As readers know, since the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. in March 2020, plaintiffs’ lawsuits have hit dozens of companies with pandemic-related securities suits; indeed, even though we are now well into the fifth year since the outbreak, plaintiffs’ lawyers continue to file COVID-related securities suits. But while these kinds of suits have proven to be popular with plaintiffs’ lawyers, how have they fared? Recent developments in two of these COVID-related securities suits underscore the fact that the results in these cases have been mixed.Continue Reading Yes, But How Have the COVID-19-Related Securities Suits Fared?
Coronavirus
Customer Contact Data Company Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit
In my recent round-up of the top trends in the world of directors’ and officers’ insurance and liability, I noted that, even though we are now well into the fifth year since the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S., COVID-related securities suits continue to be filed. In the latest example of this kind of lawsuit, last week a plaintiff investor filed a securities class action lawsuit against customer contact data firm ZoomInfo Technologies, alleging that after COVID-related demand inflated the company’s results during the pandemic, the company allegedly strained to conceal subsequent declining demand from investors. A copy of the September 4, 2024, complaint can be found here.Continue Reading Customer Contact Data Company Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit
COVID-Related Securities Suit Filed Against Electronic Components Company
Here we are, well into the fifth year since the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S., and yet coronavirus-related securities lawsuits are still being filed. In the latest example, earlier this week plaintiffs’ lawyers filed a securities class action lawsuit against the electronics manufacturing firm Methode Electronics based in part on allegations concerning problems allegedly caused by the company’s loss of key personnel during the pandemic. A copy of the August 26, 2024, complaint can be found here.Continue Reading COVID-Related Securities Suit Filed Against Electronic Components Company
Extreme Networks Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit
One of the more interesting recent litigation phenomena is that even though we are now well into the fifth year since the initial COVID outbreak in the U.S., COVID-related securities lawsuits continue to be filed. Indeed, in its recent survey of first half 2024 securities lawsuit filings, NERA noted COVID-related filings as one of the factors contributing to the volume of securities suit filing in the year’s first half, and indeed noted that COVID-related suit filings YTD were on pace to exceed the number COVID-related suit filings during the full year 2023. In the latest example of these securities suit filing trends, earlier this week, a plaintiff shareholder filed a COVID-related suit against cloud computing products company Extreme Networks, based on allegations that the company had misrepresented the long-term effects of COVID-related supply chain disruption on the company’s sales backlog. A copy of the August 13, 2024, complaint can be found here.Continue Reading Extreme Networks Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit
Defense Firm Hit with COVID and Supply Chain Disruption-Related Securities Suit
The pandemic officially ended well over a year ago, but the pandemic’s effects continue to ripple through the economy and affect company’s operations and financial results. Moreover, these effects continue to translate into securities class action litigation. The latest example is the lawsuit filed earlier this week against the Canadian defense software company CAE, Inc., which was sued after the disruptive effects of the pandemic caused certain of its fixed-price long-term contracts to be more costly and less profitable, notwithstanding the company’s assurances that it was managing the “ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic.” A copy of the July 16, 2024, complaint in the lawsuit can be found here.Continue Reading Defense Firm Hit with COVID and Supply Chain Disruption-Related Securities Suit
Health Insurer Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit
Here at The D&O Diary, our job is to watch for emerging trends in corporate and securities litigation. There is plenty to watch. Because we are always so attentive to what is new, it sometimes surprises us when a development appears that reflects an old or even seemingly played-out trend. That was our reaction to seeing the new COVID-related complaint filed this week against the health Insurer Humana, in which the plaintiff alleges that the company misled investors about the company’s rising costs associated with increased patient utilization rates due to post-pandemic pent-up demand. It is, in fact, a little surprising that even now, more than four years after the coronavirus first emerged in the U.S., COVID-related lawsuits are still being filed. A copy of the Humana complaint can be found here.Continue Reading Health Insurer Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit
Diagnostic Testing Company Hit With COVID-Related Securities Suit
The COVID-19 pandemic was a disruptive event with the consequences continuing to reverberate through the economy and the business environment, in ways that not only affect companies’ operations and financial performance, but, for at least some companies, in ways that lead to securities class action litigation. So even though the initial COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. was over four years ago, businesses continue to experience operational consequences from the pandemic, in some cases resulting in securities suits. The latest example is the lawsuit filed late last week against medical testing and diagnostic company QuidelOrtho Corporation, whose testing services revenue declined as the coronavirus transition to endemic status. A copy of the April 12, 2024, complaint against QuidelOrtho can be found here.Continue Reading Diagnostic Testing Company Hit With COVID-Related Securities Suit
Health Services Management Company Hit with COVID-19 Related Securities Suit
Readers know that since the initial coronavirus-related outbreak in the U.S. in March 2020, I have been tracking the COVID-related securities suit filings. Even though the four-year mark since the initial outbreak recently passed, and even though it has now been a considerable amount of time since businesses fully reopened from government shutdowns, COVID-related securities suits continue to be filed. Earlier this week, a plaintiff shareholder filed a securities lawsuit against health services management company Agilon Health, in which the plaintiff alleged that the company had understated the impact of the COVID-19 on patient utilization rates, thereby overstating key financial metrics. A copy of the April 2, 2024, complaint can be found here.Continue Reading Health Services Management Company Hit with COVID-19 Related Securities Suit
COVID-Related Results Lead to Securities Suit
I think we all recognize that the disruptions from the COVID pandemic continue to reverberate through the economy. Many industries and many companies are still trying to get back to equilibrium. The pandemic continues to impact companies, their operations, and their financial results. A new lawsuit filed against the sporting goods retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods(DSG) illustrates how the pandemic-related factors continue to affect companies and translate into securities litigation. DSG was one of the companies that prospered at the outset of the pandemic; when conditions normalized, the company claimed it would be able to keep the positive momentum going. However, after the company announced disappointing results, its share price declined, and now a shareholder plaintiff has filed a securities class action lawsuit, in the latest in a series of COVID-related securities suits. A copy of the February 16, 2024, lawsuit against the company can be found here.Continue Reading COVID-Related Results Lead to Securities Suit
Biotech Hit with Securities Suit After Pandemic Impact on Clinical Trials
A few days ago when I published a post discussing a new COVID-19-related securities lawsuit I expressed my surprise that pandemic-related suits were still being filed in 2024, particularly after the pace of new coronavirus-related suits tailed off completely in the latter half of 2023. Well, it appears that the recent new case filing not just a single anomaly, as this past week yet another new pandemic-related securities lawsuit was filed.
On January 19, 2024, a plaintiff shareholder filed a securities suit against BioVie, a developmental stage biotech company, after the company reported that clinical trials for its Phase 3 drug candidate produced results the company concluded deviated from protocols and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) because the pandemic had limited patient access to clinical trial sites. A copy of the new complaint can be found here.Continue Reading Biotech Hit with Securities Suit After Pandemic Impact on Clinical Trials