A New York district court judge partially granted and partially denied a motion to certify the class in the SCOR Holding AG litigation. The judge certified a class that included: (1) US residents who purchased Converium shares on the Swiss Exchange; and (2) any person who purchased Converium American Depository Shares on the NYSE. The court specifically denied certification as to non-US investors that purchased shares of Converium on a non-US exchange.
Converium Holding AG (“Converium”), now known as SCOR Holding (Switzerland) AG, was a multinational reinsurer with offices in Switzerland, Germany and New York. This securities litigation was filed in September 2004 following the collapse of Converium North America. Plaintiffs alleged that, between Converium’s initial public offering in December 2001 and September 2004, the defendants misrepresented the sufficiency of Converium North America’s loss reserves, resulting in a representation to the public that Converium’s financial position was far stronger than it actually was during the relevant period. In re Scor Holding (Switzerland) AG Litigation, Case No. 04 Civ. 7897 (S.D.N.Y. March 6, 2008).
This post written by Lynn Hawkins.