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Fideres
Securities Class Action Settlement Benchmark
Every chart below responds to the filters on the left. Dollar figures are in 2025
dollars unless marked nominal. Settlement ratios divide the settlement by the selected damages
measure.
Case outcomes by filing year
Cases by circuit
Case damages distribution: $m, 2025 dollars
Settlement size distribution: $m, 2025 dollars
Settlement as a share of estimated damages
Fee awards as a share of the settlement
Time from filing to settlement: years
Enter the damages estimate and characteristics of a live case in the panel on the left. This tab
builds the comparison group from settled cases at the stage the case has reached, inside a two-trader
damages band centred on the case, then refinements tested one at a time. It uses the whole database, not
the Explore filters.
How cases progress from filing to settlement or dismissal. The charts show the chance of reaching
each stage, what happens there, and the probability of settlement by case characteristic.
The outcome filter is set to one outcome, so every rate below
reads 0% or 100%. Set outcome to All to compare probabilities of settlement.
Litigation path: probability of reaching each stage and what happens there
How cases move through each stage of litigation
Band widths are proportional to the number of cases. Percentages are shares of the cases at the start of the chart.
Outcomes and settlement value at each stage
Expected value contribution: how much each stage adds to the
settlement value a new case can expect at filing. It is the share of cases that settle at that
stage multiplied by the median settlement at that stage. For example, if 20% of cases settle after
surviving the motion to dismiss and the median settlement there is $10m, that stage contributes $2m.
The All stages row adds the contributions together: a rough expected settlement value per case,
counting dismissals as zero. Percentages and contributions are shares of the cases in the first row,
so they follow the starting point selected above the chart.
Probability of settlement by case characteristic
Probability of settlement by circuit
Probability of settlement by lead plaintiff type
Probability of settlement by estimated damages band
Probability of settlement by market capitalisation band
Probability of settlement by largest price drop
Probability of settlement by case feature: present against absent
Recovery relative to estimated damages. The settlement ratio uses the damages measure
selected on the left; switch measures to see how the benchmark moves.
How to read the range charts
Median: the middle case, with half the cases above and half below.
25th–75th percentile: half of all cases fall in this range, 25% of the cases are above and 25% of the cases are below.
Distribution of settlement ratios
Settlement ratio by damages band: median and 25th–75th percentile
Settlement ratio by circuit
Settlement ratio by stage at case end
Settlement ratio by settlement year
Settlement ratio by lead plaintiff type
Settlements by year: median settlement and total value, $m
Settlement ratio by number of docket entries
Median settlement ratio by case feature: present against absent
Fee awards approved at settlement, expressed as a share of the settlement fund. Select
different filters on the left to see how fee awards move.
How to read the range charts
Median: the middle case, with half the cases above and half below.
25th–75th percentile: half of all cases fall in this range, 25% of the cases are above and 25% of the cases are below.
Distribution of fee awards: share of settlement
Fee award by settlement size: median and 25th–75th percentile
Fee award by circuit
Fee award by stage at case end
Fee award by settlement year
Fee award by lead plaintiff type
Fee award by number of docket entries
Median fee award by case feature: present against absent
My law firm against other law firms: median and 25th–75th percentile
How to read the range charts
Median: the middle case, with half the cases above and half below.
25th–75th percentile: half of all cases fall in this range, 25% of the cases are above and 25% of the cases are below.
Estimated damages: $m, 2025 dollars
Settlement: $m, 2025 dollars
Settlement ratio
Fee award
Search for a district judge in the panel on the left to list every case
before that judge in the database. This view uses all cases in the database, not the Explore
filters.
Definitions of the terms and data used in this dashboard
About the data. Dollar amounts marked 2025 dollars are
inflation adjusted. Fee awards are the attorneys' fees approved at settlement. Settlement ratios
divide the settlement by the estimated class damages, in 2025 dollars.
Damages measures. Two-trader model: the two-trader model applied to the whole
float. Institutional + two-trader model: bottom-up damages for institutions with known holdings
(first in, first out), plus the two-trader model for the remaining float. Institutional scaled
model: the same institutional damages scaled up to represent the whole float. Netted measures are
used throughout.
Small groups.Figures resting on too few cases are not
shown and read "Not enough data".
Limits. Nothing here is legal advice.
Cases and outcomes
Sample
Federal securities cases.
Cases in view
The cases that match the filters on the left. Every chart and figure is computed from these cases only.
Outcome
Whether the case ended in a settlement or a dismissal. Every case in the database has ended; pending cases are not included.
