Underwriters Secure Affirmance of Summary Judgment Victory

Along with counsel to Barclays Bank PLC, Skadden secured, on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters, the affirmance of the district court’s grant of summary judgment in a class action alleging violations of Section 11 of the Securities Act relating to a $2.5 billion public offering of preferred Barclays American depositary shares. Following certain writedowns relating to the credit crisis, the plaintiff brought suit alleging that the offering materials failed to properly disclose Barclays’ exposure to the credit markets. In its November 20, 2018, amended summary order, the Second Circuit held that for two of the plaintiff’s alleged misstatements or omissions, the defendants had sufficiently demonstrated that the decline in the price of the Series 5 shares was not due to those alleged misstatements or omissions; for the third and final alleged omission, the Second Circuit held that there was no requirement the information be disclosed.