Our runners up for Litigator of the Week include Latham & Watkins litigators BJ Trach, Sean Berkowitz and Miles Ruthberg. They won big for General Electric, securing dismissal of a securities fraud class action against the company and its officers/directors in the Southern District of New York.
The plaintiffs sought up to $20 billion in damages, pointing to GE’s alleged failure to timely disclose a blade defect in its newest line of power plant turbines and events that led to GE’s eventual $22 billion writedown of the goodwill in GE’s power businesses. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote dismissed the claims in full without leave to amend, ruling that the lead plaintiff failed to adequately plead that there was a material misstatement or omission and that any defendant acted with intent to defraud.
