cannot reject the lead plaintiff’s proposed lead counsel and substitute lead counsel of the court’s own choosing. In In re Bard Associates, Inc., 2009 WL 4350780, (10th Cir. Dec. 2, 2009), the Tenth Circuit was asked to consider whether an investment advisor who applied to act as lead plaintiff, but did not obtain assignments of its clients’ claims until after its motion was filed, made a valid application. The panel found that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it rejected the investment advisor’s application on the grounds that the investment advisor had failed to establish its standing to sue as of the lead plaintiff application deadline.
(2) Settling a securities class action for $40 million is not that unusual. Settling a securities class action for $40 million after obtaining the dismissal of the case (and before any appellate ruling) is quite unusual. The D&O Diary and The American Lawyer have full coverage of Dell’s interesting settlement announced last week. It certainly seems hard to argue with lead counsel’s conclusion that it was “a very, very good result for the class . . . [p]articularly given the procedural posture of the case.”
The 10b-5 Daily 