On September 11, 2018, a $42.5 million settlement was reached between a class of investors who claimed that biomedical company Intuitive Surgical Inc. violated federal security laws when it purposefully misled shareholders as to the safety of its da Vinci robotic surgery device.
The suit was originally filed on April 26, 2013 in federal court in the Northern District of California by a group of Intuitive Surgical shareholders who alleged that the company failed to report FDA adverse events of serious injuries and death associated with its da Vinci product, thus blindsiding investors when a 2013 federal probe was initiated and subsequently caused the price of Intuitive Surgical stock to plummet. The class includes investors who purchased or acquired Intuitive Surgical stock from February 6, 2012 to July 18, 2013, during which time plaintiff class argues, Intuitive Surgical executives continued to sell stock to an uninformed investing public, while at the same time entering into hundreds of tolling agreements with patients who claimed to have been injured by the da Vinci surgical device.
Per the settlement agreement, a hearing for preliminary approval of the settlement is scheduled for October 4, 2018. Class counsel has agreed to request no more than 19% of the fund in fees and a further $2.5 million from the fund is likely to be set aside for litigation expenses.
The case is: In re: Intuitive Surgical Securities Litigation, Case No.: 5:13-cv-01920, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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