Sacramento Business Journal
January.15.2014
Securities litigation and regulatory enforcement partner Bill Alderman was interviewed by Law360 about the use of confidential witnesses in class action securities litigation. At issue is a confidential witness situation involving Robbins Geller and a witness that claimed to have worked for Boeing Co., only to later admit that he worked for a Boeing contractor.
Alderman stated that the Boeing case underscored the need to allow defense counsel to conduct discovery on confidential witness statements earlier in litigation. Such discovery typically takes place only after a motion to dismiss has been denied, he added.
A sanctions order against Robbins Geller “could certainly discourage plaintiffs firms from taking risks with their [confidential witness] allegations, and could encourage judges to allow early discovery of [confidential witness] allegations to explore whether the case might be similar to the Boeing situation,” Alderman said.​