Jeremy A. Lieberman is Pomerantz’s Managing Partner. He became associated with the Firm in August 2004 and was elevated to Partner in January 2010. Lawdragon has named Lieberman among the Leading 500 Plaintiff Financial Lawyers in the United States each year from 2019 to 2024.
Lieberman led the securities class action litigation In re Petrobras Securities Litigation, which arose from a multi-billion-dollar kickback and bribery scheme involving Brazil’s largest oil company, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A.—Petrobras, in which Pomerantz was sole Lead Counsel. The biggest instance of corruption in the history of Brazil ensnared not only Petrobras' former executives but also Brazilian politicians, including former president Lula da Silva and one-third of the Brazilian Congress. In January and February 2018, Lieberman achieved a historic $3 billion settlement for the Class. This is not only the largest securities class action settlement in a decade but is the largest settlement ever in a securities class action involving a foreign issuer, the fifth-largest securities class action settlement ever achieved in the United States, the largest securities class action settlement achieved by a foreign Lead Plaintiff, and the largest securities class action settlement in history not involving a restatement of financial reports.
Lieberman also secured a significant victory for Petrobras investors at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, when the court rejected the heightened ascertain ability requirement for obtaining class certification that had been imposed by the Third Circuit Courts of Appeals. The ruling will have a positive impact on plaintiffs in securities fraud litigation.
Lawdragon Honors
Lieberman was Lead Counsel in Pirnik v. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. et al., No. 1:15-cv-07199-JMF (S.D.N.Y), in which the Firm achieved a $110 million settlement for the class. Plaintiff alleged that Fiat Chrysler concealed from investors that it improperly outfitted its diesel vehicles with “defeat device” software designed to cheat NOx emissions regulations in the U.S. and Europe, and that regulators had accused Fiat Chrysler of violating the emissions regulations. The Fiat Chrysler recovery provided the class of investors with as much as 20% of recoverable damages—an excellent result when compared to historical statistics in class action settlements, where typical recoveries for cases of this size are between 1.6% and 3.3%.
In November 2019, Lieberman achieved a critical victory for investors in the securities fraud class action against Perrigo Co. plc when Judge Arleo of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey certified classes of investors that purchased Perrigo securities on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Pomerantz represents a number of institutional investors that purchased Perrigo securities on both exchanges after an offer by Mylan N.V. to tender Perrigo shares. This is the first time since Morrison that a U.S. court has independently analyzed the market of a security traded on a non-U.S. exchange, and found that it met the standards of market efficiency necessary allow for class certification.
Lieberman headed Pomerantz’s individual action against pharmaceutical giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. (together, “Teva”), and certain of Teva’s current and former employees and officers, relating to alleged anticompetitive practices in Teva’s sales of generic drugs. Teva is a dual-listed company, and the Firm represents several Israeli institutional investors who purchased Teva shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In early 2021, Pomerantz achieved a major victory for global investors when the district court agreed to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the Israeli law claims. Clal Insurance Company Ltd. v. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
In 2019, Lieberman achieved a $27 million settlement for the Class in Strougo v. Barclays PLC, a high-profile securities class action in which Pomerantz was Lead Counsel. Plaintiffs alleged that Barclays PLC misled institutional investors about the manipulation of the banking giant’s so-called “dark pool” trading systems in order to provide a trading advantage to high-frequency traders over its institutional investor clients. This case turned on the duty of integrity owed by Barclays to its clients. In November 2017, Lieberman achieved precedent-setting victories for investors, when the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that direct evidence of price impact is not always necessary to demonstrate market efficiency to invoke the presumption of reliance, and that defendants seeking to rebut the presumption of reliance must do so by a preponderance of the evidence rather than merely meeting a burden of production.
Lieberman led the Firm’s securities class action litigation against Yahoo! Inc., in which Pomerantz, as Lead Counsel, achieved an $80 million settlement for the Class in 2018. The case involved the biggest data breaches in U.S. history, in which over 3 billion Yahoo accounts were compromised. This was the first significant settlement to date of a securities fraud class action filed in response to a data breach.
In 2018 Lieberman achieved a $3,300,000 settlement for the Class in Pomerantz’s securities class action against Corinthian Colleges, one of the largest for-profit college systems in the country, for alleged misrepresentations about its job placement rates, compliance with applicable regulations, and enrollment statistics. Pomerantz prevailed in the motion to dismiss the proceedings, a particularly noteworthy victory because Chief Judge George King of the Central District of California had dismissed two prior lawsuits against Corinthian with similar allegations. Erickson v. Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (C.D. Cal.).
Lieberman led the Firm’s litigation team that in 2018 secured a $31 million partial settlement with three defendants in In re Libor Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation, a closely watched multi-district litigation, which concerns the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) rigging scandal.
In In re China North East Petroleum Corp. Securities Litigation, Lieberman achieved a significant victory for shareholders in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, whereby the Appeals Court ruled that a temporary rise in share price above its purchase price in the aftermath of a corrective disclosure did not eviscerate an investor’s claim for damages. The Second Circuit’s decision was deemed “precedential” by the New York Law Journal and provides critical guidance for assessing damages in a § 10(b) action.
Lieberman had an integral role in In re Comverse Technology, Inc. Securities Litigation, in which he and his partners achieved a historic $225 million settlement on behalf of the Class, which was the second-largest options backdating settlement to date.
Lieberman regularly consults with Pomerantz’s international institutional clients, including pension funds, regarding their rights under the U.S. securities laws. Jeremy is working with the Firm’s international clients to craft a response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Morrison v. National Australia Bank, Ltd., which limited the ability of foreign investors to seek redress under the federal securities laws.
