FRT’s Fast Five: Week ending April 5, 2019

Financial Recovery Technologies Fast Five provides you with the top news in shareholder class actions. Stay up-to-date on the latest developments in settled (U.S./Canada) claims filing opportunities, Antitrust settlements, Global Group Litigation matters and more. For more information, contact your Financial Recovery Technologies representative or email us.

1. Equifax Investor Seeks Cert. in Data Breach Stock-Drop Suit

Union Asset Management Holding AG, the parent to the Frankfurt-based Union Investment Group, urged U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. to certify a proposed class of investors who bought stock in Equifax between late February 2016 and mid-September 2017, after the credit reporting giant disclosed the data breach and a fuller picture of what happened began to emerge. Click here to read the full article (subscription may be need).

2. German Court Rejects Second Investor Group Action Against Volkswagen and Porsche SE on Diesel Scandal

A German court on Wednesday said it won’t allow a second investor group action against Volkswagen AG and its controlling shareholder, Porsche SE, for allegedly failing to inform investors about the Diesel scandal in 2015. Investors have brought multiple cases against Volkswagen and Porsche SE in the southern city of Stuttgart, arguing that the companies should have issued adhoc-statements earlier to inform the market about U. S. authorities starting to investigate the emissions cheating. Click here to read the full article.

3. Litigation Funders Get Boost From Common Fund Orders’ Entrenchment by the Courts

Common fund orders are further entrenched in the Australian class action landscape after the Full Federal Court and New South Wales Court of Appeal both rejected arguments that there are any barriers, including constitutional barriers, to the making of such orders.In a good result for litigation funders, both the Full Federal Court and New South Wales Court of Appeal have affirmed the power of the Court to make a “common fund” type order in two recent judgments, delivered on the same day. Click here to read the full article.

4. 9 Reasons to Expect More Class Action Lawsuits and Higher D&O Prices in 2019

A convergence of emerging litigation trends has driven securities class actions to an all-time high. That means greater D&O exposure for every executive. Rates are likely to rise for many lines of insurance in 2019, and management liability is no different. In the year ahead, the management liability market will be “stable, but firming,” said Keith Riccio, Vice President, Management Liability and Specialty, Nationwide. Click here to read the full article.

5. Mandatory Arbitration Shareholder Proposal Goes to Court

A prior no-action letter to Johnson & Johnson granted relief to the company if it relied on Rule 14a-8(i)(2) (violation of law) to exclude a shareholder proposal requesting adoption of mandatory shareholder arbitration bylaws. In what seemed to be an odd role reversal, a Harvard professor and shareholder of Johnson & Johnson submitted a proposal requesting that the board adopt a mandatory arbitration bylaw applicable to “disputes between a stockholder and the Corporation and/or its directors, officers or controlling persons relating to claims under federal securities laws in connection with the purchase or sale of any securities issued by the Corporation.” Click here to read the full article.

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Founded in 2008, Financial Recovery Technologies (FRT) is the leading technology-based services firm that helps the investment community identify eligibility, file claims and collect funds made available in securities and other class action settlements. Offering the most comprehensive range of claim filing and monitoring services available, we provide best-in-class eligibility analysis, disbursement auditing and client reporting, and deliver the highest level of accuracy, accountability and transparency available. For more information, go to www.frtservices.com.

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