According to the law firm press release, Halyard Health, Inc. ("Halyard" or the Company) provides health and healthcare supplies and solutions worldwide. The Company operates through two segments, Surgical and Infection Prevention (S&IP), and Medical Devices. Halyard markets its products directly to hospitals and other healthcare providers, as well as through third-party distribution channels.

Prior to October 2014, Halyard was the Health Care operating segment of Kimberly-Clark, a manufacturer of personal care, consumer tissue, and professional products. Kimberly-Clark’s common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “KMB.” On October 7, 2014, Kimberly-Clark announced the details for the completion of the spin-off of its Health Care segment as Halyard Health, Inc., advising its shareholders that they would receive one share of Halyard Health common stock for every eight shares of Kimberly-Clark common stock held as of the close of trading on October 23, 2014, the record date for the spin-off.

In late 2013, an outbreak of the Ebola virus began in Guinea, subsequently spreading to Liberia, Sierra Leone, and other West African nations. In August 2014, after meeting with health ministers from eleven countries, the World Health Organization designated the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, a rarely used designation that invokes legal measures on disease prevention, surveillance, control, and response by 194 signatory countries. On September 30, 2014, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the first case of Ebola virus in the United States.

As awareness of the Ebola epidemic grew, demand surged for the personal protective equipment—i.e., eye shields, face masks and disposable gowns—made by Kimberly-Clark’s Health Care segment and subsequently by Halyard, including the Company’s MICROCOOL surgical gowns.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company’s MICROCOOL surgical gowns consistently failed effectiveness tests and failed to meet industry standards; (ii) Kimberly-Clark and Halyard had knowingly provided defective MICROCOOL surgical gowns to U.S. workers during the Ebola crisis; and (iii) as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On September 14, 2016, the Court appointed Lead Plaintiff and Counsel. Lead Plaintiff filed an amended Complaint on December 6, 2016.

Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the amended Complaint on February 16, 2017. On March 30, 2018, the Court issued an Order granting Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. Lead Plaintiff filed a notice appealing the Court's dismissal Order on May 1, 2019. On July 8, 2020, the Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's dismissal Order.