FRT’s Fast Five: Week Ending January 31, 2020

FRT Marketing
January 31, 2020

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. Treasury Wine Estates Faces Looming Shareholder Class Action

Treasury Wine Estates is staring down a possible class action from angry shareholders after it issued a surprise earnings downgrade earlier this week sent its share price plummeting, wiping $3.1 billion from its market capitalization. On Thursday plaintiff firm Slater and Gordon announced it was investigating whether to launch a class action against the alcohol producer and has notified institutional investors. The potential court case would apply to shareholders who bought shares in the company announced it expected earnings to grow by 15 to 20 percent by the end of the financial year 2020 in August last year. Click here to read the full article (subscription may be needed).

2. KLP Sues Danske Bank After Scandal Deals €12m Blow to Shareholding

Norway’s Kommunal landspensjonskasse (KLP) has confirmed it has joined one of the many investor lawsuits now underway to seek compensation from Denmark’s biggest bank after a huge money-laundering scandal halved the value of its shares in two years. KLP is one of 63 plaintiffs in a writ submitted on 27 December 2019 in the Copenhagen district court by lawyer Ole Sigetty, a partner at the firm Németh Sigetty. Jeanett Bergan, KLP’s head of responsible investment, told IPE: “In the last two years, our holdings of Danske Bank equities have lost half of their value as a result of the money-laundering case.” Click here to read the full article.

3. Securities Class-Action Lawsuits Hit New Record in 2019 – Report

There were 428 securities class-action lawsuits filed in 2019 — a record number, according to a report released Wednesday by Cornerstone Research and the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse. The suits were filed across federal and state courts, eclipsing the 420 cases in 2018. The number of core filings — those not focused on mergers and acquisitions — increased for the seventh straight year, this time to 268 from 238, according to the report, “Securities Class Action Filings — 2019 Year in Review.” Mergers and acquisitions filings dropped to 160 in 2019 from 182 the year prior. The impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Cyan Inc. vs. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund continues to reverberate, Cornerstone noted in a news release. Click here to read the full article.

4. Flawed Petrobras Settlement Bypasses Many Shareholders

According to Pomerantz LLP, class counsel in the In re Petrobras Securities Litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the $2.95 billion settlement reached in the litigation marked a “significant victory for investors” of the semi-public Brazilian corporation Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras. The class action was brought on behalf of investors holding common and preferred Petrobras American depositary shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and/or certain Petrobras debt securities, the price of which fell drastically when a Brazilian federal police investigation known as Operation Car Wash exposed a multibillion-dollar money-laundering and corruption scheme within Petrobras, which, via false and misleading public statements, the company did not fully disclose to investors. Analysis of the data shows that large numbers of street-name holders of Petrobras securities covered by the terms of the class action were not notified of the settlement, and never received a proof of claim and release form to fill out to stake their claim. Click here to read the full article( subscription may be needed).

5. Foreign Issuers, Beware: Toshiba Didn’t Sponsor ADRs, but Investor Class Action Gets Green Light

A new trial court ruling in a securities fraud class action by holders of Toshiba American Depository Receipts doesn’t just revive investors’ claims. It should also reanimate warnings that allies of the Japanese electronics company presented last year to the U. S. Supreme Court. Toshiba wanted the Supreme Court to review a ruling by the 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals that gave its ADR holders in the U. S. another shot at pleading their case. Specifically, Toshiba asked the justices to decide if foreign companies can face securities fraud liability in the U. S. for unsponsored American Depository Receipts. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson of Los Angeles denied Toshiba’s motion to dismiss ADR investors’ amended complaint alleging accounting fraud. Applying the test mandated by the 9th Circuit, the judge held that the key question was whether ADR investors could show that the transactions in which they incurred “irrevocable liability” to pay for the ADRs took place in the U.S. The ADR holders’ new complaint, Judge Pregerson said, alleged that the named investors placed buy orders, paid for and received title to their ADRs within U.S. territorial bounds. The transactions, he held, were therefore domestic. Click here to read the full article.

 

 

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SETTLED CLAIMS  I  PASSIVE GROUP  I  ANTITRUST  I  FUTURE CLAIMS  I  OPT-IN MONITORING  I OPT-OUT MONITORING

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.

This communication and the content found by following any link herein are being provided to you by Financial Recovery Technologies (FRT) for informational purposes only and do not constitute advice. All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but FRT makes no representation or warranty with respect to this communication or such content and expressly disclaims any implied warranty under law. Opinions expressed in this communication may change without prior notice. Firms should always seek legal and financial advice specific to their unique situation and objectives.

ABOUT FINANCIAL RECOVERY TECHNOLOGIES
SETTLED  I  NON-US GLOBAL OPT-IN  I  ANTITRUST  I  GLOBAL PASSIVE  I  DIRECT OPT-OUT  I  BUYOUTS

Founded in 2008, Financial Recovery Technologies (FRT) is a 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.

 

This communication and the content found by following any link herein are being provided to you by Financial Recovery Technologies (FRT) for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but FRT makes no representation or warranty with respect to this communication or such content and expressly disclaims any implied warranty under law. Opinions expressed in this communication may change without prior notice. Firms should always seek legal and financial advice specific to their unique situation and objectives.