Prominent Cases & Precedent-Setting Decisions

• Jaffe v. Household Int’l, Inc., No. 02-C-05893 (N.D. Ill.). Sole lead counsel Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP obtained a jury verdict on May 7, 2009, following a six-week trial in the Northern District of Illinois, on behalf of a class of investors led by plaintiffs PACE Industry Union-Management Pension Fund, the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 132 Pension Plan, and Glickenhaus & Company. The jury determined that Household and the individual defendants made fraudulent misrepresentations concerning the company's predatory lending practices, the quality of its loan portfolio and the company's financial results between March 23, 2001 and October 11, 2002. Although certain post-trial proceedings are ongoing, plaintiffs' counsel anticipate that the verdict will ultimately allow class members to recover in excess of $1 billion in damages. Since the enactment of the PSLRA in 1995, trials in securities fraud cases have been rare. According to published reports, only nine such cases have gone to verdict since the passage of the PSLRA.
• Alaska Elec. Pension Fund v. CitiGroup, Inc. (In re WorldCom Sec. Litig.), No. 03 Civ. 8269 (S.D.N.Y.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys represented more than 50 private and public institutions that opted out of the class action case and sued WorldCom’s bankers, officers and directors, and auditors in courts around the country for losses related to WorldCom bond offerings from 1998 to 2001. The Firm’s clients included major public institutions from across the country such as CalPERS, CalSTRS, the state pension funds of Maine, Illinois, New Mexico and West Virginia, union pension funds, and private entities such as AIG and Northwestern Mutual. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys recovered more than $650 million for their clients on the May 2000 and May 2001 bond offerings (the primary offerings at issue), substantially more than they would have recovered as part of the class.
• In re Cardinal Health, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. C2-04-575 (S.D. Ohio). As sole lead counsel representing Cardinal Health shareholders, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP obtained a recovery of $600 million for investors. On behalf of the lead plaintiffs, Amalgamated Bank, the New Mexico State Investment Council, and the CaliforniaIronworkers Field Trust Fund, the Firm aggressively pursued class claims and won notable courtroom victories, including a favorable decision on defendants’ motion to dismiss. In re Cardinal Health, Inc. Sec. Litigs., 426 F. Supp. 2d 688 (S.D. Ohio 2006). At the time, the $600 million settlement was the tenth largest settlement in the history of securities fraud litigation and is the largest-ever recovery in a securities fraud action in the Sixth Circuit.
• AOL Time Warner Cases I & II, JCCP Nos. 4322 & 4325 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles County). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP represented The Regents of the University of California, six Ohio state pension funds, Rabo Bank (NL), the Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, several Australian public and private funds, insurance companies, and numerous additional institutional investors, both domestic and international, in state and federal court opt-out litigation stemming from Time Warner’s disastrous 2001 merger with Internet high flier America Online. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys exposed a massive and sophisticated accounting fraud involving America Online’s e-commerce and advertising revenue. After almost four years of litigation involving extensive discovery, the Firm secured combined settlements for its opt-out clients totaling over $629 million just weeks before The Regents’ case pending in California state court was scheduled to go to trial. The Regents’ gross recovery of $246 million is the largest individual opt-out securities recovery in history.
• In re HealthSouth Corp. Sec. Litig., No. CV-03-BE-1500-S (N.D. Ala.). As court-appointed co-lead counsel, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys obtained a combined recovery of $671 million from HealthSouth, its auditor Ernst & Young, and its investment banker, UBS, for the benefit of stockholder plaintiffs. The settlement against HealthSouth represents one of the larger settlements in securities class action history and is considered among the top 15 settlements achieved after passage of the PSLRA. Likewise, the settlement against Ernst & Young is one of the largest securities class action settlements entered into by an accounting firm since the passage of the PSLRA. HealthSouth and its financial advisors perpetrated one of the largest and most pervasive frauds in the history of United States healthcare, prompting Congressional and law enforcement inquiry and resulting in guilty pleas of 16 former HealthSouth executives in related federal criminal prosecutions.
