SARAH EVANS BARKER, District Court.
This cause comes before the Court on the Motion to Dismiss [Docket No. 72] filed by Defendants, Wellpoint, Inc. ("Wellpoint") and its officers and directors,
Wellpoint is a nationwide healthcare benefits company offering network-based plans to employers, individuals, Medicaid, and senior markets. Compl. ¶ 2. The Company is a licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and is licensed, through its subsidiaries, to conduct insurance operations in all 50 states. Id. On January 23, 2008, WellPoint issued a press release and held a conference call announcing relatively positive guidance, especially in light of what appears to have been a difficult year financially for the company in 2007. The company expressed confidence that many of the problems that had adversely affected the company in 2007 would not impact the 2008 results. Plaintiff claims that WellPoint's management knew or recklessly disregarded the falsity of these statements. In particular, Plaintiff claims that WellPoint knew that it was experiencing problems related to claims processing, system integration, actuarial forecasting, enrollment trends, medical costs, and reserve levels. Because the company was continuing to experience these problems, Plaintiff alleges, there was no basis for the company's positive projections. Plaintiff's Amended Complaint relies, in part, on the statements of 19 Confidential Witnesses ("CWs"). Defendants argue that Plaintiff has failed to state a claim for which relief can be granted because: (1) the Amended Complaint does not meet the heightened pleading standards for securities fraud cases, and (2) WellPoint's statements are shielded from liability by the Safe Harbor provided by the PSLRA. A more detailed recitation of the facts underlying these issues follows below:
On January 23, 2008, WellPoint issued a Press Release reporting its results for the fourth quarter of 2007 and for that entire fiscal year. Compl. ¶ 55. The Press Release included the following expectations (among others) for 2008 in a section entitled "Outlook":
Defs.' Ex. 1; Compl. ¶ 56. The Press Release also contained the following statement from Defendant Chief Financial Officer Wayne DeVeydt:
Compl. ¶ 55. The Press Release also expressed confidence in the 81.6 percent benefit expense ratio despite the fact that the company's benefit expense ratio had been higher in 2007 than in 2006 (an increase from 81.2 to 82.4 percent). Compl. ¶ 57. WellPoint attributed the 2007 increase to higher than expected claims costs, business mix changes, and less favorable than expected reserve development, partially caused by a slowdown of claims processing resulting from systems migration. Id. Specifically, WellPoint explained that "[a]pproximately 80 basis points of the increase was driven by the medical business of the Specialty, Senior and State Sponsored Business reporting segment." Id. In addition, WellPoint explained that, in the fourth quarter, the company's Commercial and Consumer Business ("CCB") segment had experienced "a business mix shift[ ], including a decline in Individual membership, and less favorable than expected reserve development in 2007." Id. WellPoint attributed its more positive projection for 2008 to "the strong full year 2007 operating results in its CCB segment, its outlook for stable medical cost trends in 2008 and the expected improvements in its State Sponsored operations." Id.
In its discussion of Membership, the Press release touted an increase of 708,000 new members over the course of 2007. Defs.' Ex. 1 at 2. The Press Release discussed membership developments in a few specific segments, including the conversion of 144,000 members in Connecticut's Medicaid managed care programs from fully-insured to self-funded policies during the fourth quarter of 2007.
The Press Release also stated that WellPoint expected its medical cost trends to continue to remain below 8.0 percent in 2008, as the costs had in 2007. Compl. ¶ 58; Defs.' Ex. 1 at 3.
