February 5, 2021. The Court in the Valeant Pharmaceuticals International securities matter (District Court of New Jersey) issued its Order and Final Judgment, ending the class action after Valeant settled with the class for $1.21 billion. Plaintiffs alleged that Valeant used a clandestine network of pharmacies to drive high-priced drug prescriptions; Valeant stock plummeted when price-gouging allegations emerged. Special Master Cavanaugh credited the expert analysis of Professor Steven Feinstein regarding market efficiency and the plan of allocation of the net settlement fund:

Lead Plaintiff has submitted the Declaration of Stephen P. Feinstein, Ph.D, CFA, which indicates
that throughout the Class Period, Valeant stock was actively traded on the New York Stock Exchange… According to Professor Steven P. Feinstein, Ph.D., who assisted Lead Counsel in developing the Plan of Allocation of the Net Settlement Fund, the Recognized Loss for Valeant Option Investors under the Plan of Allocation is computed equal to the investment loss, while the Recognized Loss for Valeant Common Stock and Valeant Note Investors is computed as the lesser of the
investment loss and the inflation loss.”

 

Report & Recommendation of the Special
Master, filed June 15, 2020.

Additional information is available at Bloomberg Law News.