A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision moved the ball just a little bit in favor of easing the conditions for bringing a class-action lawsuit alleging securities fraud.
Industry lawyers say the court did so by establishing, for the first time, a national standard which says shareholders of a public company can sue a company for securities fraud without first proving they lost money through the company's actions.
In the suit, Erica P. John Fund v. Halliburton, plaintiffs alleged securities-fraud violations, including falsified earnings reports, playing down estimates of liability from damage caused by exposure to asbestos, and inflating the benefits of a merger during the 1999-2001 period, when former Vice President Dick Cheney served as chairman and CEO.
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