United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters v. Health
United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, Journeymen, Local 38 Defined Benefit Pension Plan v. Syneos Health, Inc.
- Subramanian
- 1:23-cv-06548
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters v. Syneos Health: Judge Subramanian appointed the Institutional Investors as lead plaintiffs and approved their counsel.
The Institutional Investors were appointed to lead the proposed investor class, and DiCello Levitt was appointed lead counsel. The Pension Funds and Mississippi were not appointed as lead plaintiff.
What happened
In United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, Journeymen, Local 38 Defined Benefit Pension Plan v. Syneos Health, Inc., investors sued over alleged inflation of Syneos’s stock price. Three plaintiffs or plaintiff groups sought appointment as lead plaintiff under the securities law governing class actions.
The Institutional Investors reported about $51 million in losses, compared with about $2.4 million for Mississippi and about $1.9 million for the Pension Funds. Mississippi questioned the Institutional Investors’ experience and proposed serving as a co-lead plaintiff, but the Institutional Investors’ qualifications and financial interest were not overcome.
Judge Arun Subramanian appointed the Institutional Investors as lead plaintiff and DiCello Levitt as lead counsel. He required the Institutional Investors to designate one lawyer as lead trial counsel, denied the Pension Funds’ and Mississippi’s motions, and granted the Institutional Investors’ motions.
The detailed version
- United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters v. Health · No. 1:23-cv-06548
- Subramanian
- Oct. 11, 2023
Background
United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, Journeymen, Local #38 Defined Benefit Pension Plan filed a class action for people who bought Syneos common stock between September 9, 2020, and November 3, 2022. The complaint alleges violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-5.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act requires a court to appoint as lead plaintiff the class member or group of class members most capable of adequately representing the class. The law presumes that the most adequate plaintiff is the person or group with the largest financial interest who also satisfies the relevant requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.
Motions for Lead Plaintiff
Three plaintiffs or plaintiff groups moved for appointment: the Wayne County Employees’ Retirement System, Massachusetts Laborers’ Annuity and Pension Funds, Local 295 IBT Employer Group Pension Trust Fund, and Sheet Metal Workers’ Local No. 80 Pension Trust Fund, referred to as the Pension Funds; the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi, referred to as Mississippi; and Kempen International Funds and MercLin Institutional Fund, referred to as the Institutional Investors.
No movant disputed that the Institutional Investors had the largest financial interest. The court cited estimated losses of about $51 million for the Institutional Investors, about $2.4 million for Mississippi, and about $1.9 million for the Pension Funds. The court also found that no one contested the typicality of the Institutional Investors’ claims because they bought Syneos common stock and suffered major losses after the alleged price inflation was revealed.
Mississippi argued that the Institutional Investors were inexperienced because they had never served as lead plaintiff in a case under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. The court rejected that concern, noting that the Institutional Investors were large, sophisticated funds represented by experienced counsel. Mississippi also proposed a co-lead arrangement, but the court found no reason to believe the Institutional Investors would be disqualified and no reason that sharing leadership would be preferable.
Rulings
The court held that the Institutional Investors were presumptively the most adequate plaintiffs and that the presumption had not been rebutted. The court appointed the Institutional Investors as lead plaintiff. It also found that their chosen firm, DiCello Levitt, had the knowledge, experience, and resources to serve as lead counsel and appointed DiCello Levitt as lead counsel. The court required the Institutional Investors to designate a single lawyer to serve as lead trial counsel for the class.
The Pension Funds’ and Mississippi’s motions to be appointed as lead plaintiff were DENIED. The Institutional Investors’ motions to be appointed as lead plaintiff and to appoint DiCello Levitt as lead counsel were GRANTED. The Clerk of Court was directed to close the listed filings.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.