• In re Dynegy Inc. Sec. Litig., No. H-02-1571 (S.D. Tex.). As sole lead counsel representing The Regents of the University of California and the class of Dynegyinvestors, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys obtained a combined settlement of $474 million from Dynegy, Citigroup, Inc. and Arthur Andersen LLP for their involvement in a clandestine financing scheme known as Project Alpha. GivenDynegy’s limited ability to pay, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys structured a settlement (reached shortly before the commencement of trial) that maximized plaintiffs’ recovery without bankrupting the company. Most notably, the settlement agreement provides that Dynegy will appoint two board members to be nominated by The Regents, which Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP and The Regents believe will benefit all of Dynegy’s stockholders.
• In re Qwest Commc’ns Int’l, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 01-cv-1451 (D. Colo.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as lead counsel for a class of investors that purchased Qwest securities. In July 2001, the Firm filed the initial complaint in this action on behalf of its clients, long before any investigation intoQwest’s financial statements was initiated by the SEC or Department of Justice. After five years of litigation, lead plaintiffs entered into a settlement with Qwest and certain individual defendants that provided a $400 million recovery for the class and created a mechanism that allowed the vast majority of class members to share in an additional $250 million recovered by the SEC. In 2008, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys recovered an additional $45 million for the class in a settlement with defendants Joseph P. Nacchio and Robert S. Woodruff, the CEO and CFO, respectively, of Qwest during large portions of the class period.
• In re AT&T Corp. Sec. Litig., MDL No. 1399 (D.N.J.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as lead counsel for a class of investors that purchased AT&T common stock. The case charged defendants AT&T and its former Chairman and CEO, C. Michael Armstrong, with violations of the federal securities laws in connection with AT&T’s April 2000 initial public offering of its wireless tracking stock, the largest IPO in American history. After two weeks of trial, and on the eve of scheduled testimony by Armstrong and infamous telecom analyst Jack Grubman, defendants agreed to settle the case for $100 million. In granting approval of the settlement, the court stated the following about the Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys handling the case:

Lead Counsel are highly skilled attorneys with great experience in prosecuting complex securities action[s], and their professionalism and diligence displayed during [this] litigation substantiates this characterization. The Court notes that Lead Counsel displayed excellent lawyering skills through their consistent preparedness during court proceedings, arguments and the trial, and their well-written and thoroughly researched submissions to the Court. Undoubtedly, the attentive and persistent effort of Lead Counsel was integral in achieving the excellent result for the Class.

In re AT&T Corp. Sec. Litig., MDL No. 1399, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46144, at *28-*29 (D.N.J. Apr. 22, 2005), aff'd, 455 F.3d 160 (3d Cir. 2006).

• In re Del Monte Foods Co. S’holders Litig., No. 6027-VCL (Del. Ch.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP exposed the unseemly practice by investment bankers of participating on both sides of large merger and acquisition transactions and ultimately secured an $89 million settlement for shareholders of Del Monte. This is one of, if not the largest, shareholder settlements challenging a merger in a Delaware court. Del Monte shareholders challenged the 2010 $5.3 billion buyout of the food company, charging that Del Monte adviser Barclays Capital was also financing the buyers – a practice known as “staple financing,” where the seller’s bank steers the acquisition by lending money to a favored buyer to obtain buy-side financing fees. For efforts in achieving these results, the Robbins Geller lawyers prosecuting the case were named Attorneys of the Year by California Lawyer magazine in 2012.

• In re Kinder Morgan, Inc. S’holders Litig. (Shawnee Cnty. Dist. Ct., Kan.). In the largest recovery ever for a corporate takeover litigation, the Firm negotiated a settlement fund of $200 million in 2010. As co-lead counsel, the Firm represented former shareholders of Kinder Morgan, Inc., challenging a management-led buyout announced in 2006. Following settlement, the court noted: “Throughout this litigation, the Court has found that Lead Plaintiff’s Counsel have zealously rendered legal services in a professional and skillful manner. Moreover, it is important to recognize that this action was vigorously defended by attorneys with substantial experience and expertise in complex litigation, including class actions. Despite facing significant factual and legal hurdles, Lead Plaintiff’s Counsel were ultimately successful in negotiating a large settlement on behalf of the Class Members.”
