A French company called Oddo lost a big chunk of change when two Barclays-created structured investment vehicles went under. Oddo blamed Barclays, the fund manager, and the credit ratings agency for blessing the mortgage-backed securities in the SIVs, but the judge found no cause of action.

Last week, seven major defense firms sent an unusual joint letter to the SEC, opposing its proposal to permit shareholders to nominate corporate directors. Wednesday the securities class action plaintiffs bar shot back, in an almost unprecedented show of interfirm cooperation.

Companies have wielded the Supreme Court's decision in Morrison v. NAB to strike down securities claims in case after case. So it's no surprise that the defense bar--including the lawyer who won Morrison back in 2010--came out in force Friday to back UBS AG in an appeal that could undermine Morrison's force.

Two Manhattan federal judges just couldn't wait for the Supreme Court's ruling on whether investors who bought shares of foreign companies on foreign exchanges have a right to bring suit in U.S. courts.

Starting last year, Kasowitz Benson and five other firms withdrew from representing WebXchange in infringement suits against Dell and FedEx, citing fatal breakdowns in their attorney-client relationships. Last week a Delaware judge dismissed the patent suits after WebXchange failed to drum up new counsel, and Kasowitz sued the company in state court in Manhattan for expenses the firm racked up before it withdrew.

After succumbing to the Supreme Court's Morrison v. NAB decision last year, the plaintiffs agreed to drop their claims this week for tiny fraction of what they sought in damages from the French infrastructure giant.

Winners (and losers) have been revealed in the highly competitive contest to be named lead plaintiff and lead counsel for the consolidated securities class action against Bank of America over its ill-fated acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

Shareholders force ACS to drop controversial provisions intended to lock up a deal with Xerox.

New York's highest court ruled Wednesday that a French asset management company that lost $43 million in the collapse of two subprime-mortgage-packed investment vehicles can't try to recover its losses from Barclays and Standard & Poor's.

In the ongoing saga of foreign claimants in U.S. securities class actions, UBS investors try to distinguish themselves from overseas plaintiffs who haven't managed to get their day in U.S. courts.