Securities Regulation
Intermediate
Securities Class Actions
Representative lawsuits, commonly brought on behalf of investors who bought or sold securities during a period affected by alleged misstatements, omissions, manipulation, or other securities-law violations.
Why It Matters
Securities class actions are a major private-enforcement mechanism, but they raise recurring questions about deterrence, compensation, attorney incentives, settlement pressure, and litigation costs.
Selected Literature
A short list of directly relevant archive entries.
1999
Advanced
The Scope of Private Securities Litigation: In Search of Liability Standards for Secondary Defendants
Jill E. Fisch
Columbia Law Review
2006
Advanced
What Works in Securities Laws?
Rafael La Porta, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes, and Andrei Shleifer
Journal of Finance
2009
Advanced
Public and Private Enforcement of Securities Laws: Resource-Based Evidence
Howell E. Jackson and Mark J. Roe
Journal of Financial Economics
2017
Advanced
Related Cases
2014
Securities Regulation
Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc.
573 U.S. 258 (2014)
Fraud-on-the-market reliance, class certification, and price-impact evidence in securities-fraud class actions.
1975
Securities Regulation
Blue Chip Stamps v. Manor Drug Stores
421 U.S. 723 (1975)
Standing to bring private Rule 10b-5 damages actions and the purchaser-seller limitation.
1988
Securities Regulation
Basic Inc. v. Levinson
485 U.S. 224 (1988)
Materiality of merger negotiations and reliance in Rule 10b-5 class actions.
1994
Securities Regulation
Central Bank of Denver v. First Interstate Bank of Denver
511 U.S. 164 (1994)
Private aiding-and-abetting liability under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act.