• In re Dollar General Corp. Sec. Litig., No. 01-CV-00388 (M.D. Tenn.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as lead counsel in this case in which the Firm recovered $172.5 million for investors. The Dollar General settlement was the largest shareholder class action recovery ever in Tennessee.
• Carpenters Health & Welfare Fund v. Coca-Cola Co., No. 00-CV-2838 (N.D. Ga.). As co-lead counsel representing Coca-Cola shareholders, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys obtained a recovery of $137.5 million after nearly eight years of litigation. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys traveled to three continents to uncover the evidence that ultimately resulted in the settlement of this hard-fought litigation. The case concerned Coca-Cola's shipping of excess concentrate at the end of financial reporting periods for the sole purpose of meeting analyst earnings expectations, as well as the company's failure to properly account for certain impaired foreign bottling assets.
• Schwartz v. TXU Corp., No. 02-CV-2243 (N.D. Tex). As co-lead counsel, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys obtained a recovery of over $149 million for a class of purchasers of TXU securities. The recovery compensated class members for damages they incurred as a result of their purchases of TXU securities at inflated prices. Defendants had inflated the price of these securities by concealing the fact that TXU's operating earnings were declining due to a deteriorating gas pipeline and the failure of the company's European operations.
• Thurber v. Mattel, Inc., No. 99-CV-10368 (C.D. Cal.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as co-lead counsel for a class of investors who purchased Mattel common stock. When the shareholders approved Mattel’s acquisition of The Learning Company, they were misled by defendants’ false statements regarding the financial condition of the acquired company. Within months of the close of the transaction, Mattel disclosed that The Learning Company had incurred millions in losses, and that instead of adding to Mattel’s earnings, earnings would be far less than previously stated. After thorough discovery, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd attorneys negotiated a settlement of $122 million plus corporate governance changes.
• Brody v. Hellman (U.S. West Dividend Litigation), No. 00-CV-4142 (Dist. Ct. for the City & Cty. of Denver, Colo.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys were court-appointed counsel for the class of former stockholders of U.S. West, Inc. who sought to recover a dividend declared by U.S. West before its merger with Qwest. The merger closed before the record and payment dates for the dividend, which Qwest did not pay following the merger. The case was aggressively litigated and the plaintiffs survived a motion to dismiss, two motions for summary judgment and successfully certified the class over vigorous opposition from defendants. In certifying the class, the court commented, “Defendants do not contest that Plaintiffs’ attorneys are extremely well qualified to represent the putative class. This litigation has been ongoing for four years; in that time Plaintiffs’ counsel has proven that they are more than adequate in ability, determination, and resources to represent the putative class.” The case settled for $50 million on the day before trial was scheduled to commence. At the August 30, 2005 final approval hearing relating to the settlement, the court noted that the case “was litigated by extremely talented lawyers on both sides” and that the settlement was “a great result.” In describing the risk taken by the Firm and its co-counsel, the court noted, “There wasn’t any other lawyer[] in the United States that took the gamble that these people did. Not one other firm anywhere said I’m willing to take that on. I’ll go five years. I’ll pay out the expenses. I’ll put my time and effort on the line.” In discussing the difficulties facing the Firm in this case, the court said, “There wasn’t any issue that wasn’t fought. It took a great deal of skill to get to the point of trial.” In concluding, the court remarked that the class was “fortunate they had some lawyers that had the guts to come forward and do it.”
• In re NASDAQ Market-Makers Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1023 (S.D.N.Y.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as court-appointed co-lead counsel for a class of investors. The class alleged that the NASDAQ market-makers set and maintained wide spreads pursuant to an industry wide conspiracy in one of the largest and most important antitrust cases in recent history. After three and one half years of intense litigation, the case was settled for a total of $1.027 billion, at the time the largest ever antitrust settlement. An excerpt from the court’s opinion reads:

Counsel for the Plaintiffs are preeminent in the field of class action litigation, and the roster of counsel for the Defendants includes some of the largest, most successful and well regarded law firms in the country. It is difficult to conceive of better representation than the parties to this action achieved.

