Accounting Class Action Settlements Hit Near-Record High in 2018

Class action settlements involving Petrobras and Wells Fargo & Co. helped investors secure a near-record $4.5 billion for cases related to bad accounting or weak internal controls in 2018.

That payout is the second-highest accounting-related settlement total in the past decade and reflects a trend of investors targeting ever-larger companies, according to a Cornerstone Research Inc. review of accounting-related class action litigation released April 17.

“The increase in the size of those defendant firms is dramatic,” said Laura Simmons, a senior adviser at Cornerstone Research.

“We’re seeing substantially larger defendants both in terms of case filings as well as ...