A Florida couple has filed a class action suit against a pharmaceutical company they allege violated federal law governing stocks.
Henry A. Kelley and Wilma Kelley, of Fort Walton, Florida, as well as a class of an unknown number of individuals, filed a class action lawsuit April 29 in U.S. District Court for New Jersey against Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc., Vicente Anido Jr., Thomas A. Mitro, Richard J. Rubino, Brian Levy and Anand Mehra, citing violation of federal securities law.
The suit says the plaintiffs are bringing the action on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired Aerie publicly traded securities between Aug. 6, 2014, and April 23, 2015. These transactions, the suit says, were in violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The lawsuit states company employees "made materially false and misleading statements ... in press releases and filings with the [Securities and Exchange Commission] and in oral statements to the media, securities analysts and investors." These statements, the lawsuit states, resulted in Airie securities trading "at artificially high prices.
The suits states, "after these revelations seeped into the market, the company's shares were hammered by massive sales, sending the company's stock price down nearly 64 percent ... and causing economic harm and damages to class members."
The Kelleys seek unspecified damages as well as attorney fees and court costs. They are represented by attorneys Peter S. Pearlman of Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrman and Knopf in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, and David C. Walton of Robbins Geller Rudman and Dowd in San Diego.
U.S. District Court for New Jersey case number: 3:15-cv-03007-AET-LHG.