In re NASDAQ Market-Makers Antitrust Litig., 187 F.R.D. 465, 474 (S.D.N.Y. 1998).

• In re Exxon Valdez, No. A89 095 Civ. (D. Alaska), and In re Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Litig., No. 3 AN 89 2533 (Alaska Super. Ct., 3d Jud. Dist.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served on the Plaintiffs’ Coordinating Committee and Plaintiffs’ Law Committee in this massive litigation resulting from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska in March 1989. The jury awarded hundreds of millions in compensatory damages, as well as $5 billion in punitive damages (the latter were later reduced by the U.S. Supreme Court to $507 million).
• In re 3Com, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. C-97-21083-JW (N.D. Cal.). A hard-fought class action alleging violations of the federal securities laws in which Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as lead counsel for the class and obtained a recovery totaling $259 million.
• Mangini v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 939359 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Francisco County). In this case, R.J. Reynolds admitted, “the Mangini action, and the way that it was vigorously litigated, was an early, significant and unique driver of the overall legal and social controversy regarding underage smoking that led to the decision to phase out the Joe Camel Campaign.”
• Cordova v. Liggett Grp., Inc., No. 651824 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Diego County), and People v. Philip Morris, Inc., No. 980864 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Francisco County). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys, as lead counsel in both these actions, played a key role in these cases which were settled with the Attorneys General global agreement with the tobacco industry, bringing $26 billion to the State of California as a whole and $12.5 billion to the cities and counties within California.
• Does I v. The Gap, Inc., No. 01 0031 (D. N. Mariana Islands). In this ground-breaking case, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys represented a class of 30,000 garment workers who alleged that they had worked under sweatshop conditions in garment factories in Saipan that produced clothing for top United States retailers such as The Gap, Target and J.C. Penney. In the first action of its kind, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys pursued claims against the factories and the retailers alleging violations of RICO, the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Law of Nations based on the alleged systemic labor and human rights abuses occurring in Saipan. This case was a companion to two other actions: Does I v. Advance Textile Corp., No. 99 0002 (D. N. Mariana Islands), which alleged overtime violations by the garment factories under the Fair Labor Standards Act and local labor law, and UNITE v. The Gap, Inc., No. 300474 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Francisco County), which alleged violations of California’s Unfair Practices Law by the United States retailers. These actions resulted in a settlement of approximately $20 million that included a comprehensive monitoring program to address past violations by the factories and prevent future ones. The members of the litigation team were honored as Trial Lawyers of the Year by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice in recognition of the team’s efforts in bringing about the precedent-setting settlement of the actions.
• Hall v. NCAA (Restricted Earnings Coach Antitrust Litigation), No. 94-2392-KHV (D. Kan.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys were lead counsel and lead trial counsel for one of three classes of coaches in these consolidated price fixing actions against the National Collegiate Athletic Association. On May 4, 1998, the jury returned verdicts in favor of the three classes for more than $70 million.
• In re Prison Realty Sec. Litig., No. 3:99-0452 (M.D. Tenn.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as lead counsel for the class, obtaining a $105 million recovery.
• In re Honeywell Int’l, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 00-cv-03605 (DRD) (D.N.J.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as lead counsel for a class of investors that purchased Honeywell common stock. The case charged Honeywell and its top officers with violations of the federal securities laws, alleging the defendants made false public statements concerning Honeywell’s merger with Allied Signal, Inc. and that defendants falsified Honeywell’s financial statements. After extensive discovery, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys obtained a $100 million settlement for the class.
• In re Reliance Acceptance Grp., Inc. Sec. Litig., MDL No. 1304 (D. Del.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as co-lead counsel and obtained a recovery of $39 million.
• Schwartz v. Visa Int'l, No. 822404-4 (Cal. Super. Ct., Alameda County). After years of litigation and a six-month trial, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys won one of the largest consumer protection verdicts ever awarded in the United States. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys represented California consumers in an action against Visa and MasterCard for intentionally imposing and concealing a fee from their cardholders. The court ordered Visa and MasterCard to return $800,000,000 in cardholder losses, which represented 100% of the amount illegally taken, plus 2% interest. In addition, the court ordered full disclosure of the hidden fee.
