Paul, Weiss is widely recognized as having one of the nation’s preeminent securities litigation and regulatory practices. For two decades, our lawyers have guided global corporations and financial institutions through a series of “bet-the-company” securities-related crises, consistently reducing or eliminating their most damaging claims and negotiating favorable resolutions.
Meridian Bioscience Wins Dismissal of Securities Class Action
- Client News
- February 13, 2019
Practices
Paul, Weiss secured the dismissal of a putative securities class action against our client Meridian Bioscience, an Ohio-based life science company.
In March 2016, Meridian acquired Magellan Diagnostics, a manufacturer of blood testing kits. In May 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled Magellan’s venous testing products, finding that they could produce inaccurate test results. In October 2017, the FDA sent Magellan a “warning letter” stating that Magellan had not adequately notified the FDA of certain customer complaints and remedial measures implemented to address potentially inaccurate results. Meridian’s stock price declined after these events were disclosed.
Subsequently, a Meridian shareholder filed a putative class action in the Southern District of Ohio against Meridian and two senior executives alleging that Meridian made false or misleading statements about the accuracy of Magellan’s products despite allegedly knowing of the issues with venous testing products the FDA had previously identified. In particular, the complaint alleged that the defendants engaged in securities fraud by making false or misleading statements between March 2016 and October 2017 about the regulatory compliance of Magellan’s products, the safety and efficacy of Magellan’s products, and Meridian’s internal controls.
Meridian moved for dismissal, arguing that the complaint did not properly allege any false or misleading statements or sufficient facts to support a strong inference of scienter. Echoing many of our arguments, U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss in its entirety.
The Paul, Weiss team included litigation partners Daniel Kramer and Gregory Laufer.