Avon Pension Fund v. GlaxoSmithKline PLC

343 F. App'x 671
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedAugust 24, 2009
DocketNo. 08-4363-cv
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 343 F. App'x 671 (Avon Pension Fund v. GlaxoSmithKline PLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Avon Pension Fund v. GlaxoSmithKline PLC, 343 F. App'x 671 (2d Cir. 2009).

Opinion

SUMMARY ORDER

Plaintiffs sued defendants GlaxoSmithK-line PLC (“GSK”), Dr. Jean-Pierre Gamier, Julian Heslop, Simon Bicknell, and David Stout for securities fraud under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 for non-disclosure of alleged cardiovascular risks associated with the drug Avandia. They now appeal the dismissal of them complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), a ruling we review de novo, accepting all allegations in the complaint as true and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of plaintiffs. See Vietnam Ass’n for Victims of Agent Orange v. Dow Chem. Co., 517 F.3d 104, 115 (2d Cir.2008); accord Ashcroft v. Iqbal, — U.S.-, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949-50, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Alternatively, plaintiffs appeal the denial of leave to amend the complaint, which we review for abuse of discretion. See Burch v. Pioneer Credit Recovery, Inc., 551 F.3d 122, 126 (2d Cir.2008). We assume the parties’ familiarity with the facts and record of prior proceedings, which we reference only as necessary to explain our decision to affirm.

1. Grant of Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss

Plaintiffs contend that the district court erred in concluding that (a) the potential risks of Avandia reported in two meta-analyses were not sufficiently conclusive to create a duty to disclose, and (b) the complaint failed to plead facts with the particularity necessary to support an inference of the requisite scienter. We address these challenges in turn.

a. The Non-disclosed Meta-Analyses

Reports or test results must yield reliable evidence of a drug’s adverse effect to give rise to a duty of manufacturers to disclose those results to potential investors. See In re Carter-Wallace, Inc. Sec. Litig., 150 F.3d 153, 157 (2d Cir.1998). While the complaint conclusory alleges that the results of the meta-analyses “showed an estimate” of an “increased risk of heart attack,” Compl. ¶¶ 25, 26, it pleads no facts indicating that the test results were even statistically significant. In fact, the complaint incorporates by reference the 2007 congressional testimony of Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., of the Food and Drug Administration stating that the meta-analyses here at issue “presented inconsistent data with regard to the potential cardiovascular risk” of [673]*673Avandia and that “[i]n looking at all the studies to date ..., the data are inconsistent and conclusions are not clear.” Joint App. at 375; see Compl. ¶ 27; Mangiafico v. Blumenthal, 471 F.3d 391, 398 (2d Cir. 2006). Because any alleged non-disclosure of such inconclusive results cannot be deemed misleading or material, the district court correctly concluded that plaintiffs could not pursue an action for failure to disclose. See Basic Inc. v. Levinson, 485 U.S. 224, 239 n. 17, 108 S.Ct. 978, 99 L.Ed.2d 194 (1988) (“To be actionable, ... a statement must also be misleading. Silence, absent a duty to disclose, is not misleading under Rule 10b-5.”); Vacold LLC v. Cerami, 545 F.3d 114, 121 (2d Cir .2008).

b. Scienter

Plaintiffs concede that “no single allegation proves that during the Class Period defendants knew that their statements (and omissions) concerning Avandia were false or misleading.” Appellants’ Br. at 55. Nevertheless, they argue that the allegations in the complaint, when “viewed in combination, support a strong inference that defendants knew their statements and omissions were false and misleading.” Id. at 46. These allegations include the “myriad findings of statistical significance” in various studies conducted by GSK, id. at 48; the “sheer importance of Avandia to [GSK’s] bottom line,” id. at 50; the timing of the alleged misstatements with the disclosure in a March 2007 article written by an independent physician that Avandia posed cardiovascular risks; and seven GSK insiders’ sale of their shares during the class period.

On a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a court properly considers “whether all of the facts alleged, taken collectively, give rise to a strong inference of scienter, not whether any individual allegation, scrutinized in isolation, meets that standard.” Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 322-23, 127 S.Ct. 2499, 168 L.Ed.2d 179 (2007) (emphasis in original). “[T]he inference of scienter must be more than merely ‘reasonable’ or ‘permissible’— it must be cogent and compelling.” Id. at 324, 127 S.Ct. 2499; accord ATSI Commc’ns, Inc. v. Shaar Fund, Ltd., 493 F.3d 87, 99 (2d Cir.2007). Upon de novo review, we conclude that “all of the facts alleged” in the complaint are insufficient to raise a cogent and compelling inference of defendants’ “intent to deceive, manipulate, or defraud.” Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder, 425 U.S. 185, 193 n. 7, 96 S.Ct. 1375, 47 L.Ed.2d 668 (1976); see 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(b)(2); see also ATSI Commc’ns, Inc. v. Shaar Fund, Ltd., 493 F.3d at 99 n. 3.

First, the allegations of insider trading do not show defendants’ motive to defraud. Cf. Kalnit v. Eichler, 264 F.3d 131, 138 (2d Cir.2001) (“A plaintiff can establish [fraudulent] intent ... by alleging facts to show that defendants had both motive and opportunity to commit fraud.” (internal quotation marks omitted)). While “unusual insider trading activity during the class period may permit an inference of bad faith and scienter,” Acito v. IMCERA Group, Inc., 47 F.3d 47, 54 (2d Cir.1995), the individual defendants’ trading activities were hardly unusual. Three of the four individual defendants increased their net holdings of GSK stock during the class period, and the fourth individual defendant did not sell any shares at all. This trading history cannot support a “cogent and compelling” inference of fraudulent intent; rather, defendants’ purchases of even more GSK stock during the relevant period signals only confidence in the future of their company and, by extension, in the commercial success of Avandia. See Tellabs, Inc., 551 U.S. at 324,127 S.Ct. 2499.

Second, plaintiffs’ circumstantial pleadings, even when considered in the [674]*674aggregate, do not permit an inference of defendants’ “conscious misbehavior or recklessness.” Kalnit v. Eichler,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
343 F. App'x 671, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/avon-pension-fund-v-glaxosmithkline-plc-ca2-2009.