No Writ, New Law: Ninth Circuit Uses Denied Mandamus Petition to Settle PSLRA Lead Plaintiff Rebuttal Standard

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) establishes a process for appointing the lead plaintiff in securities class actions. The statute is silent, however, on the evidentiary standard governing challenges to a presumptive lead plaintiff’s adequacy. Meanwhile, a petition for a writ of mandamus is one of the few vehicles for obtaining immediate appellate review of an otherwise unreviewable interlocutory ruling—such as an order appointing a lead plaintiff. But it is considered a “drastic and extraordinary” remedy reserved for cases where a petitioner’s right to relief is “clear and indisputable.”

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