According to the Company’s FORM 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2007, on December 5, 2006 the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion reversing Judge Scheindlin's prior certification of the plaintiff classes in several "focus" cases pending before her as part of the consolidated IPO Lawsuits. As a result of this ruling, on June 25, 2007, Judge Scheindlin issued an order terminating the settlement among the plaintiffs, the issuers and their insurers. The parties in the "focus" cases have agreed to a schedule for the filing of papers seeking certification of a new class of plaintiffs, which will not be completed until February 2008. The final resolution of this litigation is not expected to have a material impact on Caliper.
As summarized by the same SEC filing, commencing on June 7, 2001, Caliper and three of its officers and directors (David V. Milligan, Daniel L. Kisner and James L. Knighton) were named as defendants in three securities class action lawsuits filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The cases have been consolidated under the caption, In re Caliper Technologies Corp. Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation, 01 Civ. 5072 (SAS) (GBD). Similar complaints were filed against approximately 300 other public companies that conducted initial public offerings of their common stock during the late 1990s (the "IPO Lawsuits"). On August 8, 2001, the IPO Lawsuits were consolidated for pretrial purposes before United States Judge Shira Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York. Together, those cases are denominated In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation, 21 MC 92(SAS). On April 19, 2002, a Consolidated Amended Complaint was filed alleging claims against Caliper and the individual defendants under Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, and under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The Consolidated Amended Complaint also names certain underwriters of Caliper's December 1999 initial public offering of common stock as defendants. The Complaint alleges that these underwriters charged excessive, undisclosed commissions to investors and entered into improper agreements with investors relating to aftermarket transactions. The Complaint seeks an unspecified amount of money damages. Caliper and the other issuers named as defendants in the IPO Lawsuits moved on July 15, 2002, to dismiss all claims on multiple grounds. By Stipulation and Order dated October 9, 2002, the claims against Messrs. Milligan, Kisner and Knighton were dismissed without prejudice. On February 19, 2003, the Court granted Caliper's motion to dismiss all claims against it. Plaintiffs were not given the right to replead the claims against Caliper. The time to appeal the dismissal has not yet expired. During 2003, a settlement, subject to final approval by Judge Scheindlin, was reached among the plaintiffs, the issuers and their insurers that would result in the termination of all claims brought by plaintiffs against the issuers and individual defendants named in the IPO Lawsuits. On July 7, 2003, a Special Litigation Committee of the Caliper Board of Directors approved the terms of this settlement, which was subject to approval by Judge Scheindlin. Judge Scheindlin held a fairness hearing for final approval of the settlement on April 24, 2006, but did not issue an approval order.
The original securities class action lawsuit was filed against Caliper Technologies, Inc.The complaint charges defendants with violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for issuing a Registration Statement and Prospectus (the"Prospectus") that contained materially false and misleading information and failed to disclose material information. The Prospectus was issued in connection with Caliper' IPO. The complaint alleges that the Prospectus was false and misleading because it failed to disclose (i) Credit Suisse's agreement with certain investors to provide them with significant amounts of restricted Caliper shares in the IPO in exchange for exorbitant and undisclosed commissions; and (ii) the agreement between Credit Suisse and certain of its customers whereby Credit Suisse would allocate shares in the IPO to those customers in exchange for the customers' agreement to purchase Caliper shares in the after-market at pre-determined prices.