Bajjuri v. Raytheon Technologies Corporation

CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedMay 25, 2023
Docket4:20-cv-00468
StatusUnknown

This text of Bajjuri v. Raytheon Technologies Corporation (Bajjuri v. Raytheon Technologies Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bajjuri v. Raytheon Technologies Corporation, (D. Ariz. 2023).

Opinion

Case 4:20-cv-00468-JCH Document 74 Filed 05/25/23 Page 1 of 63

1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Pranay K Bajjuri, et al., No. CV-20-00468-TUC-JCH 10 Plaintiffs, ORDER 11 v. 12 Raytheon Technologies Corporation, et al., 13 Defendants. 14 15 In this case, Plaintiff Bajjuri (representing a class of Raytheon shareholders, 16 together "Plaintiffs") alleges Defendants ("Raytheon" and certain of its individual 17 "Officers") violated federal securities laws by making misleading statements in Raytheon's 18 public filings. According to Plaintiffs, the truth was revealed in October 2020 when 19 Raytheon disclosed a DOJ subpoena and its stock fell, injuring Raytheon's shareholders. 20 Plaintiffs' amendments have brought this case's theories into sharper focus. One, 21 previously rejected, is that Raytheon's filings were misleading due to widespread fraud. 22 This theory still has no basis in well-plead facts. Another theory, newly reinforced, is that 23 Raytheon's filings were misleading due to a failure to disclose misconduct discovered in 24 2018. This theory fails for lack of connection to the 2020 DOJ subpoena or to any well- 25 plead impact on Raytheon's finances or internal controls. In fact, Plaintiffs' theory tends to 26 suggest Raytheon's controls worked effectively and as intended. Plaintiffs' case also suffers 27 because Raytheon's stock did not fall far and recovered quickly. For those reasons, 28 discussed more fully below, the Court will dismiss this case with prejudice. Case 4:20-cv-00468-JCH Document 74 Filed 05/25/23 Page 2 of 63

1 I. Background 2 On October 30, 2020, Bajjuri brought a federal securities class action suit against 3 Defendants. Doc. 1. In July 2021, the Court consolidated Bajjuri's case with a related case, 4 retained Bajjuri as the lead case, Doc. 30, and the newly consolidated Plaintiffs filed their 5 first amended complaint. Doc. 34 ("FAC"). In March 2022, Raytheon moved to dismiss. 6 Doc. 41. The Court granted Raytheon's motion with leave to amend. Doc. 55. In December 7 2022, Plaintiffs filed their second amended complaint. Doc. 56 ("SAC"). 8 Before the Court are Defendants' two motions for judicial notice, Docs. 60, 64, and 9 Motion to Dismiss the SAC. Doc. 59 ("MTD"). The motions are fully briefed. Doc. 61 10 ("Response"); Doc. 63 ("Reply"). On May 8, 2023, the Court heard oral argument. Doc. 73 11 ("Hr'g Tr."). 12 II. Legal Standards 13 Several legal standards apply to Plaintiffs' claims. The claims arise under the 14 Securities Exchange Act ("SEA") Section 10(b) (Count 1, against Raytheon) and Section 15 20(a) (Count 2, against the Officers). To state a claim under §§ 10(b) and 20(a), a plaintiff 16 must allege (as relevant to Defendants' challenges): "(1) a material misrepresentation or 17 omission by the defendant [("falsity")]; (2) scienter; … [and (3)] loss causation." In re 18 NVIDIA Corp. Sec. Litig., 768 F.3d 1046, 1052 (9th Cir. 2014) (citation omitted). 19 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) and 9(b). When deciding any motion 20 to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the Court must "consider the complaint in its entirety" 21 and, in doing so, "accept all factual allegations in the complaint as true." Tellabs, Inc. v. 22 Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 322 (2007); Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). When a 23 claim alleges fraud, "a party must state with particularity the circumstances constituting 24 fraud[.]" Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b). Rule 9(b)'s particularity requirement "applies to all elements 25 of a securities fraud action[.]" Or. Pub. Emps. Ret. Fund v. Apollo Grp. Inc., 774 F.3d 598, 26 605 (9th Cir. 2014). 27 SEA §§ 10(b) and 20(a), and SEC Rule 10b-5. SEA § 10(b) makes it unlawful to 28 employ any "manipulative or deceptive device" in connection with the purchase or sale of

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1 a security, or to contravene "such rules and regulations as the [SEC] may prescribe as 2 necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors." 15 U.S.C. 3 § 78j(b). SEC Rule 10b-5 prohibits "any act, practice, or course of business" that operates 4 as a "fraud or deceit" in connection with the purchase or sale of a security. 17 C.F.R. 5 § 240.10b-5(c). SEA § 20(a) extends § 10(b) liability to "controlling" individuals. 15 6 U.S.C. § 78t(a). 7 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act ("PSLRA"). The PSLRA imposes 8 additional "exacting" pleading obligations for § 10(b) claims. Zucco Partners, LLC v. 9 Digimarc Corp., 552 F.3d 981, 990 (9th Cir. 2009). These obligations differ between the 10 falsity and scienter elements. Falsity requires particularity together with a reasonable 11 inference of plausibility, and scienter requires particularity together with a strong inference 12 of plausibility. Glazer Cap. Mgmt., L.P. v. Forescout Techs., Inc., 63 F.4th 747, 766 (9th 13 Cir. 2023). 14 III. Judicial Notice 15 Defendants present two unopposed motions to take judicial notice. Docs. 60, 64. 16 The Court may judicially notice facts "not subject to reasonable dispute," Fed. R. Evid. 17 201, and documents incorporated by reference in the complaint. Tellabs, 551 U.S. at 322. 18 Facts are "not subject to reasonable dispute" if they are "generally known," Fed. R. Evid. 19 201(b)(1)–(2), such as "matters of public record." Khoja v. Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., 20 899 F.3d 988, 999 (9th Cir. 2018) (citation omitted). Documents are incorporated by 21 reference if the complaint refers to them "extensively." Id. at 1002. The Court will grant in 22 part consistent with this Order's reasoning and citations. 23 IV. Falsity 24 Defendants first challenge the falsity element of Plaintiffs' § 10(b) claim. To plead 25 falsity, the complaint must allege a "material" misrepresentation with "particularity." In re 26 NVIDIA, 768 F.3d at 1052; Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b). Specifically, the complaint must (A) state 27 with particularity all facts on which a pleading is based, (B) specify which statements were 28 materially misleading, and why. 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(b)(1).

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1 Plaintiffs fail to state the falsity element sufficiently for two independent reasons. 2 First, the SAC does not allege falsity with particularity. Plaintiffs allege that all Raytheon's 3 key financial metrics were misleading, as well as specifically the Tomahawk program 4 financials and the Integrated Defense Systems segment bookings, and that Raytheon failed 5 to disclose a 2018 DOJ investigation.

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Bajjuri v. Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bajjuri-v-raytheon-technologies-corporation-azd-2023.