News & Events

On September 13, 2022, the Firm obtained the dismissal with prejudice of a shareholder derivative action in the State of New York Supreme Court on behalf of American Electric Power Company (“AEP”) and certain of its current and former directors and officers. The derivative action arose from allegations relating to public corruption involving the former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives and a related securities putative class action lawsuit filed against AEP, which was subsequently dismissed with prejudice. Following the filing of the securities putative class action and three subsequent derivative actions in Ohio state and federal court, this suit was filed in New York. The court dismissed the complaint due to the actions pending in Ohio, agreeing with Simpson Thacher’s argument that the New York action was impermissibly duplicative of the first-filed Ohio actions and that no “special circumstances” warranted letting the New York action proceed.

The Simpson Thacher team included Joshua Polster, Craig Waldman, Robert Arnay and Benjamin Estes.