2023 Global Class Action Annual Report
Industry trends: Noteworthy class action developments in 2023 Securities class actions before the Supreme Court. Despite being the cornerstone of securities litigation worldwide, securities class action law in the United States is continually evolving. Lately, the Supreme Court has taken on cases of substantial significance in shaping securities law and securities litigation. Since 2017, the […]
Steve Cirami is Global Securities Class Actions leader at Broadridge. This post is based on his Broadridge memorandum.
Industry trends: Noteworthy class action developments in 2023
Securities class actions before the Supreme Court.
Despite being the cornerstone of securities litigation worldwide, securities class action law in the United States is continually evolving. Lately, the Supreme Court has taken on cases of substantial significance in shaping securities law and securities litigation. Since 2017, the Court has reviewed no fewer than five cases that have had a profound impact on the evolution of securities class action litigation.
In 2023, the Court clarified, in Slack Techs. LLC v. Pirani, that unregistered shares obtained as part of a direct listing cannot support a claim under Section 11(a) of the Securities Act, which requires the plaintiff to have purchased “such security” pursuant to a materially misleading registration statement.
Further, on September 29, 2023, the Court granted certiorari in Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. v. Moab Partners, L.P.1, to address a circuit split related to whether disclosures required by Item 303 of SEC Regulation S-K, which requires companies to disclose trends or uncertainties likely to have a material impact on a company’s financial position, could give rise to securities fraud claims under Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5. The resolution of this issue may potentially lead to an expansion of securities liability concerning Item 303 disclosure claims in the future.
