Second Circuit’s Ikanos decision illustrates pitfalls surrounding MD&A “trends and uncertainties” disclosure *

USA - August 31 2012
Item 303 of Regulation S-K requires the disclosure, in a company’s MD&A, of “any known trends or uncertainties…that the registrant reasonably expects will have a material favorable or unfavorable impact on net sales or revenues or income from continuing operations.”

Co-authors: Michael Smith.

U.S. Supreme Court issues opinion in Halliburton case *

USA - June 9 2011
On June 6, 2011, the United States Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated opinion in Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co., resolving a conflict among the circuits on whether plaintiffs alleging securities fraud must prove “loss causation”— i.e., that the investment losses sought to be recovered were caused by the market’s discovery of the “truth” allegedly obscured or concealed by the “fraud” — in order to obtain class certification.

Co-authors: Jeffrey S Bucholtz, M Robert Thornton (Bob), Michael Smith.