In re Computer Sciences Corp. Derivative Litigation

244 F.R.D. 580, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78373, 2007 WL 2274951
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedJuly 24, 2007
DocketNos. CV 06-05288 MRP (Ex), CV 06-05356 MRP (Ex), CV 06-06512 MRP (Ex)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 244 F.R.D. 580 (In re Computer Sciences Corp. Derivative Litigation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Computer Sciences Corp. Derivative Litigation, 244 F.R.D. 580, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78373, 2007 WL 2274951 (C.D. Cal. 2007).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT COMPUTER SCIENCES CORPORATION’S MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFFS’ SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR FAILURE TO PLEAD DEMAND FUTILITY PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 23.1 AND 12(B)(6)

MARIANA R. PFAELZER, District Judge.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs1 are shareholders of Nominal Defendant Computer Sciences Corporation (“CSC” or the “company”) and have brought this derivative case alleging the improper backdating, springloading and re-pricing of options to buy CSC stock, which were granted to certain CSC executives between May 1996 and May 2004. On March 26, 2007, this Court dismissed Plaintiffs’ original complaint for failure to make a demand on CSC’s board of directors or to properly plead that demand was excused, pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23.1 and 12(b)(6).2 The Court also granted Plaintiffs leave to amend their complaint, and Plaintiffs filed a Verified Amended Consolidated Shareholder Derivative Complaint on April 16, 2007 (the “Amended Complaint” or “AC”). The Amended Complaint asserts a series of exclusively derivative state and federal law claims against two sets of Defendants: 1) CSC executives who received and/or participated in the granting of the improper stock options (collectively, the “Officer Defendants” (see AC HH 28-38)); and 2) members of the CSC board of directors who approved the improper option grants and/or any financial statements or disclosures that misrepresented information related to the option grants (collectively, the “Director Defendants” (see AC 111139-52)). Plaintiffs continue to allege demand futility and have not made a demand on CSC’s board. Defendants have moved to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint, arguing: 1) Plaintiffs have failed to establish standing by alleging that they owned CSC stock at the time the questioned option grants occurred, pursuant to Rule 23.1; and 2) Plaintiffs have failed to make a demand on CSC’s board or to properly plead with particularity that demand is excused under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23.1 and 12(b)(6).3

The Court finds that Plaintiffs have not alleged that they owned CSC stock during all of the relevant periods when the questioned transactions occurred as well as during the pendency of this case, as is required under Rule 23.1. Further, while all of Plaintiffs’ claims are derivative, thereby requiring a demand on CSC’s board under governing Nevada law, the Court finds that Plaintiffs still have not pled with sufficient particularity why demand should be excused in this case. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS [584]*584Nominal Defendant CSC’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint.

II.

BACKGROUND

The Court detailed the background of this case in its March 2007 Dismissal Order and need not repeat it here.4 In that Order, the Court found that Plaintiffs had not made particularized allegations raising a reasonable doubt as to the independence or disinterestedness of a majority of CSC directors who would be considering a demand to investigate the challenged options backdating transactions. Plaintiffs therefore did not show that demand was excused in this ease, under Rule 23.1, Rales v. Blasband, 634 A.2d 927 (Del.1993), and applicable Nevada law. See Shoen v. SAC Holding Corp., 137 P.3d 1171, 1178-85 (Nev.2006) (applying Delaware law’s particularity requirements for pleading demand futility under Rales). The Court also found that Plaintiffs failed to establish standing by sufficiently alleging that they owned CSC stock during all periods relevant to the questioned transactions and during the pendency of this suit, as required by Rule 23.1.

This case has seen several developments since the first Dismissal Order. First, on February 28, 2007, CSC filed a Form 8-K with the SEC that discussed the results of its own internal investigation of its stock options practices by a “Special Committee” of two newly-elected independent directors. See Computer Sciences Corporation, Report of Unscheduled Material Events or Corporate Changes (Form 8-K) (Feb. 28, 2007) (the “Feb. 28, 2007 Form 8-K”).5 Among other things, the Form 8-K stated that: 1) 9,234 of the 13,564 stock option grants made by CSC between March 1, 1996 and July 31, 2006 required some form of modification to fix errors in their timing, pricing or accounting; 2) 3,906 of the option grants had to be changed to a later date on which the closing stock price was higher, requiring additional compensation expense; 3) these adjustments resulted in the company taking a cumulative non-cash compensation expense of approximately $68 million before taxes; and 4) that “[ojption grants to Senior Executives were approved by the Compensation Committee or the Board of Directors.” Feb. 28, 2007 Form 8-K, at 2, 4.

Second, Plaintiffs seized upon CSC’s Form 8-K disclosures in their Amended Complaint. Most notably, Plaintiffs have supplemented their original allegations, which focused only on backdating, with information from the Form 8-K to now allege that CSC engaged in wrongful springloading “and/or” re-pricing of options as well. {See AC HH1-21, 81.) Plaintiffs further allege that the Form 8-K’s statement that unspecified option grants were approved by “the Board of Directors” constitutes an admission by CSC that its entire board knew of, if not directly approved, the challenged option grants. (AC 1112.)

Otherwise, many of Plaintiffs’ core allegations are unchanged. Plaintiffs still allege that between 1996 and 2004, the CSC Director and Officer Defendants “colluded” with one another to: 1) improperly backdate, springload “and/or” reprice and option grants to CSC Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) Van Honeycutt and several other CSC executives in violation of shareholder-approved stock option plans; 2) improperly record and account for these option grants in violation of GAAP; 3) improperly take tax deductions based on these option grants in violation of the Internal Revenue Code; 4) produce and disseminate false financial statements and other SEC filings that improperly accounted for these option grants and concealed their existence; and 5) improperly exercise or per[585]*585mit the exercise of previously manipulated options. (AC 1117.)6

III.

DISCUSSION

A. Legal Standards

1. Motion to Dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6)

A court should dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim only where it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of the claim which would entitle the plaintiff to relief. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro v. Lerner, 31 F.3d 924, 928 (9th Cir. 1994). Review is limited to the contents of the complaint. Allarcom Pay Television, Ltd. v. Gen.

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244 F.R.D. 580, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78373, 2007 WL 2274951, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-computer-sciences-corp-derivative-litigation-cacd-2007.