Halting Discovery in Securities Cases

Kramer Levin Litigation partner Alan R. Friedman and former Litigation associate Michael Tremonte authored an article entitled "Halting Discovery in Securities Cases: Rulings Explore Potential Exceptions to Mandatory Stays Under the Reform Act," which was published in the April 15, 2001 issue of the New York Law Journal.

The article examines recent rulings interpreting the mandatory stay of discovery provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA). The authors focus on three issues presented by these cases: whether the discovery stay extends to pendent state law claims over which the federal court has independent diversity jurisdiction; whether the PSLRA's discovery stay applies to the mandatory disclosures of Rule 26(a); and what special circumstances must plaintiffs prove to gain "particularized discovery ... to prevent undue prejudice."