S.A.C. Capital Advisors, L.P. ("SAC Capital") is a group of hedge funds. Elan Corporation, plc is a pharmaceuticals company.

The Complaint alleges that SAC Capital and related parties, including its founder and chief executive officer, Steven Cohen, engaged in illegal insider trading in violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by selling Elan ADRs and trading options ahead of adverse clinical trial results for an Alzheimer’s disease drug that was central to Elan’s drug development efforts.

As alleged in the Complaint, a portfolio manager at SAC Capital, Mathew Martoma, obtained inside information from the medical doctor who chaired the drug’s safety monitoring committee, Sidney Gilman. The Complaint further alleges that after obtaining the clinical trial results from Gilman, Martoma spoke with Cohen, and over the following seven trading days, SAC Capital then liquidated its entire holding of Elan ADRs, worth over $350 million, and acquired a short position in Elan amounting to approximately 4.5 million ADRs.

When the results of the clinical trial were publicly disclosed after hours on July 29, 2008, Elan’s ADRs dropped sharply in value, closing the next day down 41.8% from the 4:00 pm closing price on July 29, 2008, prior to the public disclosure. According to the Complaint, by liquidating its long position and selling short in advance of the disclosure of the disappointing clinical trial results, SAC Capital avoided losses and obtained gains of at least $220 million on its investments in Elan.

On April 15, 2013, the Court issued an order appointing lead Plaintiffs their selection of Counsel.

On May 9, 2013, the Court issued an order that consolidated the actions for pretrial purposes.

On May 13, 2013, the Plaintiffs filed a consolidated class action Complaint against the Defendants.

On May 24, 2013, in a decision and order by the Court, it was pointed out that the differences between the original Complaint and the consolidated Complaint warranted republication of notice in the matter by the Plaintiffs.

On June 17, 2013, the Court appointed City of Birmingham Retirement and Relief System as lead Plaintiff and the law firm of Scott+Scott as lead Counsel.

On August 8, 2013, the Court issued an order appointing lead Plaintiffs their selection of Counsel.

On October 22, 2013, the Court issued an order appointing lead Plaintiffs their selection of Counsel.

On January 8, 2014, a joint consolidated class action Complaint was filed against the Defendants.

On March 31, 2014, a joint amended Complaint amending Complaint was filed against the Defendants.

On March 31, 2014, due to the complexity of the issues involved, the parties jointly request a ten day extension to allow for additional conversations.

On April 28, 2014, the Defendants moved for MOTION to dismiss, dismissing with prejudice all claims asserted against them in the joint consolidated amended class action Complaint. On August 14th, the Court ruled on this motion by issuing an order granting in part and denying in part the motion.

On April 28, 2015, the Court issued an order dismissing certain counts from Plaintiffs' Complaint.

On December 21, 2015, a Settlement was reached between the Wyeth Class Plaintiffs and the SAC Capital Defendants. This Settlement was preliminarily approved by the Court on January 7, 2016. On October 3, the Court granted final approval of the Settlement and entered Final Judgment.

On November 30, 2016, a Stipulation of Settlement was entered into by the Elan Class Plaintiffs and the SAC Capital Defendants. This Settlement was preliminarily approved on December 16. On May 12, 2017, the Court granted final approval of the Settlement and entered Final Judgment. On September 4, 2018, the Court granted the unopposed motion for distribution of the Class Settlement fund. On September 20, the Court issued another Class Distribution Order.