Wallace v. Intralinks

302 F.R.D. 310, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139293, 2014 WL 4980918
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 30, 2014
DocketNo. 11 Civ. 8861(TPG)
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 302 F.R.D. 310 (Wallace v. Intralinks) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wallace v. Intralinks, 302 F.R.D. 310, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139293, 2014 WL 4980918 (S.D.N.Y. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

THOMAS P. GRIESA, District Judge.

This is a motion for class certification pursuant to Rules 23(a) and 23(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Fund seeks to certify a class of all who purchased defendant IntraLinks’ stock between February 17, 2011 and November 11, 2011. Plaintiff also seeks a subclass of those who purchased IntraLinks stock in the company’s April 6, 2011 secondary offering.

For the reasons set out below, the court certifies the class and subclass.

Procedural History

Plaintiff filed this action on December 5, 2011. On April 3, 2012, the court consolidate ed the case with related actions and appointed lead plaintiff, Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Fund (hereafter “plaintiff’). On June 15, 2012, plaintiff filed a consolidated complaint.

On July 31, 2012, defendants moved to dismiss the complaint. On May 8, 2013, the court denied defendants’ motion as to plaintiffs claims concerning misrepresentations or omissions about the strength of IntraLinks’ business, its customers’ satisfaction, and/or the loss or potential loss of IntraLinks’ largest customer, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). Certain other of plaintiffs claims, alleging that IntraLinks made false or misleading statements concerning its revenue characterization and customer billing methods, were dismissed.

[313]*313On February 18, 2014, plaintiff moved to certify a class and subclass. Defendants oppose.

Consolidated Complaint

The Parties

Lead plaintiff, the Fund, is a multiemployer defined benefit pension plan. It brings this class action on behalf of itself and all others who acquired IntraLinks’ common stock from February 17, 2011 through November 11, 2011. Those who purchased In-traLinks’ common stock pursuant to the registration statement and prospectus governing the April 6, 2011 secondary offering form a putative subclass. Defendants are divided into three groups.

The first group, the “Exchange Act Defendants,” is comprised of IntraLinks, Andrew Damico, and Anthony Plesner. Damico was Chief Executive Officer, President, and director of IntraLinks throughout the class period. Plesner was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer throughout the class period. Both individuals signed all of IntraLinks’ public filings during the class period. The complaint alleges these defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act.

The second group, called the “Securities Act Company Defendants,” encompasses the Exchange Act Defendants and additionally includes IntraLinks board members who signed the registration statement issued for the secondary offering of April 6, 2011. These additional persons are: Patrick Waek, Jr., Brian Conway, Peter Gyenes, Thomas Hale, Habib Kairouz, Robert McBride, and Harry Taylor. The complaint alleges these defendants violated Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933.

The last group, the “Securities Act Underwriter Defendants,” includes all investment banks that underwrote IntraLinks’ secondary offering on April 6, 2011. These are: Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, Jeffer-ies & Company, Inc., Lazard Capital Markets LLC, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., and Pacific Crest Securities LLC. The complaint alleges these defendants violated Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933.

Background of Claims

IntraLinks is a publicly traded provider of “virtual data rooms” (“VDRs”), which are software platforms that facilitate the secure exchange of information between organizations and departments.

Historically, IntraLinks divided its customers between those who used VDRs for mergers and acquisitions (“M & A”) and those who used them for debt capital markets (“DCM”). IntraLinks’ business was based on selling subscription contracts, usually three to twelve months in duration, during which time customers — typically financial institutions — would use IntraLinks’ services to facilitate specific projects or transactions.

In 2009, IntraLinks sought to diversify its business, creating a new division called Enterprise, which served customers that used IntraLinks for longer term storage needs. Enterprise clients treated IntraLinks’ platform as an ongoing repository, rather than a project-specific tool, and therefore renewed their contracts for longer periods of time. The Enterprise division thrived almost immediately. Before going public in August 2010, IntraLinks touted the growth in its Enterprise division, and investors viewed the Enterprise division as more promising than IntraLinks’ other lines of business.

By early 2010, FDIC had become IntraL-inks largest and most important customer. FDIC accounted for over 7% of IntraLinks’ total revenue, while the second-largest customer accounted for less than 2% of total revenue. Furthermore, FDIC’s business was particularly important to IntraLinks’ market value because it accounted for over 15% of the revenue in IntraLinks’ Enterprise division.

Yet difficulties arose in IntraLinks’ relationship with FDIC. FDIC, which was spending $13 million per year on IntraLinks’ services, sought to renegotiate its contract in early 2010. IntraLinks refused to renegotiate. In July 2010, FDIC issued a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) to find different VDR providers. On November 18, 2010, IntraL-inks CFO Anthony Plesner signed a contract with FDIC that indicated FDIC was “exercising the final 6-month option period” in its [314]*314task order with IntraLinks. IntraLinks ultimately managed to maintain some business with FDIC for longer than that six-month option period. But on November 7, 2011, FDIC publicly announced that it would finish its existing projects that relied on IntraL-inks’ services, and not use IntraLinks for any future projects.

Plaintiff alleges that defendants made numerous false and misleading public statements in light of IntraLinks’ deteriorating relationship with FDIC. On February 17, 2011, the beginning of the putative class period, IntraLinks’ Form 8-K and press release touted growth in its Enterprise business sector and projected a revenue increase of between 16% and 22% for 2011. In its March 23, 2011 Form 10-K, IntraLinks again made optimistic statements about the prospects of its Enterprise business sector, and stated “We believe our customers have a high level of satisfaction, as evidenced by the 104% renewal rate ... for our subscription contracts during the year ended December 31, 2010.”

On April 6, 2011, IntraLinks issued new shares of stock in a secondary offering. Pursuant to this offering, IntraLinks produced a Form S-l Registration Statement and a Form 424(b)5 Prospectus. Alleged misstatements and omissions in these documents are the same as those in the March 23, 2011 Form 10-K.

IntraLinks made a partial disclosure concerning its troubles with FDIC in a phone call with investors on May 11, 2011, following its first-quarter earnings announcement.

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Bluebook (online)
302 F.R.D. 310, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139293, 2014 WL 4980918, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wallace-v-intralinks-nysd-2014.