The D & O Diary

• The D & O Diary Has Moved!

  Number of comments: 1
  I am proud to announce that as of today, February 13, 2008, The D & O Diary has relocated to a new and improved website, here. The new site not only has an upgraded look and feel, it also has a number of improved features, such as the ability to [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 13, 2008, 7:31pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• About Those Subprime D & O Loss Estimates

  Number of comments: 0
  To view this page on The D & O Diary's new site, click here. To see The D & O Diary's home page on its new website, click here.Over the past several weeks, several industry observers and analysts have tried to put a number on the insurance industry’s aggregate subprime-related [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 10, 2008, 8:31pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Don’t Forget About Options Backdating

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.Amidst all the subprime hoopla, it would be easy to forget that only a year ago, options backdating was the hot [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 10, 2008, 8:24pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime Litigation Risk: Outside the Financial Sector?

  Number of comments: 0
  To view this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To see the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.As I have previously noted (here), securities backed by subprime and other residential mortgages are not just held by financial companies. A [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 31, 2008, 10:49pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Expanded Subprime Litigation Wave Hits Sallie Mae

  Number of comments: 0
  To view this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To see the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.In a prior post (here), I noted that the subprime meltdown story is no longer just about subprime, and that the crisis [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 31, 2008, 10:10pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Are FCPA Violations "The Next Corporate Scandal"?

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.In prior posts (most recently here), I have discussed the growing threat that Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement may present for [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 30, 2008, 8:35pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• French Investors Hit Soc Gen with Subprime-Related Lawsuit

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.As further details have emerged, Société Générale’s account of how Jérôme Kerviel triggered billions of dollars in losses has come under [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 29, 2008, 11:12pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime Tsunami Time

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.Since I first began chronicling the subprime litigation wave in April 2007 (here), the wave has gained amplitude and speed. But [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 27, 2008, 8:46pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• A New Options Backdating Securities Lawsuit?

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.It has been such a while since a new options backdating securities lawsuit has appeared that it was with some surprise [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 27, 2008, 8:37pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime Litigation Wave Hits National City Corporation

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.On January 22, 2008, National City Corporation, a Cleveland-based bank holding company, announced (here) a fourth quarter loss of $333 million, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 24, 2008, 10:43pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Apollo Group Provides Jury Verdict "Clarification"

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.As reported in a prior post (here), on January 16, 2008, a civil jury returned a verdict in favor of the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 24, 2008, 10:33pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• $65 Million KLA-Tencor Options Backdating Class Action Settlement

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.In its January 24, 2008 quarterly earnings release (here), KLA-Tencor also announced that it had entered into an agreement to settle the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 24, 2008, 10:22pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Offering Underwriter’s Section 11 Settlement Held Covered "Loss"

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to The D & O Diary's new home page, click here.In an earlier post (here), I discussed the March 14 , 2007 ruling (here) in the CNL Resorts case, in which the federal district [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 24, 2008, 10:01pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime Litigation and Politics: A Volatile Mix

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.In response to the developing credit crisis, politicians have proposed legislative fixes and, more recently, advocated the need for fiscal stimuli. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 23, 2008, 8:26pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Tyson Foods "Springloading" Derivative Lawsuit Settles

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.A shareholders’ derivative lawsuit that generated the most prominent judicial pronouncements about options "springloading" has been settled. According to the company’s January [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 22, 2008, 9:10pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Tellabs 7th Circuit Redux: Why it Matters

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, refer here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, refer here.In a decision noteworthy both for the prominence of the case and for the implications of its analysis, the Seventh Circuit, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 20, 2008, 8:26pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime Litigation Wave Hits Ambac Financial Group

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, refer here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, refer here.On January 16, 2008, plaintiffs’ lawyers filed a securities lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Ambac Financial Group [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 16, 2008, 10:17pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Jury Awards Plaintiff $277.5 Million in Apollo Group Securities Trial

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, refer here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website refer here.On January 16, 2008, a civil jury in the Apollo Group securities lawsuit in the United States District Court for the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 16, 2008, 9:22pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Supreme Court Rules in Stoneridge Defendants’ Favor

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, refer here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, refer here.On January 15, 2008, in a 5-3 majority opinion (here) written by Justice Kennedy (pictured to the left), the U.S. Supreme [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 15, 2008, 3:25pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• "CDO Squared" Securities Lawsuit Hits MBIA

  Number of comments: 1
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, refer here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, refer here.On January 11, 2008, MBIA became the latest bond insurer to be named as a defendant in a subprime-related securities class [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 13, 2008, 8:38pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Updates and Notes

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here. More About Foreign Claimants, Foreign Companies: In earlier posts (here and here), I discussed issues arising as a result of [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 10, 2008, 9:11pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Tracking the Opt-Out Settlements

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here.In prior posts (most recently here), I have written about the increasing importance of opt-out settlements in the context of securities [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 08, 2008, 9:09pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• A Closer Look at the 2007 Life Sciences Securities Lawsuits

