On December 4, 2017, Judge William H. Pauley III of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied plaintiffs’ request to file an amended complaint in order to raise arguments that were not pursued on a prior class certification motion. In this securities action seeking to bring claims on behalf of a putative class of purchasers of shares of mutual funds offered by Virtus Opportunities Trust, the District Court had previously denied class certification on the ground that no presumption of classwide reliance was available.
Plaintiffs sought to leave to file an amended complaint to facilitate a renewed motion for class certification, arguing that alternative grounds would support application of a presumption of reliance. The court denied leave to amend in a 20-page decision, holding that plaintiffs’ alternative arguments for class certification were futile and relitigating class certification would unduly prejudice defendants.
The case was covered in Law360. To read the full article, click here (subscription required).
The Simpson Thacher team includes Joseph M. McLaughlin (who argued the motion), George S. Wang, Daniel J. Stujenske, Josh Slocum, Shannon McGovern, Daniel Cohen, Meredith Karp, Jamie Fell, Patricia Yan, Joe Bruno, Katurah Topps and Danielle Hesse.