Intelsat ‘Class Action’ judge ready to decide
April 20, 2023
Intelsat’s long-running Class Action lawsuit against key shareholders alleging insider trading will be decided by a judge on the basis of documents and motions already filed to the court.
The judge in the case has cancelled a planned full court hearing (which called for a jury trial) and dismissed some of the motions in the case. The hearing was due on April 28th.
The Plaintiffs, in a March 5th filing, argued that “Any reasonable person – and juror – would believe that there was insider trading”.
The Action argues that the defendants in the case sold shares worth $246 million and thus avoid $185 million in losses but “innocent investors were left [with nothing]”. The Action states each of the named defendants “owed a fiduciary duty to Intelsat shareholders.”
The Defendants, in their defense, say: “ The Plaintiffs in the case offer documents which offer nothing more than management’s subjective assessment of the political environment and risk surrounding the FCC’s decision at that time.”
The court had already denied the Plaintiffs initial application in the case but permitted further and better particulars to be prepared.
While the court’s current thinking is impossible to know, it is understood that the judge will render a verdict based on the already submitted documents without holding a hearing.
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