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Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Fraud-on-the-Market Presumption in Securities Fraud Litigation

By Eric Rieder
February 28, 2014

When the U.S. Supreme Court 25 years ago decided Basic, Inc. v. Levinson, 485 U.S. 224 (1988), it adopted a legal theory that commentators would describe as revolutionizing securities law in the United States. By accepting the “fraud-on-the-market” theory, the Basic Court made it much easier for plaintiffs to get their cases certified as class actions, increasing the potential exposure of corporations and their officers and directors.

This month, the Court will hear argument in a case that seeks to overthrow Basic's revolutionary regime. The Court last year agreed to hear the appeal of the corporate defendants in Halliburton v. Erica P. John Fund; they directly put to the Court the question of whether Basic and the fraud-on-the-market theory it adopted should be overruled.

If the Court ultimately decides to overturn Basic , it will likely have a significant impact on securities fraud class actions, depriving plaintiffs' lawyers of a critical doctrinal weapon and giving corporate defendants far greater leverage in settlement negotiations.

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