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, refer here. To go to the home page of The D & O Diary's new website, click here. In prior posts (most recently here), I noted that even during the two-year lull in securities lawsuits filings that prevailed [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 07, 2008, 9:02pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime Litigation Wave Hits State Street

  Number of comments: 0
  To see this page on The D & O Diary's new website, click here. To go to the homepage of The D & O Diary's new ebsite, click here.On January 3, 2008, State Street Corporation announced (here) that for the fourth quarter of 2007, it will be establishing a reserve [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 06, 2008, 8:38pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Web Notes and Updates

  Number of comments: 0
  Chinese Checkered: In an earlier post (here), I reviewed the recent checkered track record of Chinese companies listed on the U.S. securities exchanges, including in particular Chinese IPOs. A December 2007 Dewey & LeBoeuf article entitled "China’s Top Ten at the Corporate Governance Bottom" (here) sounds many of the same [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 06, 2008, 8:31pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Cornerstone Releases Year-End 2007 Securities Litigation Report

  As the latest of the year-end 2007 securities lawsuit reports (including my own, here), Cornerstone Research has released (here) its 2007 report on securities class action filings. Cornerstone’s January 3, 2008 press release describing the report can be found here. The numbers in the Cornerstone report differ from those in [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 03, 2008, 11:37am EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• A Closer Look at the 2007 Securities Lawsuits

  The first of the 2007 year-end securities class action reports has already appeared (refer here), with others soon to follow. As I have noted elsewhere (most recently here), the most important securities trend during 2007 was the return of lawsuit filing activity to historical levels, after a two-year lull. But [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 02, 2008, 8:53pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• A Closer Look at the 2007 Subprime-Related Securities Lawsuits

  In its 2007 year-end study of securities class action trends (here), NERA Economic Consulting noted that the "sharp increase" in 2007 securities lawsuit filings was "driven in part by litigation related to subprime lending," an observation I have also noted elsewhere. Given the importance of the subprime lawsuit filings to [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 27, 2007, 11:16am EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Top Ten D & O Stories of 2007

  Number of comments: 1
  With the year-end fast approaching, it is time to take a look back and review the top D & O stories of 2007. It was an eventful year, with some important developments that will have implications for the year ahead, and perhaps for years to come. Here are the top [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 26, 2007, 1:24pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Updates and Notes

  Number of comments: 1
  Options Backdating Developments: On December 21, 2007, McAfee announced (here) that it had reached a tentative settlement in the pending federal and state derivative lawsuits related to its options practices. The company said that it "has accrued $13.8 million" that amounts "related to expected payments pursuant to the tentative settlement." [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 23, 2007, 8:31pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• NERA Releases 2007 Year-End Securities Lawsuit Report

  On December 21, 2007, NERA Economic Consulting released (here) its 2007 Year-End Update analyzing recent trends in shareholder class actions. The NERA reports notes, as I have discussed in prior reports (most recently here), that securities lawsuit filing activity levels returned to historical levels in the second half of 2007. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 21, 2007, 12:35pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime: The Truth-Telling (and the Lawsuits) Yet to Come

  The various central banks' efforts to improve short-term liquidity in the global financial system have dominated the headlines the business pages in recent days, most recently with respect to the news that the European Central Bank has injected an astonishing $501.7 billion of lending capacity into the banking system, an [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 19, 2007, 8:34pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Another Securities Class Settlement Complication: Government Intevention

  In recent posts (most recently here), I have discussed the potential difficulties that opt-out actions may present for securities class settlements. As if that were not complication enough, now the government wants to get into the act. As discussed below, the Department of Justice has appeared to object to the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 16, 2007, 9:00pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime Litigation Wave Hits UBS – and Other Web Notes

  In a prior post (here), I compared the similarity of the piecemeal way that UBS, Merrill Lynch and Citibank have disclosed their subprime-related asset valuation write-downs. Now UBS has one more thing in common with the other two banks – it has been named as a defendant in a securities [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 13, 2007, 10:26pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime Disclosures and Accounting

  Among the more disconcerting aspects of the unfolding subprime crisis has been the unseemly spectacle of major financial institutions taking dramatically increased asset value write-downs shortly after having disclosed smaller write-downs on the same assets. UBS became the latest company to follow this pattern earlier this week when it announced [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 12, 2007, 11:38am EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Chinese IPOs: Discuss

  Chinese companies’ listing debuts are a vital force in the current global IPO marketplace. According to a December 8, 2007 Wall Street Journal chart (here), 195 Chinese companies listed their shares through November, raising $87.3 billion – representing a 26.7% share of the 2007 global IPO volume. By contrast, the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 09, 2007, 9:05pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime Litigation Wave Hits Another Financial Guarantor

  In an earlier post (here), I noted how the subprime related securities litigation wave has reached the bond insurance sector. The forces creating turmoil for the bond insurers have now reached another company in the credit enhancement business, leading to a further subprime-related litigation. According to its December 7, 2007 press [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 09, 2007, 8:50pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Busted Buyout Lawsuits: A 2007 Trend?

