Son of Halliburton : SCOTUSblog

Opinion analysis: Son of Halliburton : SCOTUSblog:

 "The eagerly awaited decision in Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund – before the Court for the second time – was finally handed down by the Supreme Court.  As usual, there is a little something for everyone.  What is unusual is that there were no dissents.  Rather, the Justices divided into three camps of three. 

 The question before the Court this time around was whether a defendant can defeat class action status by showing that market price was unaffected by an alleged misrepresentation.  The question arises because under the fraud-on-the-market (FOTM) theory, adopted by the Court in Basic, Inc. v. Levinson, investors can be presumed to rely on a public material misrepresentation about a stock that is traded in an efficient market because it is presumed to affect market price and because investors are presumed to rely on the integrity of the market.

 In a word, the answer to this question is YES – defendants may seek to rebut the presumption for purposes of defeating certification."



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