According to Professor Johnson, the growth of M&A-related litigation is a consequence of the various Congressional enactments intended to restrict traditional securities class action lawsuits to federal court. As legislative enactments like SLUSA and CAFA drove plaintiffs’ lawyers away from federal court, “dispossessed plaintiffs’ lawyers increasingly have turned to filing alternative class actions in state court” – particularly M&A-related class actions. As a result, M&A-related class action lawsuits “have replaced traditional stock drop cases as the lawsuit of choice for plaintiffs securities lawyers,” particularly because the cases are filed and resolved quickly, owing to the pressure on the defense attorneys’ to complete the underlying transaction.
via M&A-Related Litigation Has Replaced Stock Drop Suits as Plaintiffs’ Securities Lawyers’ Lawsuit of Choice — The D&O Diary
