News - 2015
September 2015
Saxena White Win Class Certification in Precedent Setting Opinion on Behalf of Wilmington Trust Investors in Securities Fraud Action
On September 3, 2015, the Hon. Sue L. Robinson certified a Class of investors in a securities class action against Wilmington Trust, its Board of Directors and senior executives, its outside auditor, KPMG, and two underwriters of a secondary offering, JPMorgan Securities and Keefe Bruyette & Woods. The case alleges that, over the span of three years and in violation of the federal securities laws, the Defendants fraudulently concealed Wilmington Trust’s true financial state by manipulating the Bank’s loan loss reserve and allowance for loan losses, misrepresented the quality of the loans on the Bank’s books, and misrepresented its asset review, underwriting, and appraisal practices.
In certifying the class, the Court concluded that the Plaintiffs’ “expert’s event study methodology” is sufficient to establish “a common, class-wide methodology to calculate damages.” “Common issues,” the Court held, therefore “predominate in the litigation,” which will continue in order “to vindicate the rights of people who individually would be without the strength to bring their opponents into court.”
Judge Robinson’s opinion represents a significant milestone for investors who have fallen victim to securities fraud. In finding that common issues predominate, the Court rejected the Defendants’ argument that the Supreme Court’s opinion in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 133 S. Ct. 1426 (2013) requires plaintiffs to submit a damages methodology and model at the class certification stage. Indeed, during oral argument, Judge Robinson noted that, “I don’t believe that Comcast is particularly informative,” and that it should be read “as narrowly as is cited by Plaintiffs’ counsel.” Having defeated an argument that securities fraud defendants are increasingly relying upon to avoid responsibility for their illegal actions, Saxena White’s efforts have again provided investors with a powerful weapon with which to combat corporate wrongdoing at the class certification stage.
In addition to certifying the Class, the Court appointed Saxena White as Class Counsel, applauded its “excellent lawyers” and noted that Ms. Saxena’s “argument was very well argued.”
In re Wilmington Trust Securities Litigation, Case No. 10-cv-990-SLR (D. Del.)
September 2015
Jorge Amador Joins Saxena White
Jorge A. Amador is Special Counsel to Saxena White and Director of Forensic Accounting. Mr. Amador has extensive experience in analyzing and litigating complex accounting cases. He is a member of the Bar of California, a Certified Public Accountant, and Certified in Financial Forensics.
For over 15 years, Mr. Amador has prosecuted class actions and private actions on behalf of defrauded investors, particularly in the area of accounting fraud. Previously he served as the Director of Forensic Accounting of one of the nation’s largest securities litigation firms, where he led a group of accounting professionals that investigated private securities lawsuits involving complex financial issues. He has participated in the litigation of highly complex accounting scandals involving some of America's largest corporations including Enron, Tyco, Rite Aid, Countrywide, and Xerox.
Prior to beginning a legal career, Mr. Amador was a practicing CPA where he directed audits of public companies and closely-held businesses, ranging from financial services to construction companies. In addition, he led a variety of engagements including due diligence in mergers and acquisitions, investigations related to white-collar crime and consulted and/or testified in business disputes involving valuation issues and piercing of the corporate veil.
Mr. Amador regularly lectures on a variety of accounting and legal topics. He was an adjunct lecturer at Baruch College where he has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in Financial Accounting, Financial Statement Analysis and Forensic Accounting. He has also been a speaker and the co-chair of the Practising Law Institute's Accounting for Lawyers 2-day conference.
Mr. Amador is currently a member of the California State Bar and is admitted in the Northern District of California, and is a current member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration (Accounting) from Norwich University, in Northfield, Vermont and earned his J.D. from Concord School of Law in Los Angeles, California. He is also fluent in Spanish.
August 2015
Saxena White P.A. Settles Tower Group International Ltd.
On August 13, 2015, the Court preliminarily approved the proposed settlement. The settlement hearing, which the Court had previously set for November 18, 2015, has been rescheduled for November 23, 2015 at 4:15 p.m. A copy of the order rescheduling the settlement hearing can be found here. A copy of the In re Tower Group International, Ltd. Securities Litigation Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action, Certification of Settlement Classes, Settlement Fairness Hearing, and Motion for Attorneys' Fees can be found here. A copy of the Proof of Claim and Release Form can be found here.
