SG Cowen Securities Corp. v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California

THOMAS, Circuit Judge:

The defendants in this securities class action lawsuit seek a writ of mandamus vacating the district court’s order for limited discovery. We hold that the order violated the discovery stay provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and grant the writ.

I

The plaintiffs filed this class action lawsuit alleging violations of federal and state securities law. The complaint alleges that on the morning of October 8, 1997, Rational Software Corporation (“Rational”) Chief Executive Officer Paul Levy told SG Cow-en Securities Corporation (“Cowen”) analyst…