Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Vanderbilt Law Review
Publication Date
2008
ISSN
0042-2533
Page Number
355
Keywords
securities fraud, class action settlements, regulation
Disciplines
Law | Securities Law
Abstract
In this paper, we examine the impact of the PSLRA and more particularly the impact the type of lead plaintiff on the size of settlements in securities fraud class actions. We thus provide insight into whether the type of plaintiff that heads the class action impacts the overall outcome of the case. Furthermore, we explore possible indicia that may explain why some suits settle for extremely small sums - small relative to the "provable losses" suffered by the class, small relative to the asset size of the defendant-company, and small relative to other settlements in our sample. This evidence bears heavily on the debate over "strike suits." Part I of this paper sets forth the contemporary debate surrounding the need for further reforms of securities class actions. In this section, we set forth the insights advanced in three prominent reports focused on the competitiveness of U.S. capital markets. In Part II we first provide descriptive statistics of our extensive data set, and then use multivariate regression analysis to explore the underlying relationships. In Part III, we closely examine small settlements for clues to whether they reflect evidence of strike suits. We conclude in Part IV with a set of policy recommendations based on our analysis of the data.
Recommended Citation
Randall Thomas, James D. Cox, and Lynn Bai,
There are Plaintiffs and . . . There are Plaintiffs: An Empirical Analysis of Securities Class Action Settlements, 61 Vanderbilt Law Review. 355
(2008)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/faculty-publications/971