Cook County Record: Class action objector hawk Ted Frank will be allowed to intervene in investor lawsuit, challenging ‘mootness fees’
Scott Holland at the Cook County Record detailed HLLI's recent Seventh Circuit win in the Akorn cases.
Reuters: US appeals court decision may deter M&A disclosure-only shareholder suits
Alison Frankel reported on the implications of HLLI's appellate victory yesterday in Akorn, which allows HLLI director Ted Frank to intervene against strike suit plaintiffs.
‘Mootness Fees’ Are Beyond Court’s Purview, 7th Circ. Hears
Frank has also argued for sanctions against the law firms and an injunction barring them from securing attorneys fees without court approval. He said he can’t afford to intervene in each of the many dozens of cases that are resolved with mootness fees. “It’s not enough to have this whack-a-mole game that will not deter the behavior,” he told Law360.
Is This the Beginning of the End of the Merger Objection Lawsuit Mootness Fee Racket?
Ted Frank, an Akorn shareholder, moved to intervene and object to the fee. Judge Durkin ordered the parties to brief the issue whether he had “inherent authority” to abrogate the settlement in light of the Seventh Circuit’s ruling in the Walgreen case...
Decrying M&A class action ‘racket,’ judge tosses shareholders’ deal with Akorn
The decision is vindication for class action watchdog Ted Frank of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute. Frank, an Akorn shareholder, tried to intervene in the litigation in 2017, when plaintiffs’ lawyers disclosed their $322,500 mootness fee in a stipulation asking Judge Durkin to sign an order closing cases voluntarily dismissed by individual shareholders.
Judge: Lawyers must justify fee requests for investor suits withdrawn vs Akorn over proxy disclosures
While Judge Durkin refused Frank’s request to intervene as a litigant, the judge said the plaintiffs’ attorneys must address Frank’s contentions concerning the Walgreen decision before allowing the attorneys to keep their fees.
7th Circ. Has Chance To Cut Off ‘Mootness Fee’ Merger Cases
In what's believed to be the first time a federal appellate court has been given a chance to address the issue, the Center for Class Action Fairness filed a brief with the Seventh Circuit that attacks the mootness fee racket.
CCAF Challenges Frivolous Suit Paying Attorneys over $300,000 but Leaving Class members with $0
Yesterday, the Center for Class Action Fairness (CCAF) filed its opening brief in Alcarez v. Akorn, Inc., et al. CCAF is challenging an order denying CCAF’s intervention in three of six Akorn actions that were pending in the district court.
Carlyle v. Akorn, Inc.
CCAF attorney Theodore H. Frank won an appellate victory granting him intervention against the filers of strike suits that harm shareholder. Here, plaintiffs convinced Akorn to pay $322,500 in attorneys’ fees, although no benefit has accrued to the class—only immaterial supplemental disclosures.
