On April 12, 2016, in IBEW Local 98 Pension Fund v. Best Buy Co., No. 14-3178, slip. op. (8th Cir. Apr. 12, 2016), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit became the first Court of Appeals to hold that a defendant had rebutted Basic’s presumption of reliance by showing lack of price impact pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Halliburton II. More specifically, the Best Buy court rejected Plaintiffs’ contention that alleged misrepresentations had artificially maintained stock prices, even though Plaintiffs alleged a subsequent corrective disclosure had led to a significant stock-price decline. The decision makes clear that lack of price impact remains a significant avenue of attack in the class certification context – at least in the Eighth Circuit, and with the right set of facts.View full memo, Eighth Circuit Holds Presumption of Reliance Rebutted Under Halliburton II and Reverses Class Certification in Securities Action
