On May 28, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted final approval of the parties’ proposed settlement in In re iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 20-cv-3135 (S.D.N.Y.), a putative class action securities litigation against iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded Canadian cannabis company operating across the United States. Lead Plaintiff’s operative complaint alleged violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act relating to certain of iAnthus’s disclosures concerning its financing arrangements. Levine Lee represented iAnthus and certain former officers of the Company.

The settlement of this case followed a complex litigation. Before the settlement was ultimately reached, Levine Lee succeeded in obtaining a complete, widely covered dismissal of Lead Plaintiff’s original complaint (see, e.g., Law360, Anthus Dodges Investor Suit), based on the argument that Lead Plaintiff’s claims were impermissibly extraterrestrial under Supreme Court’s seminal decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank, 561 U.S. 247 (2010). Following an amended complaint and additional motion practice, the parties engaged in a mediation, leading to a full resolution and dismissal with prejudice of the matter. Notwithstanding that Lead Plaintiff had alleged hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, the settlement provided for a single payment of $2.9 million, fully funded by iAnthus’s insurance carrier. (See Law360, iAnthus Reports Settlement Deal).

Levine Lee was lead counsel for the Company in coordinating among and between the various defense counsel groups and interfacing with the company’s insurance carrier and its counsel.

Seth L. Levine, Chad P. Albert, and Steven W. Kessler worked on the matter.