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 Loses in Court Bid to Consolidate Cases

Steinhoff has lost its ambitious bid to consolidate 12 South African-based claims that have been lodged against it, following the collapse of its share price in the wake of news of accounting irregularities reported in December 2017. The loss comes with a hefty legal bill estimated to be as much as R60 million; the judge ruled that the international retail group must pay the costs of all of the parties and that such costs would include the costs of three counsel. Click here to read the full article.

2. Landmark Myer Class Action Settled After Shareholders Unable to Prove Loss

A landmark class action case brought against department store giant Myer by thousands of disgruntled shareholders has been settled, with both parties ordered to pay their own costs. Myer told investors on Wednesday morning it had agreed with lead plaintiff TPT Patrol to dismiss the case, bringing an abrupt end to the first-ever Australian class action by shareholders against a listed company to go to judgment. The two parties agreed to a settlement after it was deemed too difficult to continue because of both the coronavirus pandemic and the difficulty of proving shareholder loss, a source close to the case told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. Click here to read the full article.

3. Group Litigation in the UK: High Court Emphasises Need for Robust Approach to Case Management as Collective Actions Continue to Grow

Group litigation has been part of the UK litigation landscape for twenty years. In recent years, however, a number of contributory factors have fueled the growth of claims brought on behalf of large groups of claimants, making this sort of litigation an increasing risk for large businesses and their insurers. With their focus on ensuring that cases can be managed efficiently, the courts have been faced with the challenge of balancing the interests of groups of claimants with those of defendants faced with multiple claims with a substantial aggregate value. It is in that context that a recent High Court decision should be of interest. Click here to read the full article.

4. As Investor Suits Tick Up, Loss Causation May Be a Hard Sell

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and in line with industry expectations, the number of securities cases filed in March and the first half of April has actually increased from years prior, according to a recent report from Lex Machina. But a volatile market may make it harder to prove fraud. Historical trends show that securities cases tend to surge around crises and stock market turbulence. But investors suspecting fraud may face a major hurdle — most securities fraud claims are filed under Section 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which requires plaintiffs to prove that a company’s fraud, when revealed to the market, caused the price of its stock to drop. That can be tricky when stocks marketwide all fall at once. Click here to read the full article (subscription may be required).

5. Is There a Pot of Gold at the End of the Litigation Rainbow? the Latest on Common Fund Orders

One of the biggest developments in class actions for 2019 was the High Court’s decision in BMW Australia Ltd v Brewster [2019] HCA 45 (Brewster). The High Court held that neither the Federal Court nor the NSW Supreme Court had the power to make “common fund orders” (CFO) sought in two separate class actions, where the CFO was proposed at an early stage of the case. This was a big development because CFOs have been a popular way for litigation funders to make class actions financially attractive. Click here to read the full article.

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• Blogs
  • Euroyen Case Update (April 2020): 2nd Circuit Reverses Court Decision to Dismiss Previous Suit
  • Lessons Learned from the First Settlement of the GSE Bonds Antitrust Case ($49.5M)
  • Debunking Five Myths about Australian Securities Class Actions
  • Three Reasons Why Wealth and Retail Investment Firms Should Care about Class Action Recovery
  • Case Spotlight: BRF S.A.
  • Daimler Case Update January 2020
  • Three Upcoming Antitrust Deadlines in Q1 2020
  • Case Spotlight: First Solar Inc. Reaches $350m Settlement Agreement
  •  Securities Class Action Cases: Quarterly Disbursed Claims – Q4-2019
  • Case Update: Vocus Group reaches $35m (AUD) settlement
  • FRT’s Best 19 of 2019
  • GSE Bond Case Update (December 2019): More Banks Settle Bringing Total Recovery to $386.5M
  • Case Update: Bellamy’s Australia Ltd. reaches $49.7m (AUD) settlement
  • Investors note: Australia now second in class action stakes
  • Case Update (November 2019): Woolworths Limited reaches Passive Registration Deadline Prior to December Mediation
• Whitepapers:
  • A Primer on Shareholder Class Action
  • A Primer on Antitrust Class Litigation
  • A Primer on Global Group Litigation
  • A Primer on Future Claims Recovery
  • Illustrating The Outer Time Limits By Which Filing Decisions Must Be Made
  • Calculating Inflationary Losses for Comparison to Loss Thresholds
  • Global Landscape Continues to Evolve in the Wake of Morrison Decision
• Jurisdiction Risk Profiles:
  • Australia
  • Denmark
  • United Kingdom
  • Taiwan
  • Greece
  • Germany
  • Brazil
  • Japan

About FRT

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