Robbins Geller Secures Record-Breaking $809 million in Securities Fraud Case Against Twitter
The jury trial is the American system of justice‘s most unique feature. The idea that a group of people drawn from the community should decide whether someone has broken the law is enshrined in our Constitution, and it’s uniquely powerful in leveling the playing field between the parties, especially for those seeking to hold a more powerful party to account.
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP has represented numerous union pension funds in litigation to recover billions in investment dollars lost to fraud or misconduct. And the prospect of a jury trial has been a key factor in securing the best results for our clients and impacted investors.
Last week, just before a federal jury trial was about to get underway in Oakland, California, Robbins Geller and co-counsel obtained a record-breaking $809,500,000 settlement against Twitter, Inc. in a securities fraud class action. Plaintiffs National Elevator Industry Pension Fund, represented by Robbins Geller, and KBC Asset Management NV, represented by co-lead counsel, Motley Rice LLC, led the case.
“The jury trial is a great equalizer, even for some of the most powerful entities on the planet. It levels the playing field and sets the stage for accountability,” said Tor Gronborg, a partner at Robbins Geller who serves as a lead attorney on the Twitter trial team.
If approved by the court, the proposed settlement would represent the largest securities fraud class action recovery in the last 20 years in the Ninth Circuit and the second-largest ever in that Circuit.
The case involved allegations that Twitter committed securities fraud by concealing stagnant user growth and declining user engagement from investors, causing its stock to trade at artificially inflated levels. The suit alleged that, when the truth was revealed, Twitter’s stock price dropped by 20%. No party has admitted wrongdoing or liability as part of this settlement.
The Firm’s client, a union pension fund, brought this action to recover its investment losses and losses for the class of shareholders who purchased Twitter stock between February 6, 2015 and July 28, 2015.
“The bottom line is whether you have a track record of trying complex securities fraud trials or not – that’s what enabled us to maximize the recovery for our clients and the class here,” said Daniel Drosman, who serves as lead counsel in the Twitter case for Robbins Geller.
Robbins Geller has tried several securities cases to a jury verdict in recent years, including a verdict after a six-week trial against Household International, Inc., which resulted in more than $1.5 billion recovered for investors. The Firm has secured many of the nation’s largest investor fraud settlements, including the recent $1.2 billion recovery against Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., and $1 billion recovery in American Realty Capital Properties, Inc., which also resolved on the eve of trial.
Indeed, just in the past year, Robbins Geller has secured over $1.5 billion for consumers and investors in cases involving large technology companies, including the largest privacy class action settlement against Facebook ($650 million), arising out of allegations that the use of the social network’s facial recognition technology to extract and store users’ biometric identifiers was without the consent required by Illinois privacy laws.
Additionally, Robbins Geller is currently prosecuting a shareholder challenge against Tesla founder Elon Musk regarding Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity, and a securities class action against Google’s parent company Alphabet, Inc., where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently overturned the company’s request to dismiss the case.
In addition to Daniel and Tor, Robbins Geller attorneys Luke Olts, Maureen Mueller, J. Marco Janoski Gray, Heather Schlesier, and Christopher Kinnon also litigated the case, along with co-counsel, Lance Oliver from Motley Rice. Forensic Accountant Terry Koelbl also assisted in the prosecution of the case.
In re Twitter Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 4:16-cv-05314 (N.D. Cal.)
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP are a silver sponsor of the upcoming FundForum International event live in Monaco, 20-21 October 2021. Find out more about them here.