  When the dust finally settles and the reports on 2007 class action filings are being written, one development that should be noted as a contributing factor to the increased filings in the second half of 2007 is the emergence of class action lawsuits based on busted buyouts. Disappointed target companies [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 06, 2007, 9:23pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• UnitedHealth Derivative Settlement “Largest Ever”

  On December 6, 2007, UnitedHealth Group announced (here) that its Special Litigation Committee had concluded its review of claims relating to the company’s option backdating practices that had been brought against certain of the company’s directors and officers. The company also announced that its former CEO William McGuire had agreed surrender [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 06, 2007, 6:20pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Dismissal Granted in Subprime-Related Securities Lawsuit

  As I have previously detailed (refer here), the subprime meltdown has led to a flood of new securities lawsuits. The extent to which many of these subprime-related lawsuits will withstand judicial scrutiny still remains to be seen. A recent opinion from the Central District of California -- which is as [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 04, 2007, 9:31pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime Contagion: Where Will the Litigation Wave Spread Next?

  As I have previously noted (here), subprime risk may be found in some unexpected places. But since I first wrote about the dispersion of subprime risk, subprime contagion has spread to other parts of the credit marketplace. As a result, the credit meltdown story is no longer just about subprime. In [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 03, 2007, 9:38pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• November Securities Lawsuit Filings Continue Upward Trend

  In prior posts (most recently here), I noted that the two-year lull in securities filings that began in mid-2005 has ended. The trend of heightened securities lawsuit filing levels that has prevailed since mid-2007 continued in November 2007. In fact, the 25 new securities lawsuits filed in November (see list [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 02, 2007, 8:36pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Defense Verdict in JDSU Securities Trial; Meanwhile, Ninth Circuit Reverses Thane International Securities Lawsuit Verdict

  On November 27, 2007, JDS Uniphase announced (here) that following a month-long trial in the securities lawsuit pending against the company and four of its former executives, the jury returned a verdict in favor of all defendants on all claims. News reports discussing the verdict can be found here and [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 27, 2007, 10:01pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Do Derivative Lawsuits Still Matter?

  In the world of directors’ and officers’ liability, securities class action lawsuits dominate the dialogue. Securities lawsuits generate headlines and produce eye-popping settlements. There are even websites (refer here and here) devoted exclusively to providing the latest information about securities lawsuits. The same cannot be said for derivative lawsuits, but [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 27, 2007, 9:46pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Yukos Shareholders Case Dismissed

  In prior posts (refer here), I have discussed the jurisdictional issues and other questions arising when foreign domiciled companies are sued in securities lawsuits in U.S. courts. But the November 26, 2007 opinion (here) in the Yukos shareholders’ lawsuit raises some unique and uniquely interesting issues. And as discussed further [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 26, 2007, 10:03pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Brave New Securities Lawsuit World: Qwest Opt-Out Settlements Exceed Class Settlement

  In the latest in the series of significant opt-out settlements, two different state pension funds have announced settlements with Qwest in their separate securities actions against the company. In both instances, the funds announced that their separate settlements far exceeded the amounts that they would have recovered in Qwest’s $400 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 25, 2007, 8:51pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Subprime Litigation Wave Hits Bond Insurer, Freddie Mac; Larger Problems Loom

  On November 21, 2007, plaintiffs’ lawyers initiated separate securities class action lawsuits against the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (better known as Freddie Mac) and against bond insurer ACA Capital Holding. Both of these lawsuits reflect the deepening seriousness of the credit problems arising from the subprime lending meltdown, and [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 22, 2007, 1:52pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Web Notes: Backdating, Subprime, "F-cubed" Claimants, and More

  Thanksgiving is nigh, but big things are still happening. The Apple options backdating derivative complaint has been dismissed, AIG has been sued in a subprime-related derivative lawsuit, the Non-U.S. claimants were excluded from the Royal Dutch Shell Class, a leading plaintiff’s lawyer had some interesting things to say about subprime [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 21, 2007, 6:33am EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Web Notes: Backdating, Subprime, F-Cubed Claimants, and More

  Thanksgiving is nigh, but big things are still happening. The Apple options backdating derivative complaint has been dismissed, AIG has been sued in a subprime-related derivative lawsuit, the Non-U.S. claimants were excluded from the Royal Dutch Shell Class, a leading plaintiff’s lawyer had some interesting things to say about subprime [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2007, 12:21pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix

• Fraud Detection and the "Expectations Gap"

  As a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other reforms, a variety of structures and procedures were put into place to try to prevent or detect fraud. A number of these reforms involve auditors and the audit profession, in the implicit assumption that auditors have an important role to play [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 19, 2007, 9:47pm EST
  by Kevin LaCroix