The last page of WellPoint's January 23, 2008 Press Release included a section entitled, "Safe Harbor Statement Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995." There, WellPoint noted that the Press Release contained forward-looking information about the company that was "subject to certain risks and uncertainties... that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward looking information and statements." The warning then included a litany of risks, including the following, as noted in Defendants' brief:
Also on January 23, 2008, Wellpoint held its 4Q07 Earnings Conference Call announcing Wellpoint's results for the fourth quarter of 2007 and for that entire fiscal year. Compl. ¶¶ 10; 59. Defendants Angela Braly and Wayne DeVeydt served as spokespersons for the company. Compl. ¶ 59. Numerous analysts joined the Call. Id. Wellpoint began the Call by warning that some forward-looking statements would be made during the Call. Defs.' Ex. 25 at 2. The warning stated:
Id. As in the Press Release, WellPoint estimated during the Call that the company would achieve $6.41 earnings per share (constituting a 15.3% increase over 2007), an increase of 800,000 total new members, and an 81.6% benefit expense ratio. Compl. ¶ 11. Defendant Angela Braly stated:
Defs.' Ex. 25 at 3; Compl. ¶ 62.
Among other 2007 achievements, Braly noted that WellPoint had "complet[ed] several system migrations, resulting in lower technology production costs and improved information management capabilities." Defs.' Ex. 25 at 4; Compl. ¶ 62.
With regard to membership, Braly repeated that WellPoint's business had shifted to 51% self-funded and 49% fully-insured over the course of 2007. Defs.' Ex. 25 at 2-3; Compl. ¶ 61. In part, Braly attributed this shift to the Connecticut Medicaid membership conversion referenced earlier. Id. Braly stated that despite the 2007 shift in business, there had been only "nominal contributions [on] EPS" allowing the company to stand by its $6.41 EPS guidance for 2008. Id. at 3; Compl. ¶ 61. Braly also repeated that they expected 800,000 new members in 2008. Defs.' Ex. 25 at 2-3. This figure was apparently 200,000 fewer than a prior projection. Id. at 3.
When asked further about the business shift, DeVeydt explained that some offsetting factors had mitigated the negative effects of that shift to the point that DeVeydt felt confident with the guidance being issued at that time. Again, DeVeydt cautioned, "We have a number of moving parts here, and again, we are three weeks into the year at this point, so it's hard to have 100% visibility." Defs.' Ex. 28 at 10-11.
With regard to the benefit expense ratio, Braly explained that the increase in 2007 to 82.4% (up from 81.2% in 2006) was attributable to "higher than expected claims costs in the medical business of our Specialty, Senior and State Sponsored business reporting segment ... as well as business mix changes and less favorable than expected reserve development in 2007." Defs.' Ex. 25 at 3. DeVeydt elaborated:
Defs.' Ex. 25 at 5; Compl. ¶ 63.
Because much of what had caused the increase had apparently occurred in the fourth quarter, DeVeydt stated, "[t]he higher than expected 4Q `07 benefit expense ratio resulted from items that generally should not impact 2008." Defs.' Ex. 25 at 5; Comp. ¶ 63. DeVeydt further explained:
Id. When Braly and DeVeydt were asked to elaborate further on their confidence that the benefit expense ratio would fall in 2008, Braly explained that there had been some system migration but that WellPoint had increased its claims processing timeliness and had better transparency with regard to reserves as a result of a focus on excellent service. Defs.' Ex. 25 at 8; Compl. ¶ 65. DeVeydt was more specific, explaining that a slowdown in claims processing had occurred in 2007 as a result of the company's migration of systems. Defs.' Ex. 25 at 8. He explained that the company's ability to pay down some of its backlog in the fourth quarter of 2007 along with some other changes, however, had allowed for more transparency surrounding the reserves. Id. He stated, "I would say I feel very confident that we've got our reserves at that high single digit level they've been at historically and that we're going to start the new year off very strong." He added, however, "But these types of items do occur." Id.
