Labaton Sucharow Recovers $42.5 Million for Investors in Intuitive Surgical Class Action

Labaton Sucharow, as lead counsel, has reached a $42.5 million settlement in a securities class action against Intuitive Surgical, the maker of the da Vinci Robotic Assisted Surgical System. The settlement was approved by Judge Edward J. Davila of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California on December 20, 2018.

The suit alleged that Intuitive violated the federal securities fraud laws by making materially false and misleading statements regarding the safety and efficacy of the da Vinci Surgical System and Intuitive’s compliance with FDA regulations.

At a preliminary settlement hearing in October 2018, Labaton Sucharow’s Jonathan Gardner noted “this was a case that was hard fought from the beginning to the end.” Over the course of the five-year litigation, the Firm’s team opposed the defendants’ multiple attempts to dismiss the case, including defeating motions to dismiss in 2014 and 2017. Labaton Sucharow was awaiting the court’s decision on the defendants’ motion for summary judgment when the parties agreed in principle to settle the claims. The court did not rule in favor of either plaintiffs or defendants.

The case is In re Intuitive Surgical Securities Litigation, No. 5:13-cv-01920 (N.D. Cal.). Labaton Sucharow represents class representatives Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii and Greater Pennsylvania Carpenters’ Pension Fund. The Labaton Sucharow team included partners Jonathan Gardner, Serena Hallowell, Christine Fox, Michael Canty, and Mark Arisohn, and associates Ted Hawkins and Alec Coquin.