A report released by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.’s Securities Class Action Services highlights the top 25 largest securities class action recoveries reached outside the U.S. Topping the rankings is the $1.5 billion settlement against Fortis in the Netherlands and Belgium, where G&E served as global counsel. The Netherlands tops the list as the jurisdiction with the most funds obtained, but Australia leads with the highest number of settlements.

The majority of these settlements occurred after 2010, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Morrison v. National Australia Bank. The ruling precludes investors who purchased securities on foreign exchanges from suing under U.S. federal securities laws. “[International shareholder litigation] has proliferated in the wake of that decision because it was no longer possible to bring cases on behalf of institutional investors or other types of investors who purchase outside the United States,” said G&E Director Olav Haazen. “They obviously still have the same case — it’s still the same fraud — but had to find a different venue.”