NERA Economic Consulting and Cornerstone Research have released their 2019 midyear reports on securities class action filings. As usual, the different methodologies employed by the two organizations have led to slightly different numbers, although they both identify the same general trends.
The key findings include:
(1) The reports agree that filings continue to be at near-record levels, driven by continued growth in “standard” filings alleging violations of Rule 10b-5, Section 11, and/or Section 12, even while M&A-related cases have declined. NERA finds that there were 218 filings (compared with 217 filings in 1H 2018), while Cornerstone finds that there were 198 filings (compared with 199 filings in 1H 2018).
(2) Following the Cyan decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, there has been a surge in state court filings alleging Section 11 claims. Cornerstone finds that this has continued in 1H 2019, with 19 cases brought in state courts (with over a third of these cases being accompanied by a federal filing alleging similar claims).
(3) NERA finds that there has been an increase in accounting-related claims, making up 37% of standard filings and notching the highest first half case count since the first half of 2011.
The NERA report can be found here and the Cornerstone report can be found here.
The 10b-5 Daily 