Efrat Investments LLC v. Hub Cyber Security Ltd.
- Jesse Furman
- 1:23-cv-05764
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Efrat Investments v. Hub Cyber Security, Judge Furman set deadlines for lead-plaintiff motions and a class-action conference.
Efrat Investments LLC, the proposed class of former Hub Cyber Security (Israel) Ltd. stockholders described in the complaint, Hub Cyber Security Ltd., and any class members seeking appointment as lead plaintiff.
What happened
In Efrat Investments LLC v. Hub Cyber Security Ltd., the plaintiff filed a class action for former Hub Cyber Security (Israel) Ltd. stockholders who acquired Hub Cyber Security Ltd. stock through a merger. The complaint alleges violations of Section 12(a)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The court said notice of the lawsuit was published on July 6, 2023. Class members had until September 5, 2023, to seek appointment as lead plaintiff, and responses to those motions were due September 15, 2023.
Judge Furman ordered a conference for October 3, 2023, to consider lead-plaintiff, lead-counsel, and consolidation motions. He also required prompt service of the order on the defendants and directed counsel to identify any differences if an amended complaint or related case was filed before a lead plaintiff was appointed.
The detailed version
- Efrat Investments LLC v. Hub Cyber Security Ltd. · No. 1:23-cv-05764
- Jesse Furman
- July 12, 2023
Background
Efrat Investments LLC filed a class action on July 6, 2023, individually and for former Hub Cyber Security (Israel) Ltd. stockholders who acquired Hub Cyber Security Ltd. stock through the merger of Mount Rainier Acquisition Corp. and Hub Cyber Security (Israel) Ltd. The complaint alleges violations of Section 12(a)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act requires publication of notice to members of a proposed securities-fraud class. The notice must describe the case, the claims, and the proposed class period. Class members may then move to become lead plaintiff, meaning the class member the court determines is most capable of adequately representing the class. If substantially similar class actions are filed and consolidation is requested, the court must decide the consolidation request before appointing a lead plaintiff.
Court’s Order
The court stated that the required notice was published on July 6, 2023. It set September 5, 2023, as the deadline for class members to move for appointment as lead plaintiff and September 15, 2023, as the deadline to serve and file opposition to such motions.
The court ordered a conference on October 3, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. in Courtroom 1105 of the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in New York, to consider motions for appointment of lead plaintiff and lead counsel and for consolidation.
The court further ordered that, if an amended complaint or related case was filed before appointment of a lead plaintiff, plaintiff’s counsel had one week to submit a letter identifying differences from the original complaint and explaining why the court should not require republication of notice and set a new deadline for lead-plaintiff motions. The named plaintiffs also had to promptly serve the order on each defendant.
Disposition and Effect
This was a scheduling and case-management order. It did not decide the merits of the alleged securities-law violations, appoint a lead plaintiff or lead counsel, consolidate cases, or dismiss the action. The deadlines and conference were established for the next steps in the proposed class action.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.