Sixth Circuit vacates class certification in securities lawsuit involving officers and directors of large public utility holding company
Client(s) Certain current and former directors and officers of FirstEnergy Corp.
The Sixth Circuit vacated class certification in a securities lawsuit in which Jones Day represented a group of current and former officers and directors of FirstEnergy Corp. After the district court certified a class covering all purchasers of the company's securities over a 3 ½-year period, the defendants sought interlocutory appeal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(f). The Sixth Circuit accepted the appeal, and on the merits issued an opinion described by Bloomberg as a "landmark ruling." In a matter of first impression for the circuit, the Sixth Circuit held that the so-called Affiliated Ute presumption of reliance cannot be invoked in a securities case involving alleged misstatements; it also found that the district court failed to conduct a "rigorous analysis" of plaintiffs' proposed classwide damages methodology as required by the Supreme Court case of Comcast Corp. v. Behrend.
In re FirstEnergy Corp. Securities Litigation, No. 2:20-cv-03785 (S.D. Ohio); MFS Series Trust I, et al. v. FirstEnergy Corp. et al., No. 2:21-cv-05839 (S.D. Ohio); Brighthouse Funds Trust II – MFS Value Portfolio, et al. v. FirstEnergy Corp. et al., No. 2:21-cv-05839 (S.D. Ohio); In re FirstEnergy Corp. Securities Litigation., et al., No. 24-3654 (6th Cir.)
