The short answer is that s.90 and s.90A enable equity holders in UK-listed companies to sue for losses caused when companies publish untrue or misleading/incomplete market statements.
Given the opportunities these types of action present, third-party litigation funders are increasingly inviting equity holders based in various jurisdictions (in particular investment funds and pension funds) to sign up to English High Court claims. This enables the funders to build up large claimant groups and to aggregate each fund’s individual losses into a single, potentially eye-watering claim amount.
A number of such claims have already been brought in England, typically in the wake of regulatory and/or criminal investigations of listed companies and financial institutions, and the resulting fines and public settlements with regulators in the UK and the US.
