Shareholder Plaintiffs Appealing Dismissal of Their Fraud Complaint Against WBD

The lead plaintiff shareholders in the securities fraud suit against Warner Bros. Discovery are appealing the judge’s Feb. 5 dismissal of their case to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Appeals Court (see 2402060059), said their notice of appeal Monday (docket 1:22-cv-08171) in U.S. District Court for Southern New York in Manhattan. The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio alleged that false and misleading statements about streaming subscriptions were in the offering materials that preceded Discovery’s transaction with WarnerMedia from which WBD emerged. But U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni ruled that the plaintiffs haven’t “adequately alleged any actionable statements or omissions” under sections 11 or 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act. The merger offering documents “accurately explained the methodology WarnerMedia and Discovery used for calculating the number of subscribers to their streaming platforms,” said her order.