• Thompson v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., No. 00-cv-5071 (HB) (S.D.N.Y.). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys served as lead counsel and obtained $145 million for the class in a settlement involving racial discrimination claims in the sale of life insurance.
• In re Prudential Ins. Co. of Am. Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 1061(D.N.J.). In one of the first cases of its kind, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys obtained a settlement of $4 billion for deceptive sales practices in connection with the sale of life insurance involving the “vanishing premium” sales scheme

• Alaska Elec. Pension Fund v. Flowserve Corp., 572 F.3d 221 (5th Cir. 2009). Aided by former Supreme Court Justice O’Connor’s presence on the panel, the Fifth Circuit reversed a district court order denying class certification and also reversed an order granting summary judgment to defendants. The court held that the district court applied an incorrect fact-for-fact standard of loss causation, and that genuine issues of fact on loss causation precluded summary judgment.
• In re F5 Networks, Inc., Derivative Litig., 207 P.3d 433 (Wash. 2009). In a derivative action alleging unlawful stock option backdating, the Supreme Court of Washington ruled that shareholders need not make a presuit demand on the board of directors where this step would be futile, agreeing with plaintiffs that favorable Delaware case law should be followed as persuasive authority.
• Lormand v. US Unwired, Inc., 565 F.3d 228 (5th Cir. 2009). In a rare win for investors in the Fifth Circuit, the court reversed an order of dismissal, holding that safe harbor warnings were not meaningful when the facts alleged established a strong inference that defendants knew their forecasts were false. The court also held that plaintiffs sufficiently alleged loss causation.
• Institutional Investors Grp. v. Avaya, Inc., 564 F.3d 242 (3d Cir. 2009). In a victory for investors in the Third Circuit, the court reversed an order of dismissal, holding that shareholders pled with particularity why the company’s repeated denials of price discounts on products were false and misleading when the totality of facts alleged established a strong inference that defendants knew their denials were false.
• Alaska Elec. Pension Fund v. Pharmacia Corp., 554 F.3d 342 (3d Cir. 2009). The Third Circuit held that claims filed for violation of §10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 were timely, adopting investors’ argument that because scienter is a critical element of the claims, the time for filing them cannot begin to run until the defendants’ fraudulent state of mind should be apparent.
• Rael v. Page, 222 P.3d 678 (N.M. Ct. App. 2009). In this shareholder class and derivative action, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys obtained an appellate decision reversing the trial court’s dismissal of the complaint alleging serious director misconduct in connection with the merger of SunCal Companies and Westland Development Co., Inc., a New Mexico company with large and historic landholdings and other assets in the Albuquerque area. The appellate court held that plaintiff’s claims for breach of fiduciary duty were direct, not derivative, because they constituted an attack on the validity or fairness of the merger and the conduct of the directors. Although New Mexico law had not addressed this question directly, at the urging of the Firm’s attorneys, the court relied on Delaware law for guidance, rejecting the “special injury” test for determining the direct versus derivative inquiry and instead applying more recent Delaware case law.
• Luther v. Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP, 533 F.3d 1031 (9th Cir. 2008). In a case of first impression, the Ninth Circuit held that the Securities Act of 1933’s specific non-removal features had not been trumped by the general removal provisions of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005.
• St. Clare v. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (In re Gilead Sciences Sec. Litig.), 536 F.3d 1049 (9th Cir. 2008). The Ninth Circuit upheld defrauded investors’ loss causation theory as plausible, ruling that a limited temporal gap between the time defendants’ misrepresentation was publicly revealed and the subsequent decline in stock value was reasonable where the public had not immediately understood the impact of defendants’ fraud.
• Fidel v. Farley, 534 F.3d 508 (6th Cir. 2008). The Sixth Circuit upheld class-notice procedures, rejecting an objector’s contentions that class action settlements should be set aside because his own stockbroker had failed to forward timely notice of the settlement to him.
