PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Robert A. Skinner
AU  - Daniel V. McCaughey
TI  - Federal Court Decision Highlights Uncertainty over<br/>Mutual Fund Derivative Litigation Under<br/>Massachusetts Law
AID  - 10.3905/jii.2010.1.3.039
DP  - 2010 Nov 30
TA  - The Journal of Index Investing
PG  - 39--44
VI  - 1
IP  - 3
4099  - https://pm-research.com/content/1/3/39.short
4100  - https://pm-research.com/content/1/3/39.full
AB  - This article explains recent developments in a common type of shareholder lawsuit, known as a “derivative” claim, focusing in particular on recent developments in Massachusetts law governing such claims. Massachusetts has adopted a rather unique mechanism for dealing with derivative claims, with broad implications for the mutual fund industry, as many U.S. mutual funds are organized as Massachusetts business trusts, and shareholder derivative suits are governed by state law. The article discusses how these developments and related, unanswered questions about the changes to Massachusetts law will affect the responses of mutual fund directors and their attorneys in responding to derivative claims initiated by the shareholders of their funds.TOPICS: Mutual funds/passive investing/indexing, derivatives, exchanges/markets/clearinghouses