
Align Technology (NSDQ:ALGN) announced this month that a California district court again dismissed a shareholder lawsuit, this time with prejudice.
A judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California again shot down a complaint filed in 2012 by the Michigan-based City of Dearborn Heights Act 345 Police & Fire Retirement System, which had accused the dental devices maker and its leaders of insider trading.
The lawsuit was originally dismissed in December 2013 when the court ruled that the plaintiff failed to state a claim. U.S. District Judge William Orrick ruled at the time that the plaintiffs never accused Align or its leadership of any willful misconduct and that the lawsuit failed to specify how any of the challenged financial statements were specifically false or misleading.
Last week U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted Align’s motion to dismiss after finding again that the plaintiffs failed to make their case, court documents show.
The lawsuit accused the company violating securities laws by concealing goodwill impairments, adding that Align CEO Thomas Prescott and CFO Kenneth Arola earned more than $52 million through insider deals. The complaint stemmed from Align’s 2011 $187.6 million cash acquisition of Cadent Holdings, maker of digital scanning products.
The City of Dearborn Heights Act 345 Police & Fire Retirement System may still file appeal the court’s latest dismissal within 30 days of the ruling.