• Cal. Pub. Employees’ Ret. Sys. v. Caboto-Gruppo Intesa, BCI (In re WorldCom Sec. Litig.), 496 F.3d 245 (2d Cir. 2007). The Second Circuit held that the filing of a class action complaint tolls the limitations period for all members of the class, including those who choose to opt out of the class action and file their own individual actions without waiting to see whether the district court certifies a class – reversing the decision below and effectively overruling multiple district court rulings that American Pipe tolling did not apply under these circumstances.
• In re Merck & Co., Inc., Sec., Derivative & ERISA Litig., 493 F.3d 393 (3d Cir. 2007). In a shareholder derivative suit appeal, the Third Circuit held that the general rule that discovery may not be used to supplement demand-futility allegations does not apply where the defendants enter a voluntary stipulation to produce materials relevant to demand futility without providing for any limitation as to their use.
• Crandon Capital Partners v. Shelk, 157 P.3d 176 (Or. 2007). Oregon’s Supreme Court ruled that a shareholder plaintiff in a derivative action may still seek attorney fees even if the defendants took actions to moot the underlying claims. The Firm’s attorneys convinced Oregon’s highest court to take the case, and reverse, despite the contrary position articulated by both the trial court and the Oregon Court of Appeals.
• In re Qwest Commc’ns Int’l, 450 F.3d 1179 (10th Cir. 2006). In a case of first impression, the Tenth Circuit held that a corporation’s deliberate release of purportedly privileged materials to governmental agencies was not a “selective waiver” of the privileges such that the corporation could refuse to produce the same materials to non-governmental plaintiffs in private securities fraud litigation.
• Ritter v. Dollens (In re Guidant S’holders Derivative Litig.), 841 N.E.2d 571 (Ind. 2006). Answering a certified question from a federal court, the Supreme Court of Indiana unanimously held that a pre-suit demand in a derivative action is excused if the demand would be a futile gesture. The court adopted a “demand futility” standard and rejected the defendants’ call for a “universal demand” standard that might have immediately ended the case.
• Denver Area Meat Cutters and Employers Pension Plan v. Clayton, 209 S.W.3d 584 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006). The Tennessee Court of Appeals rejected an objector’s challenge to a class action settlement arising out of Warren Buffet’s 2003 acquisition of Tennessee-based Clayton Homes. In their effort to secure relief for Clayton Homes stockholders, the firm’s attorneys obtained a temporary injunction of the Buffet acquisition for six weeks in 2003 while the matter was litigated in the courts. The temporary halt to Buffet’s acquisition received national press attention.
• DeJulius v. New England Health Care Employees Pension Fund, 429 F.3d 935 (10th Cir. 2005). The Tenth Circuit held that the multi-faceted notice of a $50 million settlement in a securities fraud class action had been the best notice practicable under the circumstances, and thus satisfied both constitutional due process and Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
• Alaska Elec. Pension Fund v. Brown, 941 A.2d 1011 (Del. 2007). The Supreme Court of Delaware held that the Alaska Electrical Pension Fund, for purposes of the “corporate benefit” attorney-fee doctrine, was presumed to have caused a substantial increase in the tender offer price paid in a “going private” buyout transaction. The Court of Chancery originally ruled that Alaska’s counsel, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, was not entitled to an award of attorney fees, but Delaware’s high court, in its published opinion, reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
• Sparling v. Daou (In re Daou Sys.), 411 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 2005). The Ninth Circuit sustained investors’ allegations of accounting fraud and ruled that loss causation was adequately alleged by pleading that the value of the stock they purchased declined when the issuer’s true financial condition was revealed.
• Barrie v. Intervoice-Brite, Inc., 397 F.3d 249 (5th Cir. 2005), reh’g denied and opinion modified, 409 F.3d 653 (5th Cir. 2005). The Fifth Circuit upheld investors’ accounting-fraud claims, holding that fraud is pled as to both defendants when one knowingly utters a false statement and the other knowingly fails to correct it, even if the complaint does not specify who spoke and who listened.
