350 Million Dollar Settlement in Major Class Action Shareholder Suit in Europe: A New Trend?

From the American Bar Association a story on a huge class action settlement

Dutch Settlement Exports U.S.-Style Litigation

$350 million pact provides a new approach to securities fraud claims for non-U.S. investors

By Martha Neil

Love 'em or hate 'em, big-bucks plaintiffs cases have been a uniquely American phenomenon—until now. In a legal milestone that could expand the field exponentially, a settlement of more than $350 million was announced Wednesday in a securities matter involving European investors who bought their shares outside the U.S.

"As far as we know, it's the first class-wide settlement between European investors and a European company over European securities claims—and on its face, it's one of the absolute largest recoveries ever in Europe," says Allan Ripp. He is a spokesman for Grant & Eisenhofer, a Wilmington, Del., law firm representing the foreign investors.

Even more unusual, and in a uniquely European style, the issue was settled without any foreign lawsuit ever being filed on foreign investors' behalf.

Instead, the parties—Royal Dutch Shell PLC and groups representing individuals and dozens of institutional investors in nine European countries—are petitioning the Amsterdam Court of Appeals in the Netherlands to approve the agreement. The settlement, in which Shell did not admit to any wrongdoing, was announced in The Hague on Wednesday and resolves all claims brought by non-U.S. investors concerning the company's alleged overstatement of the value of its oil and gas reserves.

For more informatin see ABA Journal.