Big Investors Bail on Class Actions in Pursuit of Bigger Payouts

Large shareholders are opting out of class-action settlements more often than just a few years ago, chasing their own potential recoveries after a US Supreme Court ruling altered the timing calculus.

The spike in settlements that involve opt-outs from 2019 through the first half of 2022—the latest data available—changed a much more gradual 12-year trajectory, according to a Cornerstone Research report. Investors brought individual, or direct, actions in about a third of those more recent settling cases with opt-outs, Cornerstone found.

A new lawsuit against Boeing Co. over statements related to the safety of its 737 Max aircraft looks ...