In Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, the U.S. Supreme Court had a chance to shut down securities litigation as we know it. Instead, the high court issued a decision that has plaintiffs lawyers thanking their stars—and may even promise more billable hours for defense lawyers and expert witnesses.
Halliburton and defense-side amici like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce had urged the high court to abolish the “fraud on the market” presumption, a doctrine that allows securities plaintiffs to bypass the need to show that they actually relied on defendants’ alleged misrepresentations. But in a unanimous decision, the justices held Monday that it would be bad policy to disturb an earlier ruling that explicitly endorsed the fraud on the market theory.
