The D&O Diary

A Periodic Journal Containing Items of Interest From the World of Directors & Officers Liability, With Occasional Commentary

Blog Authors

Kevin LaCroix

Latest from The D&O Diary

The D&O Diary

Corruption Allegations Lead to Serious Follow-On Securities Suit Filings

By Kevin LaCroix

August 9, 2020

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Corruption and bribery enforcement actions and criminal prosecutions have long been a source of follow-on civil actions, including in particular securities class action lawsuits, as I have noted in numerous prior posts on this site. Two recent securities class action lawsuit filings underscore the significance of this follow-on securities suit filing phenomenon and also highlight the seriousness that many of these kinds of claims can involve. The Airbus Lawsuit The first of these two…

The D&O Diary

ABA Adopts Third-Party Litigation Funding “Best Practices” Proposal

By Kevin LaCroix

August 4, 2020

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Acting in light of what the proposal calls the “exponential growth” in litigation financing, and taking its first action in the area since 2012, the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates has approved a proposal for the third-party litigation funding “best practices.” The proposal, which stays away from some of the higher-profile litigation funding issues (such as whether or not litigation funding should be disclosed), is built around principles of transparency and client control. …

The D&O Diary

Potential Impact of Proposed Coronavirus Liability Shield

By Kevin LaCroix

August 3, 2020

As the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. approaches the beginning of its sixth month, Congress continues to debate whether and to what extent the federal government should provide further economic support, relief, and stimulus. The House of Representatives and the Senate recently have proposed two very different coronavirus relief packages and efforts to reconcile the policy differences reflected in the two different approaches have to date not been successful. But while it remains to be…

The D&O Diary

Coronavirus-Related Securities Suits: Do These Two New Cases Count?

By Kevin LaCroix

July 31, 2020

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Since I first started tallying the coronavirus-related securities class action lawsuits back in March, a recurring issue has emerged – it has become increasingly difficult to keep a firm handle on what makes a case “coronavirus-related.” Even in just the short time I have been tracking the cases, there have already been a number of close calls, as I have previously discussed, for example, here. A couple of new lawsuits filed this week present…

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Cornerstone Research: Federal and State Securities Suit Filings Down in Year’s First Half

By Kevin LaCroix

July 29, 2020

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In a study that analyzes both federal and state securities suit filings during the first half of 2020 (unlike other prior first half reports that analyzed only federal court filings), Cornerstone Research reports that combined state and federal suits in the year’s first six months were down 18% compared to the second half of 2019 and at the lowest level since 2016. The report, which was published in conjunction with the Stanford Law School Securities…

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Guest Post: The Impending Bankruptcy Surge and Insured vs. Insured Exclusion Considerations

By Kevin LaCroix

July 27, 2020

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Among the looming economic consequences of the pandemic is the likelihood of a huge surge in bankruptcy filings. A rise in bankruptcies will in turn likely lead to an increase in the number of bankruptcy-related litigation claims against directors and officers of the bankrupt companies, which in turn could lead to insurance coverage issues under the companies’ D&O insurance policies. In the following guest post, Alicia Garcia and Kate Hausmann, Complex Claim Specialists with Hiscox…

The D&O Diary

NERA: Securities Suit Filings Down in the Year’s First Half

By Kevin LaCroix

July 26, 2020

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Securities class action lawsuit filings in the first half of 2020 were more than 15% below the number of filings in the first half of each of the last three years, according to a new report from NERA Economic Consulting. The report, entitled “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: 2020 H1 Update” (here), projects a year-end total number of filings below the last three years’ totals, but still well above the totals…

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PLUS COVID-19 Perspectives: The Latest D&O Update

By Kevin LaCroix

July 23, 2020

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As part of a continuing series, I have been participating in sessions that the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) has organized addressing the potential D&O liability and insurance issues arising out of the COVID-19 outbreak. I have been joined in these recorded sessions by my good friends Carl Metzger of the Goodwin Procter law firm and Rob Yellen of Willis Towers Watson. Because so much has happened since our last session, we recorded an updated…

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Qualcomm Hit with Board Racial Diversity Derivative Lawsuit

By Kevin LaCroix

July 20, 2020

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In the latest in a series of lawsuits that recently have been filed against corporate directors based on board diversity issues, a Qualcomm shareholder has filed a derivative lawsuit against the company’s board, alleging that the company’s directors violated their duties to the company and shareholders by falling short of stated objectives on diversity and inclusion and by falling to include a single African-American either on the board or among the company’s senior officers. The…

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COVID-19 and D&O Insurance: July Update

By Kevin LaCroix

July 19, 2020

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Early this spring, when I wrote the first installment in this series of updates about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the D&O liability and insurance arena, the general assumption was that the virus would spread for a couple of months during the spring and that by summertime things would be returning to normal. Very few people I know were predicting that when July actually did roll around that the number of confirmed cases,…