Linda Mullenix, the Morris & Rita Atlas Chair in Advocacy at the Law School, has written an article in ABA Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases previewing Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co. The case was argued before the United States Supreme Court on April 25, 2011. A PDF of Mullenix’s preview is available here.
The Erica P. John Fund sued Halliburton Co. in a securities fraud class action for losses stemming from alleged misleading statements. Halliburton claimed that the Fund had not satisfied the predominance requirement for class certification. The Court must now determine a plaintiff’s burden of proof to support class certification based on the so-called “fraud-on-the-market” presumption.
“This is an extremely important appeal of interest to class action attorneys, the corporate bar, and the attorneys engaged in securities class action litigation,” Mullenix said. “It has tremendous public policy implications for the ability of class plaintiffs to sue corporations for securities fraud. If the Supreme Court upholds the Fifth Circuit’s approach, it will make it difficult for plaintiffs to seek class action relief in security fraud cases.”