• Illinois Municipal Ret. Fund v. Citigroup, Inc., 391 F.3d 844 (7th Cir. 2004). The Seventh Circuit upheld a district court’s decision that the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund was entitled to litigate its claims under the Securities Act of 1933 against WorldCom’s underwriters before a state court rather than before the federal forum sought by the defendants.
• Nursing Home Pension Fund, Local 144 v. Oracle Corp., 380 F.3d 1226 (9th Cir. 2004). The Ninth Circuit ruled that defendants’ fraudulent intent could be inferred from allegations concerning their false representations, insider stock sales and improper accounting methods.
• Pirraglia v. Novell, Inc., 339 F.3d 1182 (10th Cir. 2003). The Tenth Circuit upheld investors’ accounting-fraud claims, holding that plaintiffs could not be expected to plead details of documents from defendants’ files, that the materiality of defendants’ false statements is usually not resolvable at the pleading stage, and that the absence of insider trading by individual defendants did not mean they lacked a motive to commit fraud.
• No. 84 Employer-Teamster Joint Council Pension Trust Fund v. Am. West Holding Corp., 320 F.3d 920 (9th Cir. 2003). The Ninth Circuit upheld investors’ fraud claims, ruling that the materiality of defendants’ fraud was not reflected in the stock’s market price until the full economic effects of defendants’ fraud were finally revealed, and that a lack of stock sales by defendants is not dispositive as to scienter.
• Herrgott v. U.S. Dist. Court for the N. Dist. of Cal. (In re Cavanaugh), 306 F.3d 726 (9th Cir. 2002). The Ninth Circuit disallowed judicial auctions to select lead plaintiffs in securities class actions and protected lead plaintiffs’ right to select the lead counsel they desire to represent them.
• Lone Star Ladies Inv. Club v. Schlotzsky’s Inc., 238 F.3d 363 (5th Cir. 2001). The Fifth Circuit upheld investors’ claims that securities offering documents were incomplete and misleading, reversing a district court order that had applied inappropriate pleading standards to dismiss the case.
• City of Monroe Employees Ret. Sys. v. Bridgestone Corp., 387 F.3d 468 (6th Cir. 2004). The Sixth Circuit held that a statement regarding objective data supposedly supporting a corporation's belief that its tires were safe was actionable where jurors could have found a reasonable basis to believe the corporation was aware of undisclosed facts seriously undermining the statement's accuracy.
• Southland Sec. Corp. v. INSpire Ins. Solutions Inc., 365 F.3d 353 (5th Cir. 2004). The Fifth Circuit sustained allegations that an issuer’s CEO made fraudulent statements in connection with a contract announcement.
• Fox v. JAMDAT Mobile, Inc., 185 Cal. App. 4th 1068 (2010). Concluding that Delaware's shareholder ratification doctrine did not bar the claims, the California Court of Appeal reversed dismissal of a shareholder class action alleging breach of fiduciary duty in a corporate merger.

• In re Monumental Life Ins. Co., 365 F.3d 408 (5th Cir. 2004). The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s denial of class certification in a case filed by African-Americans seeking to remedy racially discriminatory insurance practices. The Fifth Circuit held that a monetary relief claim is viable in a Rule 23(b)(2) class if it flows directly from liability to the class as a whole and is capable of classwide “computation by means of objective standards and not dependent in any significant way on the intangible, subjective differences of each class member's circumstances.”
• Moore v. Liberty Nat’l Life Ins. Co., 267 F.3d 1209 (11th Cir. 2001). The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of the defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, rejecting contentions that insurance policyholders’ claims of racial discrimination were barred by Alabama’s common law doctrine of repose. The Eleventh Circuit also rejected the insurer’s argument that the McCarran-Ferguson Act mandated preemption of plaintiffs’ federal civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. §§1981 and 1982.
• Mass. Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Superior Court, 97 Cal. App. 4th 1282 (2002). The California Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court’s Order certifying a class in an action by purchasers of so-called “vanishing premium” life-insurance policies who claimed violations of California’s consumer-protection statutes. The Court held that common issues predominate where plaintiffs allege a uniform failure to disclose material information about policy dividend rates.
