Sitting en banc, the Delaware Supreme Court this month delivered an important message on two of the most hotly debated issues in corporate litigation: how courts should handle dueling shareholder lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions, and whether fast-filing class action and derivative plaintiffs should be accorded an advantage over late filers who prepare a more complete complaint. Pyott v. Louisiana Municipal Police Employees Retirement System, No. 380, 2012 (Del. April 4, 2013).
The case concerns Allergan Inc., the Delaware-incorporated, California-headquartered company that makes Botox. In September 2010, Allergan entered into a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in which it pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of marketing Botox for "off-label uses" that is, uses other than the specific uses approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Under the terms of the settlement, Allergan agreed to pay a total of $600 million in fines.
