Client Alert
| January 18, 2012
Dutch Court Approves Worldwide Securities Settlement
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal, in the Netherlands, has granted final approval to a global securities settlement involving a Swiss issuer under a Dutch statute that allows parties to settle actual or potential disputes on a classwide, opt-out basis. The January 17, 2012 decision confirms the court’s previous provisional ruling that the Dutch collective-settlement statute can be used to implement consensual, classwide resolutions even if the alleged wrongdoer is not a Dutch citizen or resident.
The Netherlands is currently the only European country in which a class action can be settled on an opt-out basis. A Dutch forum thus is particularly attractive for resolving international disputes, especially in light of recent decisions by U.S. courts declining to apply U.S. laws to transnational transactions.
This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues. It is not considered to be legal advice. We would be pleased to provide additional details or advice about specific situations. For additional information on this important topic, please feel free to call upon your Dewey & LeBoeuf relationship partner. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form, without our prior written consent.
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