We track a whole bunch of things here at SLW. Federal securities class action trials, options backdating cases, and opt-out cases in Tyco, Vivendi, and Merck to name a few. There are a bunch of updates to report, so let's dive in.

Securities Class Action Trials - "The List"

Some unrelated research revealed that we had missed a case that had gone to trial back in 2002. The case, Claghorn v. Edasco Ltd. was originally brought against Scorpion Technologies, certain Scorpion officers, and Grant Thornton, LLP, the company’s auditor. The litigation settled against those defendants, and the settlement with Grant Thornton included an assignment of claims

Plaintiffs filed a separate complaint that alleged that Edsaco had participated in a scheme to deceive Grant Thornton. After a two week trial, the jury returned a verdict against Edsaco, for $5.78 million in compensatory damages and $165 million in punitive damages. The litigation then settled for $10 million. The conduct at issue in Claghorn was all Pre-PSLRA, so it falls into our third bucket.

Our updated presentation (here) now details the 20 securities class action cases that have gone to trial since 1996.

The cases fall into three categories:

1.Securities Class Action Trials Based on Post-Reform Act Conduct Resulting in a Verdict at Trial (six)

2. Securities Class Action Trials Based on Post-PSLRA Conduct Resulting in a Settlement or Summary or Default Judgment During Trial (seven)

3. Securities Class Action Trials Based on Pre-PSLRA Conduct Resulting in a Verdict at Trial (seven)

Tyco Opt-outs

Second on our list of updates - the Michigan public pension funds, represented by Kaplan Fox, have filed a Tyco opt-out case. The Michigan funds join just one other public pension fund that has filed an opt-out case in Tyco. Details on all of the Tyco opt-outs can be found here.

Vivendi Opt-outs

Another international institutional investor, Wiener Städtische AG Vienna Insurance Group, has filed a Vivendi opt-out case. Wiener Städtische is represented by Motley Rice. Our complete list of Vivendi opt-outs can be found here.