Cornerstone Report Says Securities Class Actions Involving Accounting Allegations Less Likely To Be Dismissed, Take Longer To Resolve

Securities class action lawsuits involving accounting allegations are less likely to be dismissed, take longer to resolve, and make up a much greater proportion of total securities suit settlement dollars than non-accounting cases, according to a new report from Cornerstone Research. The report, entitled "Accounting Class Action Filings and Settlements: 2012 Review and Analysis," and which can be found here, shows that the number of securities cases involving accounting allegations declined in 2012, both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of all securities suit filings. However, a number of factors suggest that the number of accounting cases could increase in the months ahead. Cornerstone Research's April 10, 2013 press release regarding the report can be found here.

The report defines a securities suit as an "accounting case" if the lawsuit involves allegations of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting. The alleged GAAP violations vary widely, but include allegations of accounting irregularities, restatement of financials, and asset write-downs.

During 2012, new accounting case filings decreased both in number and in proportion of new securities class action filings, to the lowest levels in six years. The number of accounting cases decreased from 78 in 2011 to 45 in 2012, and the proportion of total filings that accounting cases represented decreased from 42 percent to 30 percent. As a result of declines during 2012 in the number of cases involving Chinese reverse merger companies, as well as a general decline in the number of securities class action lawsuit filings in the second half of the year, the number of securities suit filings overall declined during 2012. The drop in Chinese reverse merger cases alone accounted for approximately two-0thirds of the drop in new accounting cases from 2011 to 2012

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Read other items of interest from the world of directors & officers liability, with occasional commentary, at the D&O Diary, a blog by Kevin LaCroix.

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