Surge in Wall Street lawsuits is coming

Payouts by companies to settle shareholder lawsuits fell sharply last year, according to a new study by a pair of professors. But a boom in litigation over losses on bad mortgage investments by financial companies may mean that big increase is right around the corner.

"The results this year are the lull before the storm that we'd expect to see as a result of the recent case filing activity," said Laura Simmons of the College of William and Mary's Mason School of Business, a co-author of the report.