A Modest Proposal for Securities Fraud Pleading after Tellabs

Abstract

This article criticizes the Tellabs standard for scienter pleading under federal securities law on the ground that it weeds out too many non‐frivolous cases. The article proposes a procedure designed to rectify the problem. Under the tentative dismissal approach, a dismissal under Tellabs would not end the litigation if the plaintiff filed an objection to the decision. Instead, the plaintiff would be required to pay the defendant’s attorneys’ fees incurred between the judge’s ruling on the motion to dismiss and the resolution of a motion for summary judgment.