In the months since the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2014 decision in Halliburton v. Eric P. John Funds,1 class action defendants have had no luck when attempting to take advantage of the decision’s principal holding. In Halliburton, one of the most eagerly (or anxiously) awaited securities decisions in recent memory, the court was asked to overrule Basic v. Levinson,2 a bedrock of securities law for more than 25 years. Basic held that investors in securities fraud actions may establish the element of reliance based on the presumption that stock prices reflect all public, material information, including alleged misrepresentations. Although the court declined to overrule Basic, it held that defendants in securities class actions should be permitted to rebut the Basic presumption at the class certification stage, rather than wait until summary judgment or trial.

The three district courts to consider defendants’ attempts to rebut the Basic presumption after Halliburton have all rejected defendants’ arguments, suggesting that defendants are still figuring out how best to utilize the decision.

Section 10(b), ‘Basic’, and ‘Halliburton’

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]