Opinion
02 Civ. 3288 (DLC)
May 5, 2003
ORDER
By Order dated April 22, 2003, oral argument on the motions to dismiss filed in the actions consolidated as the In re WorldCom, Inc. Securities Litigation was scheduled for May 16, and the parties were informed that the Court would identify issues in which it has a particular interest hearing argued. At the May 16 oral argument the parties should be prepared to address the following:
(1) Whether there are only two elements for pleading a claim under Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78t(a) ("Section 20(a)"): an adequate pleading of a primary violation by a controlled person and direct or indirect control of the primary violator by the Section 20(a) defendant.
(2) Whether the pleading of the two elements identified in (1) above is governed by Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
(3) Whether pleading that a director signed an SEC filing is a sufficient allegation of control to state a claim pursuant to Section 20(a) where the corporation and its management who prepared the filing are the "controlled" persons, where the complaint has adequately pleaded violations of Section 10(b) by those controlled persons, and where the Section 10(b) claims are premised on misrepresentations and omissions in the SEC filings signed by the directors.
(4) Whether the additional named plaintiffs in the Consolidated Amended Complaint filed on October 11, 2002 are intended to serve as additional class representatives.
The parties are advised that it is the present intention of the Court that deposition discovery shall begin promptly following the decision on any motion for class certification.
It is hereby ORDERED that the parties to the Securities Litigation shall meet and confer prior to May 16, and be prepared to discuss at the May 16 conference the scheduling of the following:
1. Initial disclosures pursuant to Rule 26(a)(1), Fed.R.Civ.P.
2. Document discovery and initial interrogatories 3. Motion for class certification SO ORDERED: