Securities and Financial Products Litigation

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DiCello Levitt’s Securities and Financial Products Litigation Practice Group represents individuals and institutional investors of all sizes—including banks, pension funds (including many police and fire funds), and fund managers—that have suffered losses due to financial malfeasance and failure to comply with securities regulations. DiCello Levitt pursues the bad actors and obtains compensation for investors’ losses.

DiCello Levitt’s attorneys are recognized as leading experts in prosecuting securities and accounting fraud claims. Our team members have led some of the most complex and notable securities actions ever filed and have recovered tens of billions of dollars for pension fund retirees and other investors.

DiCello Levitt’s attorneys have a proven track record of securing landmark financial recoveries and advancing meaningful reforms in a variety of cases, including those involving omissions and nondisclosure, fraudulent statements and financial schemes, deceptive trade practices, and breaches of duty, as well as matters of market manipulation, takeovers and proxy disputes, and insider trading.

DiCello Levitt’s attorneys have won some of the highest-profile securities actions ever filed, including cases against Enron, AOL/Time Warner, BP, Pfizer, Petrobras, Valeant, and Volkswagen, as well as the $1 billion securities class action against Merck & Co. Inc. over alleged misrepresentations about the safety of its drug Vioxx. Many of our lawyers have worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, prosecuting financial crimes such as those arising from the residential mortgage-backed securities crisis. Collaborating with a team of e-discovery specialists, investigators, and forensic accountants with federal and state law enforcement experience, our attorneys are quick to grasp complex structured finance issues, from mortgage-backed and asset-backed collateralized debt obligations to credit-default swaps and credit-linked notes. When we suspect financial misconduct, we initiate an investigation, determine what happened, and ultimately present compelling evidence to secure the necessary and typically massive recoveries for our clients.

DiCello Levitt was named one of the 2023 Top Boutiques by the Daily Journal in recognition of our leadership in “huge and international” securities litigation matters and legal excellence in the state of California.

DiCello Levitt offers portfolio monitoring via its Global Securities Review, which monitors potential and pending class action securities litigation, including potential actions involving securities purchased on foreign stock exchanges located outside the United States as well as independent securities actions based on state law claims. We also analyze the respective interests of all clients based on their holdings and exposure during the relevant periods. We provide monthly customized reports to each client, detailing the securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative actions in which that specific client may have an interest, including case summaries, claim details, estimated losses on both last-in, first-out (LIFO) and first-in, first-out (FIFO) bases, and other relevant information. We deliver interactive, real-time internet access to data, analysis, and all other relevant information contained in the monthly reports.

Representative Matters

Kempen International Funds, et al. v. Syneos Health Inc., et al.

DiCello Levitt serves as Lead Counsel in a national securities class action against Syneos Health Inc. and its former executives. The lawsuit alleges that Syneos made misleading statements about the collapse of its new business and nearly $3 billion in uncollectable receivables and, as a result, defrauded purchasers of Syneos common stock. The court largely denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed to discovery.

Saleh v. AstraZeneca PLC, et al.

DiCello Levitt serves as Lead Counsel in a securities class action against AstraZeneca and certain of its current and former executives, arising out of allegations that AstraZeneca failed to disclose that it was embroiled in a widespread insurance fraud investigation in China, ultimately resulting in the detention of the AstraZeneca China President.

In re Avantor Inc. Securities Litigation

DiCello Levitt serves as Co-Lead Counsel in this securities class action against Avantor and certain of its senior executives. The lawsuit arises out of allegations that Avantor concealed that it had severely underinvested in its supply chain infrastructure, inventory management systems, and customer service leading to customer attrition and materially overstated goodwill in connection with its acquisition of VWR Corporation.

Gehring, et al. v. American Portfolios Advisors Inc., et al.

DiCello Levitt serves as Co-Lead Counsel and represents a class of account holders whose cash was automatically swept into low interest-bearing accounts at Osaic. The action arises out of allegations that various Osaic entities breached their fiduciary duties and contractual obligations to their customers through their cash sweep programs.

Devlin v. Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company

DiCello Levitt serves as Lead Counsel on behalf of hundreds of thousands of public school teachers and other employees who invested in EQUI-VEST variable annuities through retirement plans in a securities class action against Equitable and certain of its executives. The lawsuit alleges that Equitable misrepresented the fees and expenses being charged on EQUI-VEST annuities.

Smith v. F5 Inc., et al.

DiCello Levitt was appointed Lead Counsel in this securities class action against F5 and certain of its senior executives. The lawsuit arises out of allegations that F5 misled investors about the strength of its cybersecurity capabilities while concealing a years-long security breach in which a nation-state threat actor accessed the company’s internal systems and stole sensitive source code and vulnerability information, exposing more than 260,000 systems worldwide to potential exploitation.

In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation

DiCello Levitt Founding Partner Adam Levitt served on the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, recovering more than $500 million for shareholders.