Two recent decisions by the largest federal circuit court in the country have some defense lawyers wondering if the pendulum is swinging against them in securities fraud suits.
Until recently, the 9th Circuit—which includes California and a number of other western states—was considered the friendliest jurisdiction in the country for companies being sued by shareholders under federal securities laws. That’s because the circuit had applied the toughest test for plaintiffs trying to meet the “heightened pleading standard” under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
