News: Berman Tabacco In The News

Berman DeValerio is pleased to announce thatKristin J. Moody andMatthew D. Pearson have been named partners of the firm. The promotions recognize the important contributions both attorneys have made to the firm’s success in prosecuting complex securities and antitrust cases.

On December 5, 2012, Berman DeValerio Partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. appeared before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to argue an appeal involving an issue that could have far-reaching consequences for institutional investors who have relied on pending class actions to protect their rights but chosen to remain absent class members. The appeal in In re IndyMac Mortgage-Backed Securities Litigation, S.D.N.Y. 09-Civ.-04583 (LAK), concerns the question of whether the filing of a class action complaint satisfies and/or tolls the statute of repose not only for the named plaintiffs, but also for absentee class members who may later seek to intervene in, or opt out of, the litigation.

Diamond resellers have begun receiving the proceeds of a $295 million antitrust settlement with world-leading diamond producer De Beers after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider longtime objectors’ final attempt to derail the agreement.

Overcoming a major legal hurdle, the Wyoming Retirement System and Wyoming State Treasurer obtained class certification in a federal lawsuit brought on behalf of investors in nine IndyMac mortgage-backed securities offered in 2006 and 2007.

A federal judge has given final approval to $294.9 million in settlements with the Bear Stearns Companies, auditor Deloitte & Touche LLP and certain individual defendants to resolve fraud claims stemming from investment losses suffered in the company’s 2008 collapse.

Ohio’s public pension funds are using an innovative tactic to recoup money they lost in the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, suing BP p.l.c. in state court after a U.S. district court judge ruled that federal law does not cover their foreign stock purchases.

In a victory for investors, BP p.l.c. failed to convince a Texas federal judge to dismiss a class-action lawsuit seeking to recover billions of dollars in investment losses related to the company’s massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.