In discussing the Company's reserves for medical costs, DeVeydt stated, "One of the things that we've met with the actuaries on and talked about is the fact that we want to ensure that when we go into `08, that we go in with great confidence, that we're not going to fall short. It's still an estimate. I can't tell you that it's going to be exactly 100% right. It could be a little over, it could be a little under. But at this point in time we're still looking at it. The other thing is, our cycle time has really shrunk between when we're receiving the claims and when we're paying it. And that's part of our initiative to drive better customer service." Defs.' Ex. 25 at 14-15; Compl. ¶ 67. Braly added, "Well, also, we do have fewer claims processing systems now than we had at the end of `06. And
An analyst from Morgan Stanley asked DeVeydt about the possibility of having to reprice later on in the year given that medical trends had come in higher than expected in 2007 causing the company to increase its reserves for that year. Defs.' Ex. 25 at 13; Compl. ¶ 66. DeVeydt admitted that the "medical trend was slightly higher than ... expected [in 2007]" but explained that he was very confident in WellPoint's pricing for 2008. Id.
Another analyst asked Braly and DeVeydt about WellPoint's system migration process in 2007 versus the plan for 2008. Defs.' Ex. 28 at 18; Compl. ¶ 69. Braly explained that there had been "quite a bit of migration movement over '06 and '07.... we had some flawless execution around those migrations. So our plan is to continue to migrate in the way that we have with the process improvement so we are doing so slowly and cautiously and making good decisions around each element of the process ...". Id. DeVeydt repeated Braly's views on continuing the systems migration. Id.
An analyst from Deutsche Bank asked how DeVeydt was approaching its projections given the slowing economy at the time. Defs.' Ex. 21-22; Compl. ¶ 70. DeVeydt responded as follows:
Id.
WellPoint also repeated warnings with regard to its estimates, however, that the company was only three weeks into the new year, that estimates may not be "exactly 100% right," that "you get better data as the year goes on," the economic downturn could continue, that the company was still migrating multiple IT systems, and that the company's agreement with Connecticut Medicaid would expire in February. Defs.' Ex. 25 at 15, 16, 18, 22. In addition, as it had in the Press Release, the transcript from the Earnings Conference Call finished with a section entitled, "Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995." Id. at 24-25.
On January 30, 2008, Michael Kleinman, WellPoint's Vice President of Investment Relations, participated in the Wachovia Healthcare Conference. Kleinman's presentation began with the usual cautionary words, that forward-looking statements would be made during the presentation and that those statements were "subject to
Again, the projection for a decreased benefit expense ratio was discussed. Defs.' Ex. 26 at 5; Compl. ¶ 73. Kleinman stated, "Year over year, the medical loss ratio did go up 120 basis points ... [W]e feel good going forward that we've got those issues under control." Id. Kleinman attributed the anticipated decrease in that metric to the loss of a very "high loss ratio" account and efforts to decrease expenses, including standardizing processes and eliminating certain levels of management. Defs.' Ex. 26 at 5. Kleinman explained that another contributing factor to the lower benefit expense ratio projection was the continuing systems migrations. He stated, "Part of the ways that we're driving cost out of the system is through consolidating systems.... Now we are standardizing our processes and are doing a very good job of coming down." Defs.' Ex. 26 at 5; Compl. ¶ 73. Kleinman said that the company expected to have three "base claims-processing systems [by] 2010-2011; and ultimately continue to move lower from there." Defs.' Ex. 26 at 5. He also provided what he described as an "oversimplified" explanation of the systems migration process. Id. In sum, with regard to the benefit expense ratio, Kleinman stated, "We have talked extensively about some of the issues that we had with particular states and about the actions that we've taken. So we feel good going forward that we've got those issues under control." Defs.' Ex. 26 at 7.
On February 21, 2008, Braly, DeVeydt, and Glasscock signed WellPoint's 2007 Form 10-K. Compl. ¶ 75.
With regard to WellPoint's benefit expense ratio, the 10-K included the following statement (as included in the Amended Complaint):
Compl. ¶ 75.
