On June 19, 2009, the 10b-5 Daily discussed the dismissal of In re Aetna, Inc. Sec. Litig., 2009 WL 1619636 (E.D. Pa. June 9, 2009), and observed that
The PSLRA’s safe harbor for forward-looking statements has a checkered history in the courts, with some judges refusing to apply it as written. It is therefore worth noting a decision that relies entirely on the safe harbor to dismiss the plaintiffs’ securities fraud claims.
Just a few days later we have come across a similar dismissal in the Humana securities class action. In Humana, the court dismissed the plaintiffs’ case with prejudice, finding that
In sum, the alleged misrepresentations by Humana are either protected by the PSLRA’s safe harbor provision for forward-looking statements or are not actionable because Plaintiffs failed to plead sufficient facts to support the claim that the present or historical statements were false or misleading. Accordingly, Humana’s motion to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ claims under §10(a) and Rule 10b-5 is granted.
