Case Caption: In re Tyco Int’l, Ltd. Sec. Litig.,
Case Number: 1:02-md-01335-PB
Court: District of New Hampshire
Judge: Honorable Paul Barbadoro
Plaintiffs: Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Fund, United Association General Officers Pension Plan, United Association Office Employees Pension Fund and United Association Local Union Officers & Employees Pension Fund, Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana, and Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System
Defendants: Tyco International, Ltd., Michael A. Ashcroft, Mark A. Belnick and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Overview: This landmark $3.2 billion settlement included the largest securities class action recovery from a single corporate defendant in history ($2.975 billion), and the second largest auditor settlement ($225 million) in securities class action history at the time.
The action asserted federal securities claims on behalf of all purchasers of Tyco International, Ltd. (Tyco) securities over a two-and-a-half-year period during which Tyco allegedly overstated its income through a multitude of accounting manipulations, and was subject to looting and self-dealing by its officers and directors. Developing critical areas of law, the litigation overcame defendants’ arguments that the class should recover nothing because Tyco had been defrauded by its own management.