Genzyme and its officers obtain dismissal of purported securities fraud class action
Client(s) Genzyme Corporation and Individual Officers
On June 5, 2014, the First Circuit upheld the dismissal of claims against Jones Day clients Genzyme Corporation and six current and former officers of Genzyme ("Genzyme") in a securities fraud class action. The First Circuit concluded that the complaint did not adequately plead scienter, and affirmed the District Court's denial of the plaintiffs' motion for leave to amend. On March 30, 2012, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted motions to dismiss filed by Genzyme in this class action pending in U.S. District Court in Boston. The complaint alleged that the company and individual defendants, including its former CEO and CFO, had made misrepresentations and/or failed to disclose material information concerning the conditions at Genzyme's biologics plant in Allston, Massachusetts, and the likelihood of FDA approval of a new drug. The court concluded that the plaintiffs' complaint did not plead a strong inference of scienter and dismissed the purported class action.
In re Genzyme Corporation Securities Litigation, No. 09-1199-GAO (D. Mass.); No. 13-1085 (1st Cir., June 2014)
