In re Infineon Technologies AG Securities Litigation

266 F.R.D. 386, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103385, 2009 WL 3647892
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMarch 6, 2009
DocketNo. C 04-04156 JW
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 266 F.R.D. 386 (In re Infineon Technologies AG Securities Litigation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.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 Infineon Technologies AG Securities Litigation, 266 F.R.D. 386, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103385, 2009 WL 3647892 (N.D. Cal. 2009).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT; GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR JOINDER; GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

JAMES WARE, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs1 bring this putative class action against Infineon Technologies AG (“Infíneon”) and certain Infineon officers and directors 2 (collectively, “Defendants”), alleging violations of §§ 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Rule 10b-5. Plaintiffs allege Defendants engaged in securities fraud, by participating in an illegal price-fixing conspiracy involving Dynamic Random Access Memory (“DRAM”), and then manipulating the price of Infineon stock by making misrepresentations about the impact of the artificially inflated DRAM prices on Infineon’s corporate value.

Presently before the Court are Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification3 and Defendants’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings.4 The Court conducted a hearing on January 9, 2009. Based on the papers submitted to date and oral argument, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification, GRANTS Plaintiffs’ and Intervenor’s Motion for Joinder, and DENIES Defendants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment.

II. BACKGROUND

A detailed outline of the facts and allegations in this case may be found in the Court’s prior Orders.5 The Court reviews the relevant procedural history for the purposes of these motions.

This action was first filed on September 30, 2004. (Docket Item No. 1.) On May 22, 2006, the Court granted in part and denied in [389]*389part Defendants’ motions to dismiss the Complaint with leave to amend. (May 22, 2006 Order, Docket Item No. 90.) On July 17, 2007, Plaintiffs filed a Third Amended Complaint, alleging three causes of action: (1) Violation of § 10(b) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against all Defendants for issuing false or misleading statements about revenue, earnings, DRAM prices, and competition; (2) Violation of § 20(a) of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78t(a), against all Defendants for control person liability; and (3) Violation of § 20A of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78H, for alleged contemporaneous insider trading. (See TAC.) On January 25, 2008, the Court dismissed Plaintiffs’ § 20A claim against all Defendants and Plaintiffs’ claims against Defendants Heinrich Florian and T. Rudd Corwin with prejudice. (See January 25 Order.) On August 13, 2008, the Court denied Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. (See August 13 Order.)

Presently before the Court are Defendants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification, and Plaintiffs’ and Intervenor’s Motion for Joinder.

III. STANDARDS

A. Motion for Partial Summary Judgment

Although motions for partial summary judgment are common, Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which governs summary judgment, does not contain an explicit procedure entitled “partial summary judgment.” As with a motion under Rule 56(c), partial summary judgment is proper “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The purpose of partial summary judgment “is to isolate and dispose of factually unsupported claims or defenses.” Celotex v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The moving party “always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying the evidence which it believes demonstrates the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The nonmoving party must then identify specific facts “that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law,” thus establishing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

When evaluating a motion for partial or full summary judgment, the court views the evidence through the prism of the evidentiary standard of proof that would pertain at trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The court draws all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party, including questions of credibility and of the weight that particular evidence is accorded. See, e.g. Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc., 501 U.S. 496, 520, 111 S.Ct. 2419, 115 L.Ed.2d 447 (1991). The court determines whether the non-moving party’s “specific facts,” coupled with disputed background or contextual facts, are such that a reasonable jury might return a verdict for the non-moving party. T.W. Elec. Serv., 809 F.2d at 631. In such a case, partial summary judgment is inappropriate. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. However, where a rational trier of fact could not find for the nonmoving party based on the record as a whole, there is no “genuine issue for trial.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio, 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

B. Class Certification

The decision to certify a class is committed to the discretion of the district court within the guidelines of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 23; Doninger v. Pacific Northwest Bell, Inc., 564 F.2d 1304, 1309 (9th Cir.1977). The party seeking class certification bears the burden of establishing that each of the four requirements of Rule 23(a) and at least one requirement of Rule 23(b) have been met. Dukes v. Wal-Mart, Inc., 509 F.3d 1168, 1176 (9th Cir.2007) (citing Zinser v. Accufix Research Institute, Inc., 253 F.3d 1180, 1186 (9th Cir.2001), amended, 273 F.3d 1266 (9th Cir.2001)). A [390]

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266 F.R.D. 386, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103385, 2009 WL 3647892, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-infineon-technologies-ag-securities-litigation-cand-2009.