DRRT's Global Loss Recovery Blog

In the evolving landscape of corporate accountability, the Koninklijke Philips N.V. (NL) case stands out as a significant example of the consequences of failing to disclose material information to the market. This case, which centers on Philips’ alleged withholding of critical health risks associated with its sleep and respiratory care devices, has far-reaching implications for investors, regulators, and the broader corporate governance landscape. We are proud to be the first to act in this case, leading the first wave of institutional investors. Our team of experts has been meticulously preparing for this litigation, including hiring local counsel in the Netherlands, engaging economic experts, and developing a comprehensive damage methodology.

Three weeks ago we sent the first demand letter to Philips, marking a critical step towards resolution. This letter outlined the claims of our growing group of institutional investors, whose cumulative losses already exceed  EUR 800 million. We are actively reviewing additional claims and expect this number to grow significantly in the coming months. 

As legal experts and pioneers in global loss recovery, we believe in our duty to inform about such cases to the best of our ability.  Below, we provide a detailed analysis of the case, including the stock price declines, the legal implications, and the broader lessons for institutional investors.

On Wednesday, February 7, 2024, over 130 institutional shareholders served ING Groep NV (“ING”) and certain former directors of ING with a writ of summons claiming over €600 million in damages caused by ING’s failure to properly inform the market of material information relating to ING Bank N.V.’s (“ING Bank”) alleged corrupt practices and violation of anti-money laundering laws.  This lawsuit follows the €775 million fine ING paid to the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) (the “NPPS”) in 2018 for violations of anti-money laundering laws.

DRRT was honored to support and participate in the ICGN's conference in Seoul on October 5, 2022. We want to thank Mr. Fred Bowman, Investment Officer at Therium Capital Management, and Mr. Joonyup Park, attorney at Kim & Chang and formerly at Korea Investment Corporation for joining our Managing Partner, Joseph Gulino at DRRT's panel, "Shareholder Activism Tools, Litigation as a Tool to Encourage Sound Corporate Governance Practice". 

DRRT was delighted to host its 12th Annual Global Investor Loss Recovery Conference in Frankfurt on May 12 and 13. Among the speakers, we were honored to have Mr. Kevin LaCroix, author of the popular The D&O Diary. Mr. LaCroix posted a blog post highlighting his time in Germany. We invite you to visit The D&O Diary. 

DRRT proudly supports the education and wellbeing of future generations in their pursuit of personal success. DRRT is passionate about educating students to ensure a bright future for our communities throughout South Florida, across this country and abroad. DRRT has a long and proud history of community involvement, providing for charitable causes, and engaging in philanthropic activities.

Leading by example, DRRT is proud to announce it has created The Future Lawyers Scholarship with The Miami Foundation. Through this program, DRRT will provide funds to help students gain access to higher education. DRRT firmly attests that increasing young people’s educational attainment is a critical factor for Greater Miami’s growth.

DRRT continues its forward momentum by adding Spain to the extensive list of countries in which it operates via involvement in the ongoing criminal proceedings against Abengoa seeking recovery for losses arising out of the company’s accounting fraud and manipulation.

As a result of Abengoa’s blatant accounting manipulation, in January 2017 the Spanish firm IUS + AEQUITAS, a member of the Diaz, Reus & Targ (DRT) International Law Firm & Alliance, filed a criminal complaint on behalf of hundreds of affected investors seeking losses against Abengoa and others including its former president, CEO,and auditor Deloitte. DRRT is working directly with IUS + AEQUITAS to add affected investors to the criminal proceeding during the current investigation phase on a risk-free, “no win, no fee” basis.

Globally, whistleblowers are afforded greater protections today than ever before, but the threats that come along with unveiling corruption still prevent people from coming forward. The United States offers a great body of laws and protections for whistleblowers, more than any other country, and this is reflected in the number of whistleblower reports and also the amount of awards granted each year. EU member states, including Germany, are also implementing new protections for whistleblowers, but lag behind their American counterparts. Overall corporate governance guidelines and trends have had an effect on the whistleblowing industry as people are encouraged to come forward from inside any affected companies. However, although there is some progress in certain geographic locations, the world needs to encourage whistleblowers to come forward and report wrongdoing. The result will be a better and more sustainable world.

On Thursday, June 20, 2019, DRRT, along with its local counsel Koga & Partners, successfully filed the first complaint against Kobe Steel, Ltd in Tokyo District Court, claiming over ¥5 billion in damages. Kobe Steel is Japan’s third largest steelmaker, as well as a major supplier of aluminum, copper and other products around the world.

As we have just entered 2019, we here at DRRT would like to provide a quick overview of the trends we noticed in our work as a claims filing provider during 2018. This year had major developments, and we are still waiting to see how this will play out in terms of recoveries for many of the cases. However, the increase in Australian actions, the complexities of the antitrust settlements such as FX and LIBOR, and the evolution of new jurisdictions prove that having a robust claims filing provider, with an extensive legal background, can make a major difference in terms of maximizing recoveries and ensuring all opportunities are explored.

When on March 14, 2018, after almost 6 months without a government, the two biggest parties in Germany signed their coalition agreement (“Koalitionsvertrag”) and formed the 24^th and current government of the Federal Republic of Germany (“Bundesregierung”). Most people paid little attention to a half-page proposal buried on page 124. According to the proposal, the new government would be committed to establishing a class action system in Germany. On May 9, 2018, and with the biggest scandal in German automobile history still fresh in everyone’s mind, the federal government met to discuss a draft proposal leading to a definite law on November 1, a particularly sensitive deadline, seeing as most claims against Volkswagen based on the Dieselgate scandal will expire on December 31, 2018. On June 14, Parliament approved the proposal after very little debate and news agencies have been booming ever since with stories and explanations about the proposed class action system. Sadly, for those familiar with the U.S. model, the current developments from Germany will prove greatly disappointing.