The first quarter of 2021 experienced a significant decline of newly filed securities class action cases in the United States. The drop – in comparison to the first quarter of 2020 – occurred in both Federal and State courts.
Specifically, volume from the first three months of 2021 includes 61 complaints filed in Federal court and 20 complaints filed in State court. This is a decrease of 44% and 17%, respectively, from the same three-month period in 2020.
While it is likely too early to understand all of the reasons related to the drop in newly filed U.S. class actions, certainly the current Coronavirus pandemic can be partly responsible. This can be validated, at least partially, when looking at the timing of new cases in Federal court. The largest month vs month decline took place in March. Here is a detailed Q1 comparison of the newly filed complaints by month:
| Federal Court Q1 2020 vs Q1 2021 | State Court Q1 2020 vs 2021 | |
| January | 35 vs 20 | 8 vs 9 |
| February | 29 vs 18 | 8 vs 5 |
| March | 44 vs 23 | 8 vs 6 |
Additional statistics, as compiled by ISS Securities Class Action Services, are as follows:
ISS Securities Class Action Services will continue to monitor critical statistics related to litigation – both in the U.S. and across the globe.
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By Jeff Lubitz, Executive Director, and Lloyd Flores, Vice President, ISS Securities Class Action Services