August 2015
The Best Lawyers in America 2016 Announcement
We are pleased to announce that Maya Saxena was recently selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2016 for Commercial Litigation. Congratulations to Ms. Saxena for this achievement.
July 2015
Saxena White P.A. is Appointed Co-Lead in Golf Clubs Away LLC vs. Hostway Corporation, Hostway Services, Inc. and Valueweb
On July 7, 2015, Circuit Court Judge William Haury of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida entered a significant order in the action entitled Golf Clubs Away LLC v. Hostway Corporation, et al., Case No. 09-29596-13 (the “Hostway case”). The Court’s Order Granting Class Certification, granted the plaintiff’s motion for class certification on its claims for violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (“FDUTPA”), breach of good faith and fair dealing, and unjust enrichment.
The Hostway case involves allegations that the defendant, a company providing email services, failed to notify customers that its servers had been compromised due to hacking and spamming activity. As a result, major Internet Service Providers like Yahoo and AOL blacklisted Hostway customers’ email addresses associated with the compromised servers. The blacklisting meant that Hostway customers’ email transmissions were blocked, obstructing the personal and business communications of these customers.
The Court’s Order allows this action to proceed on a classwide basis and made the following findings of fact (among others): that members of the class experienced interruptions in their ability to send and receive emails because of the blacklisting of defendants’ servers; that the defendants did not notify the class that their emails had been blocked; and that plaintiff and the class paid for uninterrupted email service but did not receive it.
The Court certified the following class:
All customers who directly or indirectly subscribed to defendants’ e-mail services, including email services provided by defendants’ predecessors, affiliates, subsidiaries and/or parents, and whose email accounts utilized Hostway’s shared servers located in Florida that were “blacklisted” at any time from November 1, 2008, through and including March 31, 2009.
The Court also appointed the law firms of Saxena White, P.A. and Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP as Co-Lead Counsel in the action.
A copy of the release with additional details related to the case can be found here. A copy of the Notice of Pendency of Class Action and Exclusion Request form can be found here. A copy of the Order Granting Class Certification can be found here.
June 2015
Saxena White P.A. Settles Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company
During the Class Period, Defendants made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that it had recognized revenue in a manner not consistent with its accounting policy and that certain pending change orders where client acceptance was not finalized were included as revenue. In addition, the Company failed to disclose material weakness in its internal controls to detect or prevent misstatements in its financial statements.
On June 7, 2013, Saxena White was appointed as Lead Counsel for the consolidated action. An Amended Complaint was filed on August 9, 2013. Defendants filed their motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint on October 8, 2013. Plaintiffs filed their opposition to Defendants’ motion to dismiss on December 9, 2013. Defendants filed their reply brief in further support of their motion to dismiss on January 23, 2014.
On September 24, 2014, the Court heard oral argument on Defendants’ motion to dismiss. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Court verbally ordered that Defendants’ motions to dismiss be denied. Thereafter, on September 29, 2014, Defendants filed a motion for reconsideration, which the Court granted on October 1, 2014. On October 21, 2014, the Court issued a full order denying Defendants’ motion to dismiss, in which the Court concluded that the Amended Complaint’s “factual allegations, viewed holistically, support a cogent inference of scienter” and “the inference of scienter favoring Lead Plaintiff—Defendants knew or recklessly publicized false statements—is at least as likely as Defendants' opposing inference.” The Court also directed the parties to submit an agreed written discovery plan within twenty-one days.
Preliminary approval was granted and a final fairness hearing has been set for September 18, 2015.
June 2015
Saxena White P.A. Settles Knight Capital Group, Inc.
Saxena White P.A. served as Lead Counsel in a securities fraud class action asserting violations of the federal securities laws against Knight Capital Group, Inc. On December 20, 2013, Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint. On February 18, 2014, Defendants filed their motion to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint, along with documentation in support thereof. On April 21, 2014, Plaintiffs filed a memorandum of law in opposition to Defendants’ motion, and on June 5, 2014, Defendants filed their reply brief in further support of their motion.
After litigating this case for almost two years, Plaintiffs negotiated a $13 million settlement - an outstanding result for the class. The deadline to file a proof of claim is June 29, 2015.
January 2015
In re Jefferies Group, Inc. Shareholders Litigation Notice of Settlement
A copy of the In re Jefferies Group, Inc. Shareholders Litigation Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action, Settlement Fairness Hearing, and Right to Appear can be found here.
