A&O Shearman amicus brief on behalf of Washington Legal Foundation contributes to Supreme Court review decision

The brief urged the Supreme Court to grant review of the Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in Facebook, Inc. v. Amalgamated Bank and decide whether a public company’s risk disclosures can form the basis of a viable securities fraud class action under Rule 10b-5 if they do not disclose instances in which a risk has materialized in the past.

On June 10, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the decision, making it the third private securities-fraud litigation case in which the Court has granted review in the past two Terms where WLF, with counsel support from A&O Shearman, supported the petition for certiorari.

As background, the Ninth Circuit’s ruling could force companies to disclose extensive, immaterial information about past incidents to avoid liability, which will confuse investors and impose undue burden on public companies. The amicus brief also explained how the Ninth Circuit’s decision could expose companies to frivolous securities litigation based on accurate, forward-looking risk disclosures—an outcome Congress sought to avoid when it passed the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) is a nonprofit public-interest law firm and policy center with supporters in the U.S. Founded in 1977, WLF promotes and defends free enterprise, individual rights, limited government and the rule of law.

Read more about the decision.