The 10-K did not revise any of the projections the company had issued in January, even though Plaintiff alleges that guidance was no longer viable in light of "a significant rise in medical costs and an unprofitable shift in new enrollment to Self-Funded members" up to that date. Compl. ¶ 77. Furthermore, Plaintiff alleges that WellPoint failed to disclose the fact that the company "lacked the ability to adequately forecast pricing trends and medical cost reserves because of its system integration issues, had significantly understated its medical cost reserves and priced its 2008 products at less profitable levels...". Id.
On March 10, 2008, WellPoint issued a press release entitled, "WellPoint Revises 2008 Earnings Per Share Guidance." Compl. ¶ 79; Defs.' Ex. 3. Once again, that Press Release opened with a safe harbor statement. Defs.' Ex. 3. WellPoint revised its forecast of $6.41 earnings per share to $5.76 to $6.01, assuming net realized investment gains of approximately $0.06 per share. Id. This amount still constituted an increase over the $5.56 per share reported for 2007. Id. The company also revised its 800,000 new member projection to 500,000 members and increased its forecasted benefit expense ratio from 81.6% to a range of 82.8 to 83.1 percent. Id.
WellPoint attributed the revisions to higher than expected medical costs, less favorable than expected prior year reserve development, lower than expected fully insured enrollment, and the changing economic environment. Id. The release included the following explanation from Angela Braly:
WellPoint also held a conference call on March 10 to discuss the revised guidance. During that Call, Braly addressed each of the reasons WellPoint provided for the company's revision of its guidance.
With regard to higher than expected medical costs, Braly explained that, "while [WellPoint] continue[d] to have favorable reserve development for the first two months of 2008, it was still less than [their] targeted level," meaning that the original trend assumptions for 2008 were understated. Defs.' Ex. 27. Braly explained that the higher medical costs had impacted a number of WellPoint's product lines. Id. When it was DeVeydt's turn to speak, he explained, "A primary driver of this increase is related to increased medical trend; a portion is due to the underwriting results in our Senior products; part is related to the California state-sponsored revenue reduction; while the remainder of the increase is related to business mix as individual business becomes a small portion of our revenue base." Id. He admitted that, "it is generally in most markets where we missed the trend for 2008." Id. In the same vein, Braly admitted, "When we looked at where the trend was in December, we did make adjustments in our completion factors, thinking that would be
Plaintiff filed her original complaint on March 18, 2008. Her Amended Complaint [Docket No. 68], asserts a six week putative class from January 23, 2008 to March 10, 2008. Compl. ¶ 112. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants knew or recklessly disregarded that statements within the January 23 Press Release, the January 23 Conference Call, the January 30 Presentation, and the 2007 Form 10-K were false and misleading. Compl. ¶ 78. The Amended Complaint indicates that evidence of this knowledge may be found in ¶¶ 5-9, 12-18, 36-54, 78(a-j), 86-101. In addition to certain stock sales by Defendant Glasscock that Plaintiff characterizes as "suspicious,"
As mentioned previously, as WellPoint had acquired companies in the past, it had also acquired various unintegrated data processing systems—an apparent headache for the company. In mid-2007, WellPoint sought to create an integrated and centralized data depository. Compl. ¶ 6. According to the Amended Complaint, this data depository encountered several challenges throughout 2007 and into the first quarter of 2008. Id. The project had not moved beyond its "infant stages" by the start of the Class Period. Id. ¶¶ 6, 78(b). In fact, CW 6 claims that as of January 2008, the company was still operating on at least 13-14 different unintegrated "stand-alone" systems. Compl. ¶ 78(b). Moreover, according to CW 2, CW 7, and CW 12, at least eight companies acquired before 2004, all with their own data warehouses, processes and procedures for data collection, storage, analysis, and reporting, had not been integrated into WellPoint's information system. Id.
