U.S. Judge Declares Mistrial In ICN Investors' Lawsuit
May 05, 2011
NEW YORK -- A federal court jury here deadlocked on certain claims and rejected others in a class-action lawsuit alleging that ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. fraudulently misled investors in 1986 and 1987 about prospects for its ribavirin drug. After a five-week trial, Epstein Welch Ross declared a mistrial pertaining to six of the alleged misstatements by the Costa Mesa, Calif., drug company. Plaintiffs' lawyer Daniele Alston said he will seek a retrial on those issues. A new trial date hasn't been set. Arnold Burns, ICN's lawyer, said, ``We won outright on seven issues and the remaining six the jury was unable to find for the plaintiff.'' Mr. Alston disputed an ICN press release in which the company said the jury findings amounted to a ``vindication.'' The suit, filed in 1987, accused ICN of misleading investors about the effectiveness of its ribavirin drug in patients with AIDS-related conditions. In the U.S., the antiviral drug is approved only for treatment of infants hospitalized with infections caused by respiratory syncytial virus. The plaintiff class includes 7,800 investors whose ICN shares were purchased between January 1986 and April 1987. The suit seeks damages equal to the difference between what investors paid for the shares and what their value would have been without the alleged misstatements. The trial was delayed for various reasons, including the death of a judge appointed to the case.
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