SHAREHOLDERS SEEK CLASS CERTIFICATION IN TEVA PRICE-FIXING ACTION

On June 19, 2020, shareholders accusing Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (“Teva”) of participating in an industry-wide price-fixing scheme in the generic drug market asked a federal judge in Connecticut to certify their proposed class.

The class action lawsuit is being led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.  In its Memorandum of Law in support of its motion for class certification, the investors told the court that in addition to presenting common questions of law and fact on behalf of thousands of potential class members, the pension fund and its counsel have vigorously prosecuted the action.  The Plan added that it, and named plaintiff Anchorage Police & Fire Retirement System, are the type of institutional investors that make ideal class representatives under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  The investors further noted that identifying eligible class members and determining class-wide damages is possible under a widely accepted model in securities class actions.

The lawsuit alleges that between February 6, 2014 and May 10, 2019, the company and its senior executives conspired to raise the prices of numerous generic drugs which ultimately led to increased revenues.  Yet, they allege that the illegal price-fixing strategy was concealed by false statements that attributed the company’s financial growth to strategies such as cost-cutting.

Teva has asserted that the alleged financial misstatements are not actionable, arguing that they are either accurate, too vague to be actionable, or are forward-looking statements that were accompanied by meaningful cautionary language. 

The case is Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board et al. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., Civil Action No. 3:17-cv-00558 (D.Ct.).