Plaintiff alleges that one consequence of WellPoint's inability to integrate all of these systems was the impact it had on company's ability to timely and accurately process current medical claims. Id. at 7. As a result, WellPoint allegedly had a significant increase in its medical claims backlog by January 2008. Id. at 7, 39, 40, 49, 78(e-g). In fact, by the time CW 4 left the company in September 2008, the processing department where he worked was just finishing processing claims received in July of that year. Id. ¶ 78(h). Weekly reports reflected this increase and WellPoint's Suspended Claims group identified a backlog of thousands of claims in January 2008 that had been denied in late 2007. Id. at ¶ 14; 40, 45, 78(g-h). WellPoint also experienced an increase in returned claims that had been submitted to CMS for reimbursement due to computer and submission errors. Id. at 14. As a result, WellPoint had to write off millions of dollars in late 2007 or early 2008. Id. at 14, 49, 78(e-f). Plaintiff's CW 14 avers that this issue was communicated directly to DeVeydt. Id. ¶ 14, 49.
According to Plaintiff, WellPoint's medical claims cost trends began to deteriorate in late 2006/early 2007. In response to this problem, WellPoint's CEO Braly to announce a new reorganization strategy at WellPoint beginning in 2008, in an attempt to control the increasing cost of care. Id. at ¶¶ 8, 16, 44, 78(i).
Plaintiff alleges that WellPoint's problems with systems integration and lack of visibility into claims data or medical cost trends made the company unable to accurately forecast medical reserves or the benefit expense ratio, or to accurately price its product.
In addition to the company's difficulties with system integration and its medical claims cost trends, WellPoint's business
Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Braly admitted knowledge that WellPoint could not achieve its 2008 guidance at a WellPoint managers meeting in mid-February 2008. At the meeting, Braly told attendees that they would hear "rumors" about "issues" that WellPoint was going to announce to the public. Compl. ¶¶ 18, 54. According to Plaintiff's CW 19, Defendant Braly urged the attendees not to engage in such rumors but to wait until the issues were properly disclosed to the public. Id. ¶ 54.
In sum, it is knowledge of these facts, that WellPoint was experiencing (1) system integration problems; (2) claims processing problems; (3) growing claims backlog; (4) lack of visibility into claims data; (5) inability to adequately calculate IBNR claims; (6) inability to establish adequate reserves; (7) problems in adequately pricing products; (8) a rising benefit expense ratio; and (9) a continuing shift in membership away from its more profitable fully-insured products toward the less profitable self-funded ones, as well as Braly's management meeting comment and Defendant Glasscock's allegedly suspiciously timed stock sales, that Plaintiff argues demonstrate scienter on behalf of Defendants. Defendants deny these allegations but seek dismissal of the Complaint for its pleading deficiencies.
Plaintiff's claims assert violations of § 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and § 20(a) of the Exchange Act, alleging control person liability of Braly, DeVeydt, and Glasscock. The standards of review applicable to Plaintiff's claims are drawn from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 9(b) and 12(b)(6), as well as the PSLRA, 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(b).
Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act states, in relevant part, that:
15 U.S.C. § 78j(b). SEC Rule 10b-5, promulgated pursuant to Section 10(b), makes it unlawful:
17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5. As the Supreme Court reiterated in Stoneridge Investment Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., Rule 10b-5 only encompasses conduct already prohibited by § 10(b) of the Exchange Act, and a private right of action for § 10(b) violations is implied in the words of the statute and regulation. 552 U.S. 148, 155, 128 S.Ct. 761, 169 L.Ed.2d 627 (2008). In order to successfully assert a violation of § 10(b), a plaintiff must allege (and ultimately prove) the following six elements: (1) a material misrepresentation or omission by the defendant; (2) scienter; (3) a connection between the misrepresentation or omission and the purchase or sale of a security; (4) reliance upon the misrepresentation or omission; (5) economic loss; and (6) loss causation. Id. (citing Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo, 544 U.S. 336, 341-42, 125 S.Ct. 1627, 161 L.Ed.2d 577 (2005)).
