Here is the latest round of updates to our securities litigation conferences, webcasts, and other events list.

For the full list, please go here.

As always, readers are encouraged to send information on securities litigation related events to us via the "Contact Us" link on the upper left hand side of this blog.

Mortgage Servicing Litigation and Legislation

May 21, 2009
Teleconference

Highlights:

* The Bondholder Class Action against Countrywide
* Mortgage Cramdowns in Bankruptcy
* The Role of the Master Servicer in a Securitization

No brochure is available, but for more details, visit the teleconference registration page.

The Recent Debt Crisis and How It's Affecting FINRA Arbitration

June 2, 2009
Teleconference

Highlights:

* The kinds of cases, claims and clients that benefit from FINRA, and those that don't
* The new suits and new litigants arising out of the debt crisis
* How FINRA rules work and panel structure variations under FINRA arbitration
* The pros and cons of using FINRA arbitration
* The perceptions of fairness in FINRA arbitration

No brochure is available, but for more details, visit the teleconference registration page.

Class Action Litigation 2009: Prosecution and Defense Strategies

July 9 - 10, 2009
PLI New York Center, New York, NY

Highlights:

* How to strategically litigate the class certification motion
* The important role of mediation in class actions
* Considerations and strategies on settlement

No brochure is available, but for more details, visit the conference registration page.

A few observations from a brief review of the verdict form.

1. Of the 39 allegedly false and misleading statements, the jury found for the plaintiffs on 16 of those statements.

2. Of those 16 statements, the jury found that all four defendants acted recklessly with respect to 15 of those statements.

3. On one of the statements, two defendants (Household and former Chairman and CEO William Aldinger) were found to have acted knowingly, one defendant (Gary Gilmer, the former Vice-Chair of Consumer Lending) was found to have acted recklessly, and one defendant (David Schoenholz, the former CFO, COO, and vice-chairman of the Board) was found not liable with respect to that statement.

4. The percentage of responsibility that the jury attributed to each defendant is as follows:

Household - 55%
Aldinger - 20%
Schoenholz - 15%
Gilmer - 10%

5. The verdict form attributes an inflation factor to each day of the class period. From 7/3/99 - 3/22/01, the jury found that there was no inflation of Household's share price attributable to the alleged misstatements and omissions.

6. But from 3/23/01 - 10/11/02, the jury found that the alleged misstatements and omissions inflated Household's share price between $23.94 and -$4.66. It seems that with the negative inflation number the jury is indicating that on a few days during the class period, the defendants actually caused the share price to go down. It is unclear whether the plaintiffs will amend their complaint to add a subclass of common stock sellers that were harmed by this deflation!

7. Last, but not least, the jury found that defendant Gilmer had no control person liability under Section 20(a).

A copy of the jury verdict is available here.

While securities class action trials are rare, they do happen.

We now have a plaintiffs' verdict in the liability phase of the latest such case, Lawrence E. Jaffee Pension Plan v. Household International, Inc., a securities class action that has been kicking around the courts since August 2002.

The finding of liability means that the trial will go on to the next phase, the damages phase.

We have updated our complete list of federal securities class action trials, which can be accessed here.

Lead counsel for the plaintiffs is Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP and Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP is lead counsel for the defendants.

Pat Coughlin, the Coughlin Stoia firm's Chief Trial Counsel, said the following in a written statement:

"We are extremely proud of our trial team and pleased that defrauded shareholders have won this historic victory. The jury's verdict is a victory for the millions of Americans suffering as a result of deceptive predatory lending practices and a victory for all investors fighting for greater corporate transparency, honesty and integrity. The verdict is also a testament to our firm's willingness and ability to see a case through on behalf of our clients, despite facing adversaries with tremendous power and resources."

No word yet from the defense attorneys on the case.

Stay tuned for further updates.