In re Vivendi Universal, S.A. Securities Litigation highlights the potential for big payouts in so-called F-cubed cases, where foreign shareholders sue in U.S. courts regarding foreign shares purchased on foreign exchanges. In late January 2010, a federal court jury in New York ruled that misstatements or omissions inflated Vivendi’s stock price by as much as $11, leaving the company on the hook for up to $9.3 billion in potential damages in what could be the largest securities class action award ever.
Whether such cases should be heard in U.S. courts is the subject of a pending Supreme Court case, Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd., and also of proposed Congressional action.
