Fries v. N. Oil & Gas, Inc.

354 F. Supp. 3d 384
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Fries v. N. Oil & Gas, Inc.. Read the opinion of the Court — 285 F. Supp. 3d 706
District Court, S.D. Illinois·Decided December 10, 2018·No. 16 Civ. 6543 (ER)·Published

Opinion

EDGARDO RAMOS, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This case is a putative class action on behalf of everyone who purchased or acquired securities in Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. between March 1, 2013 and August 15, 2016, claiming that defendants Northern Oil, Michael L. Reger, and Thomas Stoelk (collectively, "Defendants") violated Sections *38810(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by making false and misleading statements in their public filings and disclosures. The lead plaintiff in this case is Matthew Atkinson, an individual who bought shares in Northern Oil during the class period. Doc. 20 at 7. Before the Court are Defendants' motions to dismiss Atkinson's Second Amended Complaint ("SAC") for failure to state a claim. For the reasons that follow, the motions are GRANTED.

I. BACKGROUND

The Court assumes the reader's familiarity with the key factual allegations supporting Plaintiff's claims; these allegations are set out in detail in Fries v. N. Oil & Gas, Inc. , 285 F.Supp.3d 706 (S.D.N.Y. 2018). In that opinion, the Court dismissed Plaintiff's case in its entirety for failure to state a claim with leave to amend. Id. at 723. The Court found that Plaintiff failed to adequately allege that Defendants made a misleading statement or omission, or that they did so with scienter. See id. at 719-20, 721-22.

Plaintiff filed the SAC on January 26, 2018. Doc. 51. The SAC contains some new facts. First, in its first and second quarterly reports of 2016, Northern Oil disclosed that it had spent half a million dollars on legal costs related to the SEC's investigation of Dakota Plains, but stated that it was not an SEC target itself. SAC ¶¶ 134-39. Second, Defendants knowingly used Northern's staff, space, and resources to help Reger and Dakota Plains, including by facilitating some of Reger and Dakota Plains's misconduct. SAC ¶¶ 65-84.

On March 23, 2018, Defendants moved to dismiss the SAC. Docs. 54, 56. Reger moved separately from Northern Oil and Thomas Stoelk.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Motion to Dismiss

Under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint may be dismissed for "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). When ruling on a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Court must accept all factual allegations in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor. Koch v. Christie's Int'l PLC , 699 F.3d 141, 145 (2d Cir. 2012). However, the Court is not required to credit "mere conclusory statements" or "[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). "To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter ... to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Id. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). A claim is facially plausible "when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. (citing Twombly , 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). If the plaintiff has not "nudged [his] claims across the line from conceivable to plausible, [the] complaint must be dismissed." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

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Fries v. N. Oil & Gas, Inc., 354 F. Supp. 3d 384 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

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