Bates White expert testifies in class action securities lawsuit prior to defendant settling
Boies, Schiller & Flexner retained Charles Bates in Erica P. John Fund Inc. v. Halliburton Co., a long-running shareholder lawsuit. Dr. Bates was retained on behalf of a class of investors in litigation related to alleged misstatements made by Halliburton in public disclosures about its liability for asbestos claims after its acquisition of Dresser in 1998.
Dr. Bates testified regarding what Halliburton knew and reasonably could have disclosed to its investors regarding its asbestos contingencies at various points in time in the early 2000s. One of Dr. Bates’ key points was Halliburton’s failure to consider the possibility that third-party indemnities that historically covered much of the loss were only as good as the financial viability of the third party. He also testified that sufficient data and methods were available to forecast future potential liabilities and that the very techniques the company used to forecast pending liabilities were the same ones that should have been used to forecast future potential liabilities. Halliburton reached a $100 million settlement to end the 14-year securities lawsuit.