Based in in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and San Francisco, California, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP is highly regarded as one of the leading players in securities litigation, its 27-partner practice having amassed a strong track record in representing states attorneys’ general offices, as well as public and private entities, including municipalities, state agencies, mutual fund managers, sovereign wealth funds, and multi-employer welfare funds. In the Radnor office, the practice is led by seven respected partners, with David Kessler and Darren Check the most active in this area of law. Together, they negotiated a $450m settlement for Sjunde AP-Fonden in the long-running litigation concerning misrepresentations made about the carrying value of Kraft Heinz assets, the sustainability of its margins, and the success of the company’s cost-cutting strategy in the wake of its 2015 merger. Sharan Nirmul and Richard Russo, Jr. are the lead partners in a new securities fraud class action concerning representations and omissions made by former executives of Signature Bank and its auditor KPMG about the bank’s emergent risk profile and deficient management of those risks that ultimately caused it to collapse in March 2023. Jennifer Joost and Gregory Castaldo also played key roles in that case. Matthew Mustokoff and Andrew Zivitz, who are involved in the high-profile case In re Celgene Corp. Securities Litigation, and key partner Naumon Amjed also play prominent roles in the practice.
Key clients
- AP7 – Seventh Swedish National Pension Fund
- Norges Bank Investment Management
- British Airways Pension Trustees Limited
- SEB Investment Management AB
- Industriens Pensionsforsikring A/S
- AMF Pensionsförsäkring AB
- Principal Global Financial Group
- Franklin Templeton Investments
- Nationwide Investment Funds
- Nordea Investment Funds (Luxembourg)
- Arkansas Teacher Retirement System
- Equity-League Pension & Health Trust Funds
- United Food & Commercial Workers 464(a) Benefit Funds
- Lebanon County Employees' Retirement Fund
- Teamsters Local Union No. 142 Pension Fund
- Laborers Joint Pension Trust for Southern Nevada
- Iron Workers District Council (Philadelphia & Vicinity) Retirement and Pension Plan
- Cleveland Bakers & Teamsters Fund
- Orange County Employees’ Retirement System
- Naventi Fonder
- Universal Investments
Work highlights
Representing Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden, the firm served as co-lead counsel in a securities fraud class action against The Kraft Heinz Company and private equity firm 3G Capital. Throughout 2023, the Firm engaged in wide-reaching fact and expert discovery, ultimately driving the case to resolution. The $450 million recovery is one of the largest recoveries in securities fraud litigations in Seventh Circuit history.
Representing Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden and Swedish fund AMF Pensionsförsäkring AB, respectfully, the firm successfully overcame motions for summary judgment by The General Electric Company and Celgene Corporation in two separate securities fraud class actions, sending the claims of these Plaintiffs and the Classes that they represent to trial.
Representing investors E. Öhman J:or Fonder AB and Stichting Pensioenfonds PGB, the firm secured a very rare reversal at the Ninth Circuit of a dismissal of a securities fraud class action against the world’s largest maker of graphic processing units, NVIDIA Corporation. The suit arises from alleged misrepresentations about the true extent of NVIDIA’s cryptocurrency-related sales, and will now proceed to fact discovery.
Lawyers
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Darren Check, David Kessler, Gregory Castaldo, Andrew Zivitz, Sharan Nirmul, Jennifer Joost, Matthew Mustokoff