Robbins Geller wins appeal in In re VeriFone Holdings, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 11-15860 (9th Cir. Dec. 21, 2012)

The panel reversed in part and affirmed in part the dismissal of investors’ securities fraud class action alleging violations of §§10(b), 20(a), and 20A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10-b in connection with a restatement of financial results of the company in which the investors had purchased stock.

The panel held that the third amended complaint adequately pleaded the §10(b), §20A and Rule 10-b claims. Considering the allegations of scienter holistically, as the Supreme Court directed in Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. v. Siracusano, 131 S. Ct. 1309, 1324 (2011), the panel concluded that the inference that the defendant company and its chief executive officer and former chief financial officer were deliberately reckless as to the truth of their financial reports and related public statements following a merger was at least as compelling as any opposing inference.

Opinion