Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, NEW LAWSUITS NEWS—AI and crypto-related securities class actions increase in first half of year, Cornerstone finds, (Jul 31, 2025)
Report indicates that the dollar value of the claims increased significantly over the second half of 2024, driven by large claims against big companies.
In an analysis of 2025 first-half securities class actions, Cornerstone Research found a significant increase in artificial intelligence-related filings, with 12 cases filed in the first half of 2025, putting them on track to surpass last year’s annual total of 15. Similarly, six crypto-focused cases have already been filed this year compared to seven in all of 2024.
Stanford professor and former SEC Commissioner Joseph Grundfest asked ChatGPT to explain the increase in AI-related securities litigation and was told that it is “primarily driven by the phenomenon known as AI washing, where companies exaggerate, misrepresent, or falsify the extent or significance of their AI capabilities to investors and the public.” He quipped, “I have nothing else to add to this AI explanation of AI litigation.”
The report found that overall the number of securities class action filings in the first half of 2025 remained steady in comparison to the second half of 2024. Plaintiffs filed 114 securities class actions in federal and state courts in January through June, nearly matching the 115 class actions filed in the second half of 2024. Core filings—those excluding M&A filings—totaled 111 in the first half of the year, one less than the 112 core filings in last year’s second half.
Size of filings. The report indicated that the size of filings has increased considerably this year. The group’s disclosure dollar loss index reached $403 billion in the first half of the year, a 56 percent increase from the last half of 2024. It was the highest semiannual total since the record-high set in the first six months of 2022, according to Cornerstone.
The maximum dollar loss (MDL) index rose to $1,851 billion in 2025’s first half, up 154 percent from July through December 2024, Cornerstone said, noting that it was the eighth consecutive semiannual period with MDL above the historical average of $622 billion.
Non-U.S. companies. According to the report, the 12 core federal filings against non-U.S. issuers accounted for 11 percent of all core federal filings in the first half of the year, which represents a 15-year low. If annualized, the number of core federal filings against non-U.S. issuers in 2025 would be the lowest in 10 years, Cornerstone said.
The report indicates that the number of filings in the consumer non-cyclical sector increased by 31 percent, largely driven by a spike in biotechnology and pharmaceutical filings. The number of tech sector filings decreased from 23 in the second half of last year to 20 in the first six months of 2025. Total MDL for tech industry filings increased more than six-fold to $1,070 billion, the report noted.
Cornerstone found that the number of core filings in the Second and Ninth Circuits decreased but still accounted for 69 percent of the total DDL. Core filings in the Third Circuit rose to 20, more than three times higher than in the second half of last year. The number of core filings in the Eleventh Circuit climbed to ten from just three in July through December 2024.
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