Mark Solomon

Solomon currently is counsel to a number of U.K. pension funds that are serving or have served as lead plaintiffs in cases throughout the United States in the last ten years. He represented Norfolk Pension Fund in the securities fraud class action against Apple Inc. and Apple executives in In re Apple Inc. Sec. Litig. in the federal district court for the Northern District of California, which resulted in a settlement shortly before trial of $490 million payable by the defendants to the investor class – the third-largest ever securities fraud recovery in the Northern District and the fifth-largest in the Ninth Circuit. He represented North East Scotland Pension Fund in the securities fraud class action against Under Armour and Under Armour executives In re Under Armour Sec. Litig. in the federal district court for the District of Maryland, which resulted in a settlement shortly before trial of $434 million payable by the defendants to the investor class – the second-largest ever securities fraud recovery in the Fourth Circuit. In addition, the monetary recovery was accompanied by important governance reforms, including the separation of the CEO and BOD Chair and restraints on restricted stock awards to senior executives. He represented the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme and the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme in Smilovits v. First Solar, Inc. in the federal district court for the District of Arizona in which the class recovered $350 million on the eve of trial. That settlement resulted in the largest-ever securities fraud recovery in the District of Arizona and the seventh-largest in the Ninth Circuit. He represented the U.K.’s Norfolk Pension Fund in Hsu v. Puma Biotechnology, Inc. where, in the federal district court for the Central District of California, after three weeks of trial, the Fund obtained a jury verdict valued at over $54 million in favor of the class against the company and its CEO. He represented Strathclyde Pension Fund in Strathclyde Pension Fund v. Bank OZK, a class action against Bank OZK and its CEO, in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in which the class recovered $45 million. He represented Strathclyde Pension Fund in In re Ply Gem Holdings, Inc. Sec. Litig. where the class recovered $26 million. Before all of those cases, in a case in 2000 against Helionetics, Inc. and its senior executives, Solomon had presented to a jury, and won, one of the very few securities fraud class actions ever taken to trial.

In ongoing litigation, Solomon represents Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association and the class in a securities fraud class action pending against FirstEnergy Corp. and FirstEnergy executives in the federal district court for the Southern District of Ohio and he represents Norfolk Pension Fund and the putative class in the securities fraud class action In re Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Sec. Litig. against Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and former Anadarko executives, pending in the federal district court for the Southern District of Texas.

Solomon’s work at the plaintiffs’ bar beginning in 1993 was preceded by practice at the international firm Jones Day in Cleveland, Ohio, between 1987 and 1990, followed by practice at the Los Angeles office of New York’s Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. At these firms, his representations included the defense of securities fraud and other white-collar crimes, antitrust, copyright, commercial and real estate litigation, and reinsurance arbitration. While practicing in Los Angeles, acting for plaintiffs as sole counsel, Solomon took to trial and won complex commercial contract and real estate actions in the Orange County and Los Angeles Superior Courts, respectively.

Solomon also prosecuted some of the first opt-out securities fraud cases to successful conclusion. Representing individual U.K. opt-out plaintiffs in litigation against PetSmart, Inc., he and his team recovered over $18 million, amounting to over 50% of their damages, where the class case failed entirely and other investors received nothing. Representing an individual U.K./U.S. investor in recent opt-out securities fraud litigation against a multi-state furniture and household goods retailer, he and his team recovered over 50 times the amount the investor would have recovered in the class case.

Following the one trial Solomon has lost, a non-class proceeding which involved individual clients who were in dispute with their former business partners, Robbins Geller absorbed all of the related fees, costs, and expenses.

Solomon is a past chair of the American Bar Association Directors, Officers Liability Sub Committee and the Accountants Liability Sub-Committee, and is the author of the U.K.’s National Association of Pension Funds 2012 “Securities Class Actions made simple” guide; the 2015 “Securities Fraud and Investors Remedies made simple” guide; and the 2018 “Global Securities Fraud Litigation made simple” guide.