What Was at Stake
Following a stock price decline tied to a product recall announcement, TechCorp faced a $500M securities class action alleging fraudulent misrepresentation under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act. The plaintiff class included major institutional investors and the case was assigned to a notoriously plaintiff-friendly federal judge in the Southern District of New York.
How We Approached It
Victoria Harrington led a pre-filing audit of all analyst calls, SEC filings, and internal communications over a 36-month period. We identified a pattern of hedged, forward-looking language that insulated the client under the PSLRA safe harbor provisions. Rather than seek a protracted discovery phase, we moved aggressively for a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal, filing a 97-page brief that systematically dismantled each element of the scienter allegations.
What We Achieved
The court granted a full dismissal with prejudice at the pleadings stage — before a single deposition was taken. The ruling cited Blackstone's brief extensively and has since been cited in nine subsequent securities cases as precedent for the scope of PSLRA safe harbor protections. TechCorp incurred zero liability.