Broadridge report finds ESG investing and crypto litigation as major enforcement trends
“By most metrics, securities settlement activity in 2022 drove one of the busiest years we’ve ever seen, led by more than ten mega-settlements exceeding $100 million, including the second largest securities settlement outside North America.”
Broadridge’s Class Action Services division has released the fourth annual Broadridge Global Class Actions Report, which noted that 2022 has been one of the busiest years for the global securities class action litigation industry, with settlement recovery opportunities of more than $7.4 billion and 21% more claim filing opportunities.
As per the report, the total settlement value for Global Securities Class Actions increased by 142%, with the number of opportunities to recover assets in securities and financial antitrust class action settlements also increasing in 2022.
Broadridge Class Action Services is a team of dedicated class action experts that include attorneys, client advocates, class action auditors, data analysts, research professionals, and client service representatives that cater to over 900 organizations because of its worldwide reach.
More than ten mega-settlements exceeding $100 million in 2022
Steve Cirami, Broadridge Global Class Actions leader, said: “By most metrics, securities settlement activity in 2022 drove one of the busiest years we’ve ever seen, led by more than ten mega-settlements exceeding $100 million, including the second largest securities settlement outside North America.”
The report highlights the current trends in global class action, including:
- Continued focus on ESG, as regulators worldwide look to crack down on ESG greenwashing; coupled with more event-driven securities litigation, the upward trend of ESG-related class actions will remain strong
- Growth in opt-in jurisdictions and the rise in collective investor actions
- SPAC and cryptocurrency-related securities litigations continue trending upwards in 2022. However, this trend is not expected to carry through in 2023 given that SPACs have significantly fallen out of vogue, with a nearly 90% decrease in the number of SPAC IPOs from 2021 to 2022
- Broker-Dealers shift in service, as broker-dealers continue to seek ways to better serve their customers many are providing claim-filing and asset recovery services in lieu of simply notifying retail customers
- New federal forum provisions driving more IPO cases to federal court
- Concern over short-seller claw back exposure in Delaware merger cases
The report also provided an in-depth analysis of the 10 most complex class actions involving financial instruments in 2022:
Steinhoff Global Settlement €1,400,000,000 (the Netherlands & South Africa)
SIBOR/SOR Antitrust Litigation $155,458,000 (U.S.)
Teva Securities Litigation $420,000,000 (U.S.)
Precious Metals Antitrust Litigations $110,000,000 (Combined) (U.S.)
Navient Securities Litigation $35,000,000 (U.S.)
Airbus SE $5,000,000 (U.S.); Pending Litigation (the Netherlands)
Luckin Coffee Inc. Securities Litigation $175,000,000 (U.S.)
CannTrust Global Settlement $83,000,000 CAD (Canada & U.S.)
Crown Resorts Securities Litigation $125,000,000 AUD (Australia)
Twitter Securities Litigation $809,500,000 (U.S.)
