Accounting-Related Securities Class Action Filings Continue to Rise in 2020

Against the backdrop of a worldwide pandemic and a decline in overall securities class action filing activity, the number of securities class action filings involving accounting allegations increased in 2020 for the third consecutive year, according to a report released today by Cornerstone Research.

The report, Accounting Class Action Filings and Settlements—2020 Review and Analysis, found that accounting allegations continue to have a substantial impact on securities class actions. Accounting allegations were present in more than 30% of all federal securities class action filings, and accounting cases made up 84% of total settlement dollars in 2020.

Plaintiffs filed 70 securities class action lawsuits involving accounting allegations in 2020, up from 67 the previous year and the second-highest number in the last 10 years.

There were 38 accounting case settlements in 2020, more than the 34 settlements in the previous year but still lower than in the peak years of 2015 to 2017. The number of accounting case settlements represented almost 50% of all securities class action settlements in 2020.

Total accounting case settlement dollars rose to $3.5 billion in 2020, more than triple the total of $932 million in 2019. This increase was driven by a small number of mega settlements (those valued at $100 million or higher). The median accounting case settlement value was $10.8 million, comparable to the median settlement value of $10.6 million in 2019.

For defendant companies named in accounting case filings, the Disclosure Dollar Loss Index^® (DDL Index^®), a measure of market capitalization losses, reached its highest level in the last 10 years. Market capitalization losses for accounting case filings were 77% higher than the 2011–2019 annual average DDL for accounting cases.

Accounting