• Smith v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co., 289 S.W.3d 675 (Mo. Ct. App. 2009). Capping nearly a decade of hotly contested litigation, the Missouri Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s judgment notwithstanding the verdict for auto insurer American Family and reinstated a unanimous jury verdict for the plaintiff class.
• Troyk v. Farmers Grp., Inc., 171 Cal. App. 4th 1305 (2009). The California Court of Appeal held that Farmers Insurance’s practice of levying a “service charge” on one-month auto insurance policies, without specifying the charge in the policy, violated California’s Insurance Code.

• Haw. Med. Ass'n v. Haw. Med. Serv. Ass'n, 148 P.3d 1179 (Haw. 2006). The Supreme Court of Hawaii ruled that claims of unfair competition were not subject to arbitration and that claims of tortious interference with prospective economic advantage were adequately alleged.
• Branick v. Downey Sav. & Loan Ass’n, 39 Cal. 4th 235 (2006). Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys were part of a team of lawyers that briefed this case before the Supreme Court of California. The Court issued a unanimous decision holding that new plaintiffs may be substituted, if necessary, to preserve actions pending when Proposition 64 was passed by California voters in 2004. Proposition 64 amended California’s Unfair Competition Law and was aggressively cited by defense lawyers in an effort to dismiss cases after the initiative was adopted.
• McKell v. Washington Mut. Inc., 142 Cal. App. 4th 1457 (2006). The California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court, holding that plaintiff’s theories attacking a variety of allegedly inflated mortgage related fees were actionable.
• West Corp. v. Superior Court, 116 Cal. App. 4th 1167 (2004). The California Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s finding that jurisdiction in California was appropriate over the out-of-state corporate defendant whose telemarketing was aimed at California residents. Exercise of jurisdiction was found to be in keeping with considerations of fair play and substantial justice.
• Ritt v. Billy Blanks Enters., 870 N.E.2d 212 (Ohio Ct. App. 2007). In the Ohio analog to the West case, the Ohio Court of Appeals approved certification of a class of Ohio residents seeking relief under Ohio’s consumer protection laws for the same telemarketing fraud.
• Kruse v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc., 383 F.3d 49 (2d Cir. 2004) andSantiago v. GMAC Mortgage Grp., Inc., 417 F.3d 384 (3d Cir. 2005). In two groundbreaking federal appellate decisions, the Second and Third Circuits each ruled that the Real Estate Settlement Practices Act prohibits marking up home loan-related fees and charges.
• Lavie v. Procter & Gamble Co., 105 Cal. App. 4th 496 (2003). The California Court of Appeal issued an extensive opinion elaborating, for the first time in California law, the meaning of the “reasonable consumer” standard. The Court announced a balanced approach that has enabled actions under California’s leading consumer protection statutes when necessary to protect the public from acts of unfair business competition.
• Kasky v. Nike, Inc., 27 Cal. 4th 939 (2002). The California Supreme Court upheld claims that an apparel manufacturer misled the public regarding its exploitative labor practices, thereby violating California statutes prohibiting unfair competition and false advertising. The Court rejected defense contentions that such misconduct was protected by the First Amendment.
• Spielholz v. Superior Court, 86 Cal. App. 4th 1366 (2001). The California Court of Appeal held that false advertising claims against a wireless communications provider are not preempted by the Federal Communications Act of 1934.
• Safeco Ins. Co. of Am. v. Superior Court, 173 Cal. App. 4th 814 (2009). In a class action against auto insurer Safeco, the California Court of Appeal agreed that the plaintiff should have access to discovery to identify a new class representative after her standing to sue was challenged.
• Koponen v. Pacific Gas & Electric, 165 Cal. App. 4th 345 (2008). The Firm’s attorneys obtained a published decision reversing the trial court’s dismissal of the action, and holding that the plaintiff’s claims for damages arising from the utility’s unauthorized use of rights-of-way or easements obtained from the plaintiff and other landowners were not barred by a statute limiting the authority of California courts to review or correct decisions of the California Public Utilities Commission.
• Consumer Privacy Cases, 175 Cal. App. 4th 545 (2009). The California Court of Appeal rejected objections to a nationwide class action settlement benefiting Bank of America customers.