A motion to dismiss filed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6)—including one in which the pleading standards are heightened by Rule 9(b) and the PSLRA—requires the Court to treat all well-pleaded facts as true and draw all reasonable inferences from those facts in favor of the plaintiff. See Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd. v. Tellabs Inc., 513 F.3d 702, 705 (7th Cir.2008) (citing Borsellino v. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., 477 F.3d 502, 506-07 (7th Cir.2007)). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) governs pleading requirements in fraud actions generally, providing that "[i]n alleging fraud or mistake, a party must state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake." Fed.R.Civ.P. 9(b). This mandated heightened pleading requirement responds "to the great harm to the reputation of a business firm or other enterprise a fraud claim can do." Borsellino, 477 F.3d at 507 (internal quotation marks omitted). Therefore, a plaintiff "`claiming fraud ... must do more pre-complaint investigation to assure that the claim is responsible and supported, rather than defamatory and extortionate.' ... A complaint alleging fraud must provide ... `the who, what, when, where, and how.'" Id. (quoting Payton v. Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Med. Ctr., 184 F.3d 623, 627 (7th Cir.1999)).
In addition to these particularity requirements of Rule 9(b), the PSLRA further heightens the pleading standard for plaintiffs alleging securities fraud claims. This heightened pleading standard is meant to require plaintiffs to do more than the usual investigation before filing a complaint. The Act requires that, if a plaintiff alleges that the defendant either made an untrue statement of material fact or failed to state a material fact necessary in order to keep statements from being misleading, the plaintiff must "specify each statement alleged to have been misleading, the reason or reasons why the statement is misleading, and, if an allegation regarding the statement or omission is made on information and belief, the complaint shall state with particularity all facts on which that belief is formed." 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(b)(1). In addition, a plaintiff must, "with respect to each act or omission, ... state with particularity facts giving rise to a strong inference that the defendant acted with the required state of mind." 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(b)(2).
Defendants assert two primary arguments for dismissal of Plaintiff's 10(b) claim against all Defendants: first, that
As mentioned above, one of the heightened pleading standards in securities fraud cases is that a plaintiff must, "with respect to each act or omission, ... state with particularity facts giving rise to a strong inference that the defendant acted with the required state of mind." 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(b)(2). The Supreme Court has interpreted the term "strong inference" to mean "more than merely plausible or reasonable—it must be cogent and at least as compelling as any opposing inference of nonfraudulent intent." Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 314, 127 S.Ct. 2499, 168 L.Ed.2d 179 (2007). The Court explained further that in determining scienter, "courts must consider the complaint in its entirety," as well as judicially noticed documents and documents incorporated by reference into the complaint; "[t]he inquiry ... is whether all of the facts alleged, taken collectively, give rise to a strong inference of scienter, not whether any individual allegation, scrutinized in isolation, meets that standard." Id. at 322-23, 127 S.Ct. 2499. Moreover, the Court is directed to engage in a "comparative inquiry," ... "tak[ing] into account opposing inferences." Id. That required state of mind is recklessness
The Seventh Circuit has "rejected the `group pleading doctrine,' a judicial presumption that statements in group-published documents are attributable to officers who have daily involvement in company operations; thus, the plaintiffs must create a strong inference of scienter with respect to each individual defendant." Pugh v. Tribune Co., 521 F.3d 686, 693-94 (7th Cir.2008) (citing Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd. v. Tellabs, Inc., 513 F.3d 702, 710 (7th Cir.2008)). However, a defendant's position within a company is not irrelevant. Desai v. General Growth Prop. Inc., 654 F.Supp.2d 836, 860 (N.D.Ill.2009). "While a court cannot `presume' scienter, a strong inference of scienter may ... be credited where `it is almost inconceivable' that an individual would be unaware of the matters at issue [by virtue of the individual's position.]" Id.
