A New York litigation team from international law firm McDermott Will & Emery has secured a decisive win for Argo Blockchain plc, a publicly traded cryptocurrency mining company in a securities class action lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. On October 9, 2024, the court granted the team’s motion to dismiss the amended class action complaint with prejudice and denied the plaintiff’s request for leave to replead Murphy v. Argo Blockchain plc, et al.

The plaintiff filed a securities class action lawsuit against Argo and its officers and directors, alleging claims under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. McDermott moved to dismiss on behalf of all defendants.

The Honorable Colleen McMahon, US District Judge for the Southern District of New York, ruled that the plaintiff failed to allege contemporaneous falsity and relied on nonactionable statements and recognized McDermott’s contention that the plaintiff did not provide sufficient facts to infer intent to deceive by any defendant.

In granting the Firm’s motion to dismiss, Judge McMahon noted: “I commend Defendants for doing what the court would otherwise have had to do – identify every statement that must be evaluated and the rules allegedly applicable to that evaluation. It is an ideal way to set up a motion to dismiss in a securities fraud case. It also makes it easier to evaluate Plaintiff’s response to the motion.”

The McDermott team was led by Joel Haims, with support from Christopher Whalen and Chenjia Zhu. Jack Langlois and Darren Azman were also involved.