The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear Goldman Sachs v. Arkansas next month (oral argument is scheduled for March 29). The questions presented in the case are:
(1) Whether a defendant in a securities class action may rebut the presumption of classwide reliance recognized in Basic Inc. v. Levinson, 485 U.S. 224 (1988), by pointing to the generic nature of the alleged misstatements in showing that the statements had no impact on the price of the security, even though that evidence is also relevant to the substantive element of materiality.
(2) Whether a defendant seeking to rebut the Basic presumption has only a burden of production or also the ultimate burden of persuasion.
The author of The 10b-5 Daily – Lyle Roberts – assisted the Washington Legal Foundation (“WLF”) in the submission of an amicus brief in support of the petitioners. He also participated yesterday in an online WLF program on the current U.S. Supreme Court Term, discussing the Goldman case and what securities litigation topics might be coming before the Court in the near future (hint: extraterritoriality and loss causation). A direct link to the Goldman discussion can be found here.
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