Amgen, Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds

On February 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court missed an important opportunity to rein in abusive class action suits filed under federal securities laws. In a 6 to 3 ruling, the Court upheld a trial court’s decision to certify a plaintiff’s class under a fraud-on-the-market theory even though no evidence existed that the market was ever misled. In a brief filed with the Court, WLF had argued that a court should never certify a class consisting of all stock purchasers on the basis of a fraud-on-the-market theory without first providing the defendant an opportunity to show that the market was not misled. In its brief, WLF insisted that the district court’s order certifying a class is a prime example of the all-too-frequent willingness of courts to certify inappropriate and unwieldy classes in cases alleging that a corporation provided misleading information to investors. WLF will continue to look for important opportunities to help curb abusive class action suits.