For the second time, U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh dismissed a securities class action against Intuitive Surgical, Inc., a leading manufacturer of cutting-edge robotic surgery devices. Plaintiffs alleged that Intuitive Surgical issued false and misleading statements regarding the company's financial results and prospects, when during the economic crisis of 2008, its financial results did not meet previously announced predictions. Plaintiffs’ lawyers filed a securities class action, which Judge Koh dismissed with leave to amend in August of 2011. On May 22, 2012, in a carefully-reasoned 37-page written opinion, Judge Koh dismissed the class action for the second time, this time with prejudice.
“I was proud to fight alongside Intuitive Surgical, a company that refused to settle in the face of this baseless class action,” said Keker & Van Nest partner Michael Celio, lead attorney for Intuitive Surgical. “Reasonable people understood the economic downturn caught nearly every company and investor by surprise. Intuitive’s statements were not misleading. It’s unfortunate that the plaintiffs’ lawyers sued when the price of Intuitive stock was $111 per share. Today, Intuitive stock is valued at about $530 per share. Those who chose to remain invested in Intuitive Surgical stock rather than pursue legal battles saw their investment quintuple.”
About the Keker & Van Nest Legal Team
Michael Celio handles white collar criminal cases, complex civil litigation, and enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or the Department of Justice. An experienced trial lawyer, Mr. Celio has tried more than a dozen cases to verdict in state and federal courts. He has significant expertise defending civil and criminal securities cases, having tried the only two U.S. cases involving allegations of stock-options backdating.
Bob Van Nest is a nationally recognized trial lawyer who frequently handles high-stakes cases for clients such as Intel, Google, Medtronic, Broadcom, and American Honda. His practice ranges widely over the field of complex business litigation and intellectual property. He has tried cases involving patent infringement, securities fraud, trademarks, commercial contracts, RICO, partnership disputes, real estate, insurance bad faith and mail and wire fraud.