How does an institution’s participation in the action help the case or the institution?
Before a lawsuit may proceed as a class action, the court must certify that it is appropriate to do so. Our experience is that when institutions are lead plaintiffs, the courts are more likely to certify the lawsuit as a proper class action. By the same token when an institution is the plaintiff, the wrongdoers are more likely to see that it is a serious case and a better result often occurs than if the plaintiff were just an individual. What is the “lead plaintiff?” In securities class actions, the court is required to appoint a lead plaintiff from among investors who are in the class and who ask to be appointed. The lead plaintiff can be one or more individuals or entities. The Court will usually appoint the investor who suffered the largest loss as a result of the misconduct that is the subject of the case. Institutions are favored to be lead plaintiffs.
