Date: Jan 25, 2016 Author: Lawrence Hurley Source: Yahoo Finance (
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WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to Amgen Inc by throwing out a ruling in favor of current and former employees who say they lost money by investing in the pharmaceutical company's own stock-ownership plan.
In a brief four-page unsigned ruling, the high court sent the case back to lower courts, saying the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit's October 2014 ruling was incorrect. The litigation over whether the lawsuit should be dismissed will now continue.
The lawsuit, filed in 2007, stated that the value of the plaintiffs' retirement plans was reduced when Amgen stock declined. It was revealed then that the company had concealed negative clinical study results about the anemia drug Aranesp and marketed both Aranesp and another anemia drug, Epogen, for off-label uses that were unsafe.
A district judge dismissed the lawsuit but the 9th Circuit first ruled in 2013 that the case could go forward. Amgen appealed to the Supreme Court, which sent the case back to the appeals court for reconsideration. The appeals court again ruled for the plaintiffs in 2014.
The claims made by the employees mirror similar allegations made in a securities class action lawsuit filed by shareholders led by the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 vote that the lawsuit could go forward.
The case is Amgen v. Harris, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 15-278.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)
