In Moore v. Payson Petroleum Grayson, LLC, No. 3:17-CV-1436-M-BH, 2018 BL 21203 (N.D. Tex. Jan. 23, 2018), the court denied a motion to transfer venue filed by seven Payson Petroleum Grayson, LLC (“Payson”) investors (“Plaintiffs”), from the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division (“Dallas Division”), to the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division (“Sherman Division”). In the class action, Plaintiffs’ alleged Payson and twelve other defendants (collectively “Defendants”) violated the Texas Securities Act. In denying the motion to transfer, the court reasoned both private and public interest factors, as well as the interest of justice, did not warrant transfer.
Read MoreIn Apple Inc., 2017 BL 452782 (Dec. 15, 2017), Apple Inc. (“Apple”) asked the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to permit the omission of a proposal submitted by Zevin Asset Management, LLC, on behalf of Eli Plenk (“Shareholders”) that would integrate sustainability and diversity metrics with the performance measures of Apple’s executive compensation plans. The SEC issued the requested no action letter allowing for the exclusion of the proposal from Apple’s proxy statement under Rule 14a-8(i)(12)(ii).
Read MoreIn Patel v. Seattle Genetics, Inc., No. C17-41RSM, 2017 BL 373924 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 18, 2017), the court granted biopharma company Seattle Genetics’ and three of its executives’ (collectively “Defendants”) motion to dismiss Carl Johnson’s, the lead plaintiff of an investor group (collectively “Plaintiffs”), Consolidated Amended Complaint (“CAC”) for failure to state a claim. Although Plaintiffs satisfied the misrepresentation element of the 10b claim in their complaint, the court held they failed to demonstrate scienter or underlying securities fraud by Defendants, and therefore dismissed Plaintiffs’ claims under SEC Rule 10b-5 and Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act.
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