Settled
A case the parties resolved by agreement, with the defendant paying the plaintiffs in return for releasing their claims. The court approved the settlement.
Dismissed
A case the court ended without a trial, for example by granting a motion to dismiss. Cases the plaintiff withdrew by voluntary dismissal are not counted.
Stage at case end
The furthest stage the case reached before it ended: Before motion to dismiss ruling, Survived motion to dismiss, Class certified or Summary judgment. See Case stages below.
Filing year
Calendar year in which the case was filed.
Settlement year
Calendar year of the settlement.
Time from filing to settlement
Years between the filing date and the settlement date.
Case stages
Before motion to dismiss ruling
The case ended before surviving the motion to dismiss.
Survived motion to dismiss
The case ended after surviving the motion to dismiss but before the class was certified.
Class certified
The case ended after the class was certified but before an order on a motion for summary judgment was filed.
Summary judgment
The case ended after an order on a motion for summary judgment was filed.
These categories only consider orders on summary judgment filed after the class was certified. The minority of cases where an order on summary judgment was filed earlier are listed under an earlier category, such as Before motion to dismiss ruling.
Money
2025 dollars
Dollar amounts adjusted for inflation to 2025 using the US consumer price index. Settlements and fees are adjusted from the settlement year; damages and market capitalisation from the filing year.
Settlement
The amount of the settlement fund.
Fee award
Fees and costs awarded to counsel, separately or combined, and approved by the court at settlement. Shown as a share of the settlement fund (fees divided by settlement, both in nominal dollars) unless marked in dollars.
Market capitalisation
Defendant’s market value nearest the filing date.
Damages and settlement ratios
Estimated damages
Fideres’s estimate of class-wide damages for the case. Three measures are available in the filter panel; the selected one is used throughout.
Two-trader model
Damages under the two-trader model applied to the whole float.
Institutional + two-trader model
Bottom-up damages for institutions with known holdings, matching purchases and sales first in, first out, plus the two-trader model for the remaining shares, netted.
Institutional scaled model
Bottom-up damages for institutions with known holdings (first in, first out), scaled up to the whole float, netted.
Settlement ratio
Settlement divided by estimated damages under the selected measure. Settled cases only.
Probability of settlement
Share of cases in view that settled rather than were dismissed.
Percent held by institutions
Approximate share of the float held by institutional investors, estimated from Fideres’s damages models rather than from ownership filings. A few cases exceed 100%; they are grouped in the top band.
Largest price drop
The largest single-day abnormal fall in the security’s price recorded for the case, shown as a positive percentage.
Docket entries
The number of entries on the court docket for the case: every filing, order and notice recorded by the clerk from the complaint to the case’s end. It is a proxy for how heavily the case was litigated.
Case characteristics
Circuit
Federal court of appeals circuit in which the case was filed.
Sector
Defendant’s GICS industry sector. Cases with no sector code are shown as Unknown.
Claims pleaded
Every case pleads Section 10(b). The filter separates cases that also plead Section 11/12 (registration statements), Section 14 (proxy statements), or Section 16(b)/20A (short-swing profits or insider trading). For settled cases, the claims pleaded are extracted from the settlement notices. For dismissed cases, the claims pleaded are extracted from the latest complaint.
Restated financials
The company restated its financial statements.
Regulator investigation or litigation
The complaint references an investigation or litigation by a financial or non-financial regulator.
Whistleblower allegations
The complaint references whistleblower claims.
Short-seller report
A short seller published a report on the company before or during the class period.
Claim against auditor
The complaint names the company's outside auditor as a defendant.
Claim against underwriters
The complaint names the offering's underwriters as defendants.
SPAC
The defendant is or was a special purpose acquisition company.
Cryptocurrency
The case involves cryptocurrency.
Counsel and plaintiffs
Lead counsel
The plaintiff law firm or firms appointed to lead the case. A case can have more than one.
Top 1 to 5
My law firm
Cases where your firm acted as lead counsel, alone or with others. Other law firms covers all remaining cases.
Lead plaintiff
Institution if any appointed lead plaintiff is an institutional investor; otherwise individual.
Reading the charts
Median
The middle case, with half the cases above and half below.
25th–75th percentile
The range covering the middle half of cases: 25% of cases fall below it and 25% above it. Also called the interquartile range.
n
The number of cases behind a bar or figure. Treat results based on small numbers with caution.
Probability of reaching a stage
Share of cases in view that got at least as far as the stage.
Expected value contribution
Share of all cases that settle at a stage multiplied by the median settlement at that stage. Summed across stages, it gives a rough expected settlement value for a new case at filing, counting dismissals as zero.
