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. Steinhoff Hoping to End (Some) Legal Battles

Steinhoff hopes that its higher offer to shareholders – by Steinhoff International Holdings (SIHPL), the former SA holding company of the Steinhoff businesses – will eventually lay to rest some of the legal claims that have been dragging on for years. In one of a spate of announcements over the last few days, Steinhoff announced that it had increased its offer to the so-called market purchase claimants by R3.2 billion after shareholders and bodies acting on behalf of shareholders did not accept previous offers. Click here to read the full article.

2. Leading German Asset Manager Takes Wirecard Administrator to Court

A former top Wirecard shareholder is seeking damages over the collapse of the payments group in a landmark lawsuit that threatens the compensation bondholders and banks are also seeking. Union Investment, Germany’s third-largest asset manager, has filed a lawsuit in Munich against Wirecard’s administrator, which over the past year has been selling the remaining assets of the failed payments group. The asset manager said it suffered €243 million in losses when Wirecard filed for insolvency in June 2020. Click here to read the full article.

3. Insights From the US: Will Knowledge, Recklessness or Negligence in Australian Securities Class Actions Actually Change Anything?

Last week the Federal Government introduced permanent reforms to the continuous disclosure regime and misleading and deceptive conduct provisions in the Corporations Act 2001 (the Corps Act) and ASIC Act 2001 (the ASIC Act) which provide that companies and their officers will not be exposed to civil liability unless they had a requisite mental element, being knowledge, recklessness or negligence. This change brings Australia’s continuous disclosure regime closer to that of its counterparts in the United States and the United Kingdom, and there is much to be learned from Australia’s international peers, which this alert explores. Click here to read the full article.

4. In Focus: UK Class Action Lawsuits Go Mainstream

Class action lawsuits used to have an image problem. Too big and too American, they were accused of fuelling an ambulance-chasing legal culture and filling the pockets of opportunistic lawyers. Over the past 12 months, however, the mood has altered. Despite the size and unruliness of their cases, large claimant groups are making headway in the English court system, while litigation funding is shrugging off its champertous past and flying the flag for social justice. As more mega-claims hit London courts, however, the practicalities of how group litigation is managed and paid for need to keep up with changing attitudes – or risk undermining the model’s new-found reputation. Click here to read the full article.

5. Supreme Court to Decide Whether Discovery Stays Apply to State-Court Securities Lawsuits This Fall

One of the most significant differences between bringing a securities lawsuit in state versus federal court is the application of the mandatory discovery stay set forth in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (the “PSLRA”). Following the enactment of the PSLRA in 1995, federal courts must stay discovery in securities-law cases until after a complaint has survived a pleadings challenge, i.e., a motion to dismiss. State courts have been divided on whether such a stay is mandatory in securities-law cases brought before them as well. Now, a software company facing a challenge under the Securities Act of 1933 in California state court has been granted leave to argue before the United States Supreme Court that the PSLRA’s discovery stay equally applies in state courts. 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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