Plaintiff's Amended Complaint explains that evidence of Defendants' scienter is alleged in ¶¶ 5-9, 12-18, 36-54, 78 (a-j), 86-101. These paragraphs are apparently supposed to be applied to the statements included in paragraphs 55-78, those that Plaintiff entitles, "Defendants' Materially False and Misleading Statement Made During the Class Period."
The largest deficiency in the Amended Complaint is that the vast majority of Plaintiff's purported allegations regarding scienter are actually allegations that attempt to show the falsity of the statements at issue. Although Plaintiff does throw in an occasional reference to Defendants' awareness of certain problems, there is actually very little discussion devoted to any disregarded risk of falsity. In Paragraphs 5-9, for example, rather than making statements regarding any particular defendant's knowledge, Plaintiff alleges WellPoint's problems with its information technology systems and consequences of those problems. In fact, the only reference whatsoever to a defendant's knowledge within these paragraphs is the single sentence, "Aware of [a deterioration of WellPoint's medical claims cost trends] Chief Executive Officer ... Braly internally announced plans to reorganize WellPoint in an attempt to control the increasing cost of care, beginning in 2008." Compl. ¶ 8.
Likewise, the vast majority of Plaintiff's 19 CWs (allegations in paragraphs 36-54) apparently have nothing to say regarding any specific Defendant's knowledge.
The next deficiency in Plaintiff's allegations is that much of the "evidence" that Plaintiff relies upon to create its "strong inference of scienter" are steps taken by the Company to mitigate challenges that Plaintiff alleges Defendants knew the Company was facing. For instance, the allegation in Paragraph 8 regarding Braly's announcement to reorganize the company in an attempt to control the increasing cost of care does not imply knowledge that Braly knew that any of her January 23 statements were false. To the contrary, this statement shows that, despite knowledge of a problem with the cost trends in the past, Braly had initiated plans that could potentially mitigate that problem beginning in 2008. The same problem arises in connection with Plaintiff's allegation that "defendants knew, based, in part on their recent experience in 4Q07, that their inability to accurately forecast medical claims resulted in their understating 2008 medical cost reserves." Compl. ¶ 15. As evidence, Plaintiff claims that Braly sought to remedy the problem by extending the company's forecast out from six to eleven months. Compl. ¶ 15. Braly's attempt to improve the accuracy of WellPoint's medical claims forecasting certainly does not create a "strong inference" that she recklessly disregarded the falsity of her statements on January 23. Furthermore, "drawing an inference from such facts does not comport with Federal Rule of Evidence 407, which provides that subsequent remedial measures may not be used as evidence of liability." Pugh v. Tribune Co., 521 F.3d 686, 695 (7th Cir. 2008).
Some of Plaintiff's allegations appear to allege that each of the Defendants must be charged with knowledge of certain problems at WellPoint because of their positions at the company. See, e.g. Compl. ¶¶ 30-34. But none of WellPoint's alleged problems—(1) system integration problems; (2) claims processing problems; (3) growing claims backlog; (4) lack of visibility into claims data; (5) inability to adequately calculate IBNR claims; (6) inability to establish adequate reserves; (7) problems in adequately pricing products; (8) a rising benefit expense ratio; and (9) adverse business mix shift—rise to the level of a "deep and pervasive corporate illness" such that Plaintiff could argue that Defendants were reckless in not knowing about them solely by virtue of the Defendants'
The allegations in Paragraphs 78(a-j) and 86-101 suffer from the same deficiencies as earlier paragraphs, although we appreciate Plaintiff's attempt to splice its generalized allegations of the alleged troubles at WellPoint with the corroborating evidence offered by CWs. Paragraph 78 begins, "Defendants knew, but failed to disclose ... the following adverse facts." But providing such an opening does not provide the type of particularized allegations of scienter required here. The allegations in Paragraphs 86-101, which Plaintiff has entitled "Additional Scienter Allegations," are not truly additional. Rather, Plaintiff has repeated the same allegations of what Defendants may have known at some point in the past or during the Class Period (as opposed to at the time the alleged misstatements were made) and of remedial measures taken by the company "in order to clarify the forecasting process and avoid future forecast misses" or to "control the increasing cost of care."
