Tech securities class-action filings surge in 2019
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Securities class-action filings involving technology companies increased by more than half in 2019, says a research report.
There were 85 new cases filed in 2019, an increase of 55% from 55 in 2018, according to a report, Tech Company Securities Class Action Filings and Settlement, issued by San Francisco-based Cornerstone Research Inc. on Wednesday.
“Total tech company filings have increased from 28 filings in 2016,” to the record-high 85 reported in 2019, the report said.
The report said also, “While the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on filing activity and future settlement remains to be seen, there is potential for increased securities class action filings, including those against tech companies, based on the economic slowdown and operational issues associated with the pandemic.”
The report said, however, the pandemic’s impact on tech companies may be less severe than its effect on the overall market.
While the S&P 500 declined by 20% during this year’s first quarter, the report said, the Dow Jones U.S. Technology index lost 12% of its market value and the NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector lost 16% of its market value.
Cornerstone and the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse in Stanford, California, said in a report issued earlier this year that plaintiffs filed 428 new class-action securities cases in federal and state courts in 2019, which was the most on record and nearly double the 1997-2018 average. This compares with the 420 issued in 2018, according to the report.
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Plaintiffs’ class action securities filings set record: Cornerstone
Plaintiffs filed 428 new class action securities cases in federal and state courts in 2019, which was the most on record and nearly double the 1997-2018 average, says a report issued Wednesday.
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