On May 7, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a lower court ruling dismissing a securities class action against Janus Capital Group. The Fourth Circuit held that plaintiffs’ claim against a subsidiary, Janus Capital Management, for violation of section 10(b) of the Exchange Act had been adequately pled, as was a claim against Janus Capital Group for liability as a “control person” of Janus Capital Management.
The lawsuit alleges that Janus Capital Group’s stock had been artificially inflated because of false and/or misleading statements concerning defendants’ policies towards short-term “market timing” trades in the mutual funds that Janus Capital Management ran. In September 2003, an investigation and proceeding commenced by the New York Attorney General’s Office charged that, contrary to public representations, officers of Janus Capital Group and Janus Capital Management had secretly allowed “market timing” trades in certain mutual funds run by Janus Capital Management.
