Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc.
Post-Decision Commentary
On June 23, 2014, the Supreme Court released its opinion in Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc. At issue in the case was whether the Court should rethink its approach to securities class actions established in Basic Inc. v. Levinson, and, if so, what the new standard should be.
The Court held in a 6-3 decision that the standard in Basic still holds, but clarified that Defendants may introduce evidence of no price impact prior to class certification, to rebut the presumption of reliance permitted under Basic. Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan joined. Justices Ginsburg filed a concurring opinion which Justices Breyer and Sotomayor joined.
In an opinion concurring in the judgment, Justice Thomas, joined by Justices Scalia and Alito, argued that Basic should be overturned.
Watch Steven Bradbury, Partner in the Washington, DC office of Dechert LLP, discuss the decision.
As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker. We hope this and other publications will help foster discussion and further exchange regarding current issues.
