|  | | 2009 News and Press Releases | | |
HEADLINE NEWS:
Advisen Reports Q1 2009 Securities Litigation Filing Is Above 2008 Pace, More Class Actions And Non-Us Filings; Large Settlements For Securities Fraud Cases
Staff Writer
Business Wire. May 4, 2009
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EXCERPT: The commercial insurance industry is exposed to a surge in securities litigation filings in the first quarter of 2009, according to results of a quarterly review of securities litigation by Advisen, the leading provider of market information to the global commercial insurance industry. Advisen tracked 169 securities cases in its Master Significant Case and Action Database (MSCAd), up from 125 cases in Q4 2008 and 134 suits a year earlier in Q1 2008. Projecting this filing activity forward, 2009 would see 676 securities cases, an increase of 38% over 2008. However, Advisen notes that Madoff-related cases were responsible for 30% of all securities cases in the first quarter, so the brisk pace of filings will likely abate through 2009. […] “The Ponzi schemes – Madoff and Stanford – were the big drivers of securities suits filed in the first quarter,” said David K. Bradford, EVP and Co-Founder of Advisen. “Those suits, along with a large number of sub-prime and credit crisis suits filed in the quarter, continue to pound the financial institution sector, much as was the case in 2008. It’s shaping up to be another tough year for financial institution D&O and E&O underwriters.” Sixty-Seven securities class action suits (SCAS) were filed in Q1 2009, up from 53 cases the quarter before and 56 suits a year earlier. This translates to an annualized Q1 2009 figure of 268 cases filed, which would surpass the relatively litigious year of 2004 with 263 suits and 23% higher than the 218 suits filed in 2008. […] After SCAS cases, securities fraud accounted for 34 suits filed in the first quarter, up from 19 in Q4 2008, but down from 54 in Q3 2008. On an annualized basis, securities fraud cases filed in Q1 2009 represented 136 cases, flat with 2008 but down from 175 in 2007. |
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