Excerpt: "In a case that could hold significant implications for the viability of shareholder lawsuits, AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (ANN) has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the reinstatement of a class action securities suit pending against the retailer.

At issue is the burden shareholders must shoulder in order to withstand attempts by companies to throw lawsuits out in the early stages of litigation. If the high court agrees to hear it, the case could help settle legal interpretations of a law that Congress passed more than five years ago to help companies fight frivolous lawsuits.

Appeals courts haven't harmonized their interpretation of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, passed in 1995, "to create a uniform pleading standard for securities fraud class actions more stringent than the varying standards previously applied...," lawyers for AnnTaylor said in their petition for review.