Securities class-action filings edge up

The number of securities class-action filings, which often lead to directors and officers liability insurance claims, increased slightly last year to 215 from 208 in 2022, according to a report released Wednesday.

Despite the increase, the total was significantly lower than those from 2017 to 2020, according to the annual study by San Francisco-based Cornerstone Research Inc. and the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse in Stanford, California.

Filings related to special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, accounted for the largest number of suits last year, with 17, followed by cryptocurrency suits at 14 and COVID-19 filings at 10. The three categories accounted for less than 20% of the total filings, down from 35% in 2022.

Cryptocurrency filings fell by 39% from the 2022 peak, despite high-profile litigation surrounding cryptocurrency exchanges such as FTX Trading Ltd. and Binance Holdings Ltd.

“There is a simple explanation. Crypto prices rebounded in the second half of the year. When prices are up, damages are harder to allege, so litigation declines,” said Joseph Grundfest, professor at Stanford Law School and a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner.

However, 91% of cryptocurrency class actions filed in 2022 are continuing, compared with 69% of all other filings from that year, with the remainder being dismissed or settled.

Eight class actions were filed last year related to 2023 banking industry turbulence, the report said.