Keesal, Young & Logan attorneys Peter Boutin and Chris Stecher, in collaboration with Texas counsel, recently obtained the dismissal of a Securities Act of 1933 class action pending in Texas state court. The dismissal is one of the first dismissals of a ’33 Act class action since the U.S. Supreme Court’s March 2018 decision in Cyan v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund, which held that such lawsuits may be maintained in state court.
The plaintiffs originally filed their action in December 2015 in Los Angeles Superior Court against pharmaceutical company XBiotech and its underwriter (represented by KYL) alleging that the defendants misled investors about the progress of clinical trials for XBiotech’s flagship product. KYL attorneys and counsel for XBiotech filed a forum non convenience motion, which was granted by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John Wiley in June 2017. Plaintiffs thereafter filed a similar action in Texas state court. Following the removal and subsequent remand of the Texas action, KYL, on behalf of the underwriter, and counsel for XBiotech filed a motion to dismiss the case. The Court agreed that the claims were without merit and dismissed the case against KYL’s underwriter client and XBiotech.
The case is Rezko et. al. v. XBiotech Inc. et al., Case no. 17-003063, in the District Court for Travis County, Texas.