Investors Secure $39 Million Settlement in HP Securities Fraud Class Action

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP secured final approval of a $39 million settlement in a securities fraud class action against HP Inc. and certain of its executives. Robbins Geller achieved this result after successfully reinstating the case on appeal after the district court initially granted defendants’ motion to dismiss, defeating a renewed motion to dismiss, and while the case was on appeal for a second time.

The litigation arose from allegations that HP and its executives concealed deteriorating financial performance and inflated inventory. The alleged scheme was revealed in a September 2020 SEC Order outlining the alleged conduct. The district court dismissed the case on statute of limitations grounds. But in a published decision, York County on Behalf of the County of York Retirement Fund v. HP, Inc., 65 F.4th 459 (9th Cir. 2023), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court and clarified important standards governing how statutes of limitations apply in federal securities class actions.  The Ninth Circuit found that plaintiffs “could not have discovered the facts necessary to plead its claims until after the publication” of the SEC Order, and that HP had “failed to meet its burden to show that Maryland Electrical discovered the facts constituting its claims more than two years prior to the filing of its complaint.” After the case was remanded to the district court, Robbins Geller defeated defendants’ renewed motion to dismiss.

Robbins Geller attorneys Darren Robbins, Darryl J. Alvarado, Rachel A. Cocalis, and T. Alex B. Folkerth achieved this result on behalf of lead plaintiff Maryland Electrical Industry Pension Fund and the class. Partner Steven F. Hubachek argued the appeal before the Ninth Circuit.

York County on Behalf of the County of York Retirement Fund v. HP Inc., No. 4:20-cv-07835 (N.D. Cal.).