If the judge ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Proving that axiom correct, Judge Vaughn Walker of the N.D. of Cal. issued a fairly amazing order last week in the Copper Mountain securities litigation, expressing displeasure with both plaintiffs and the 9th Circuit over the lead plaintiff/lead counsel selection process in that case.
The PSLRA provides that the "presumptively most adequate lead plaintiff" in a securities class action is the movant who "has the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class" and "otherwise satisfies the requirements of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure." To summarize the process, the judge's task is to determine which plaintiff has the largest financial interest, evaluate whether that plaintiff meets the adequacy and typicality tests of Rule 23(a), and, if that plaintiff meets the requirements, declare that plaintiff the presumptive lead plaintiff (a presumption that may then be rebutted by other plaintiffs). The court must also approve the lead plaintiff's choice of counsel.
Three years ago, Judge Walker determined that he would not name the lead plaintiff movant in the Copper Mountain case with the largest financial interest as lead plaintiff because that candidate, known as the CMI Group, failed to demonstrate that it was an adequate lead plaintiff. Judge Walker based his decision on the CMI Group's failure to negotiate a "competitive" fee arrangement with proposed lead counsel and named a different movant as lead plaintiff. See In re Quintus Sec. Litig., 201 F.R.D. 475 (N.D. Cal. 2001) and In re Quintus Sec. Litig., 148 F. Supp. 2d 967 (N.D. Cal. 2001).
The CMI Group petitioned the Ninth Circuit for a writ of mandamus. In In re Cavanaugh, 306 F.3d 726 (9th Cir. 2002), the court overruled Judge Walker's decision. The panel, in an opinion written by Judge Alex Kozinski, found that the lower court had failed to follow the statutory language of the PSLRA in appointing the lead plaintiff. In particular, the court found that "a straightforward application of the statutory scheme . . . provides no occasion for comparing plaintiffs wit