Pomerantz Partner Austin P. Van focuses his practice on high-profile securities class actions. He leads the Firm's case against cloud computing company Citrix Systems, Inc., in which he has obtained preliminary approval for a $17.5 million settlement. The case alleges that Citrix provided false financial projections which misled shareholders about the company's true value, leading them to approve the sale of the company to Vista Equity Partners and Elliott Investment Management for $104 per share— well below the company’s actual worth. The suit also alleges that throughout the sale process Citrix’s board of directors had numerous conflicts of interest, with several board members having ties to Elliott, one of the bidders for the company.
Austin also secured preliminary approval of a $24.9 million settlement in a securities class action against ATI Physical Therapy, one of the nation’s largest providers of outpatient physical therapy services. The suit alleges that ATI misled investors about the company’s ability to retain physical therapists, who were essential to ATI’s capacity to serve its patients and critical to the company’s financial condition and growth. Disclosures in July and October 2021 revealed that ATI was in fact suffering from severe attrition among its physical therapists – at a rate of more than twice the industry average – which crippled its ability to meet patient demand, leading to a decline in share price and substantial investor losses.
Austin led Pomerantz’s securities class action against TechnipFMC, an oil and gas services provider. He uncovered the theory of this case: that TechnipFMC massively overstated its net income in its initial registration statement due to its use of incorrect foreign exchange rates. Austin successfully argued at oral argument in 2018 that the Court should deny defendants’ motion to dismiss the central claim in the matter. In 2019, Austin successfully argued Lead Plaintiff ’s motion for class certification and in 2020, the case was settled for approximately $20 million.
Austin led a successful securities class action at Pomerantz against Rockwell Medical, Inc. and served as Co-Lead Counsel on the matter with another firm. Austin extensively investigated the facts of this case and drafted the operative complaint. At a pre-motion conference for defendants’ motion to dismiss, District Judge Allyne R. Ross stated: “based on what I have reviewed, it is virtually inconceivable to me that the consolidated amended complaint could possibly be dismissed on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion or a Rule 9(b) motion.” Defendants declined to even move to dismiss the complaint and settled the case in 2019 for $3.7 million—a highly favorable settlement for the Class.
In 2020, Austin was named by Law360 as an MVP in Securities Litigation, an honor bestowed upon no more than six securities litigation attorneys nationwide each year. He has also been recognized by Lawdragon as a Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer and has been named as a Recommended Lawyer by The Legal 500.
Updated Oct 2024
