TY - JOUR T1 - Federal Court Decision Highlights Uncertainty over<br/>Mutual Fund Derivative Litigation Under<br/>Massachusetts Law JF - The Journal of Index Investing SP - 39 LP - 44 DO - 10.3905/jii.2010.1.3.039 VL - 1 IS - 3 AU - Robert A. Skinner AU - Daniel V. McCaughey Y1 - 2010/11/30 UR - https://pm-research.com/content/1/3/39.abstract N2 - 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 ER -