What Media Should Know About The Next Big Class Action Case At The Supreme Court

February 24, 2014 7:58 AM EST ››› SERGIO MUNOZ

On March 5, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Halliburton v. Erica P. John Fund, a class action brought on behalf of investors allegedly defrauded by false disclosures of the Texas oil giant. Halliburton has fought to deny a trial on the merits for over a decade, and is now asking the conservative justices to overturn decades of precedent that allows shareholder lawsuits under the rebuttable presumption that this type of misinformation is a "fraud on the market."

Conservative Justices Invited This Opportunity To Dismantle Protections For Securities Fraud Victims

The New York Times' DealBook: This Case Could "Put A Stake Through The Heart" Of These Class Actions. In his analysis of why decades of Supreme Court precedent aimed at effectively regulating stock markets could be at risk, legal expert Steven M. Davidoff noted that four of the conservative justices are willing to do away with a 25-year old legal doctrine. From The Times' DealBook on October 15, 2013:

A group of pro-corporate forces has begun a behind-the-scenes fight at the Supreme Court. You may not have heard about it, but it could just end shareholders' ability to sue companies for securities fraud.
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