The Supreme Court issued only one significant decision about securities litigation in 2008, ruling that shareholders cannot sue third parties that helped a company commit fraud. But securities lawyers expect a much more portentous 2009.
First, courts will continue to apply the 2008 decision—Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta—to other class-action securities lawsuits winding through the courts now. Stoneridge could affect a rash of current and future litigation related to the sub-prime mortgage debacle, since so many players were involved in offering now-worthless loans and securities, and flocks of them have since gone bankrupt.
