Use this button to switch between dark and light mode.

Experience a New Era in Legal Research with Free Access to Lexis+

In re Petrobras Sec. Litig.

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

July 30, 2015, Decided

14-cv-9662 (JSR)

Opinion

 [*372]  JED S. RAKOFF, U.S.D.J.

Lead Plaintiff Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd. ("USS") brings this putative class action against the Brazilian state-owned oil company Petróleo Brasileiro [**5]  S.A. — Petrobras ("Petrobras" or the "Company"); two of Petrobras' wholly-owned subsidiaries, Petrobras Global Finance, B.V. ("PGF") and Petrobras International Finance Company S.A. ("PifCo")1; various former officers and directors of Petrobras and its subsidiaries (the "Individual Defendants")2; Petrobras' independent auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers Auditores Independentes ("PwC"); and the underwriters of Petrobras's note offerings (the "Underwriter Defendants").3 Plaintiffs allege that Petrobras was at the center of a multi-year, multi-billion dollar bribery and kickback scheme, in connection with which defendants made false and misleading statements in violation of the  [*373]  Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act"), the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), and Brazilian law.

Between December 8, 2014 and January 7, 2015, five separate class action complaints were filed in this Court asserting substantially similar claims against defendant [**7]  Petrobras for violation of the federal securities laws. See Kaltman v. Petrobras, No. 14-cv-9662 (S.D.N.Y. filed Dec. 8, 2014), Ngo v. Petrobras, No. 14-cv-9760 (S.D.N.Y. filed Dec. 10, 2014); Messing v. Petrobras, No. 14-cv-9847 (S.D.N.Y. filed Dec. 12, 2014); City of Providence v. Petrobras et al., No. 14-cv-10117 (S.D.N.Y. filed Dec. 24, 2014); Kennedy v. Petrobras, No. 15-cv-93 (S.D.N.Y. filed Jan. 7, 2015). By Order dated February 17, 2015, the Court consolidated the five related cases under the above caption.

In accordance with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act ("PSLRA"), 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(a)(3), the Court received motions by members of the putative class for appointment as lead plaintiff. Following full briefing and oral argument, the Court, by Order dated March 4, 2015, appointed USS as lead plaintiff and approved its choice of lead counsel, the reasons for which it explained by Memorandum dated May 17, 2015. See ECF No. 99; In re Petrobras Secs. Litig., No. 14-cv-9662, 104 F. Supp. 3d 618, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64768, 2015 WL 2341359 (S.D.N.Y. May 17, 2015).

Read The Full CaseNot a Lexis Advance subscriber? Try it out for free.

Full case includes Shepard's, Headnotes, Legal Analytics from Lex Machina, and more.

116 F. Supp. 3d 368 *; 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99322 **; Fed. Sec. L. Rep. (CCH) P98,587

In re: PETROBRAS SECURITIES LITIGATION

Prior History: In re Petrobras Sec. Litig., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51451 (S.D.N.Y., Apr. 13, 2015)

CORE TERMS

Offering, corruption, alleges, shareholders, plaintiffs', motion to dismiss, contracts, arbitration, inflated, bylaws, Securities Act, percent, Exchange Act, billion, cartel, defendants', documents, misleading, notice, shares, financial statement, purchasing, investor, scienter, bribery, bribe, arbitration clause, political party, misstatement, transactions

Civil Procedure, Defenses, Demurrers & Objections, Motions to Dismiss, Failure to State Claim, Pleadings, Complaints, Requirements for Complaint, Heightened Pleading Requirements, Fraud Claims, Securities Law, Postoffering & Secondary Distributions, Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Actions, Heightened Pleading Requirements, Implied Private Rights of Action, Burdens of Proof, Elements of Proof, Elements of Proof, Materiality, Civil Liability Considerations, Disclosures, Forward Looking Statements, Materiality, Puffery, Scienter, Registration of Securities, False Registration Statements, Preliminary Considerations, Justiciability, Standing, Initial Offerings of Securities, False Registration Statements, Constitutional Law, The Judiciary, Case or Controversy, Securities Act Actions, Civil Liability, Communications & Prospectuses, Governments, Legislation, Statute of Limitations, Time Limitations, Civil Liability, Securities Act Actions, Business & Corporate Compliance, Pretrial Matters, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Arbitration, Contracts Law, Contract Conditions & Provisions, Arbitration Clauses, Contracts Law, Contract Interpretation, Intent