Plaintiff also includes allegations regarding Glasscock's fortuitous stock sales as support of scienter. It is well settled that "insider trading may constitute circumstantial evidence of scienter. However, because executives sell stock all the time, the stock sales must be `unusual or suspicious.'" In re Harley-Davidson, Inc. Secs. Litig., 660 F.Supp.2d 969, 1000 (E.D.Wis.2009) (emphasis in original). "In order to rise to the level of `unusual' or `suspicious,' the insider trading must be `dramatically out of line with prior trading practices at times calculated to maximize the personal benefit from undisclosed inside information.'" Johnson v. Tellabs, Inc., 262 F.Supp.2d 937, 956 (N.D.Ill.2003)(quoting In re Silicon Graphics Inc. Sec. Litig., 183 F.3d 970, 986 (9th Cir.1999)).
Plaintiff alleges that Glasscock's sale of 6.59% of his stock (including options),
Finally, the Amended Complaint very rarely attempts to allege any particular knowledge on the part any particular Defendant. Rather, the allegations are made collectively against "Defendants." Beyond the instances already discussed herein, i.e. the write-off that DeVeydt was allegedly informed of, Braly's actions to mitigate problems at the Company and her announcement at the mid-February managers meeting, and Glasscock's stock sales, there is hardly any accusation directed specifically toward any of the individual Defendants.
For these reasons, we find that Plaintiff has failed to create a strong inference that any Defendant was reckless as to the falsity of the alleged misstatements. Because we have found that Plaintiff has failed to allege liability on the part of any individual Defendant, there is no liability to impute to WellPoint. See In re Harley-Davidson, Inc. Secs. Litig., 660 F.Supp.2d at 1003 (citations omitted).
Even if Plaintiff had fulfilled her burden of establishing a strong inference of recklessness on the part of Defendants, the vast majority of Defendants' statements would be protected under the safe harbor provision of the PSLRA. Under the PSLRA safe harbor, a person may not be liable for a forward-looking statement where the statement is (i) identified as forward-looking and accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statement; or (ii) immaterial; or (iii) made without actual knowledge. 15 U.S.C. § 78u-5(c)(1).
With the exception of portions of the statements in Paragraphs 61, 62, 65, 67-70, 73,
Although we have few doubts that WellPoint's forward-looking statement would be considered meaningful cautionary language,
Section 20(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act provides, in relevant part:
15 U.S.C. § 78t(a). Accordingly, a claim pursuant to § 20(a) is cognizable only where there has been an underlying primary violation of the Exchange Act. Because Plaintiff has not adequately alleged such a violation, their § 20(a) claim necessarily fails. See Davis v. SPSS, Inc., 431 F.Supp.2d 823, 833 (N.D.Ill.2006).
For the reasons outlined herein, Plaintiff's Amended Complaint fails to satisfy the heightened pleading standard of the PSLRA. Therefore, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint is GRANTED, without prejudice. Plaintiff is allowed 45 days within which to seek leave to amend its Complaint to conform to these rulings. Failure to do so within the allotted time shall result in the entry of final judgment with prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
The Court did not reference any of the contested exhibits offered in resolving Defendants' Motion, namely, Defendants' Exhibits 5-17, or Exhibits 28-32 attached to Defendants' Supplemental Motion for Judicial Notice. [Docket No. 83]. Thus, these requests are DENIED AS MOOT.
Concurrent with their Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss [Docket No. 76], Plaintiff filed her own Motion for Judicial Notice with 22 corresponding exhibits. [Docket No. 79]. Although Defendants did not respond to this Motion, this request is also DENIED AS MOOT, given that the Court did not refer to any of these exhibits to resolve Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint.
