In Acosta v. Wedbush Secs., C.D. Cal., No. 2:17-cv-02471-SVW-KS, (C.D. Cal Aug. 15, 2017), the United States District Court for the Central District of California denied Wedbush Securities, Inc., Edward Wedbush, Gary Wedbush, Wedbush Securities In. Employees’ PS Retirement Plan, and the Wedbush Securities Inc. Commissioned Employees’ PS Retirement plan (collectively “Defendants”) motion to dismiss a complaint filed by the Department of Labor (“Plaintiff”) alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), finding that the issues raised in the motion were fact-intensive and therefore more appropriately resolved at trial.
Read MoreIn In re Medtronic Inc., Shareholder Litigation., 2016 WL 6066253 (Minn. 2017), the Supreme Court of Minnesota affirmed in part, and reversed in part Kenneth Steiner’s (“Respondent”) claims asserted in a class-action challenge to Medtronic, Inc.’s (“Medtronic”) acquisition of Covidien plc (“Covidien”). The court held Respondent’s claim of injury due to an excise tax was derivative and thus subject to Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.09, while the claims asserting injury due to dilution of shareholder’s interest in Medtronic and capital-gains tax liability were direct and thus not subject to the requirements of Minn. R. Civ. P. 23.09.
Read MoreIn Retail Wholesale & Dep’t Store Union Local 338 Ret. Fund v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 845 F.3d 1268 (9th Cir. 2017), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of plaintiffs’ amended class action complaint (the “Complaint”) against Hewlett-Packard Company (“HP”) and Mark Hurd, former CEO and Chairman of HP (“Defendants”). The Ninth Circuit held Retail Wholesale & Department Store Union Local 338 Retirement Fund, individually and on behalf of those similarly situated (“Plaintiffs”), failed to sufficiently allege a material misrepresentation or omission under Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b) and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (“PSLRA”).
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