Securities fraud claims driving up D&O insurance costs

Plaintiffs filed 198 new federal securities class actions in the first half of 2019, says the Securities Class Action Filings—2019 Midyear Assessment. (Photo: Shutterstock)

General counsel today are looking at a more than 5% chance that their companies will be sued this year due to a drop in stock price, according to a new report.

The Securities Class Action Filings—2019 Midyear Assessment, released last Thursday by Cornerstone Research and the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, shows that plaintiffs filed 198 new federal securities class actions in the first half of 2019. The number of filings continued this year at a near record level.