Heather Speers

Cooley successfully secured a complete win on behalf of Beyond Inc. (formerly known as Overstock.com) and certain officers and directors, in In re Overstock Securities Litigation, when the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of all claims. The Cooley team included John Dwyer, Tijana Brien, Heather Spears, and Rebecca Ferrari.

Cooley secured a summary judgment with prejudice for Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (Aurinia), a Canada-based company focused on developing therapies to treat autoimmune diseases, in a securities class action challenging numerous public statements made over a period of nine months. The Cooley team was led by securities litigation and enforcement partners Koji Fukumura and Ryan Blair, with support from associates Heather Speers, Matt Martinez and Jessica Taylor. The case is Michael J. Ortmann v. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Inc. et al. (Case No.: 22-1335-BAH).

Cooley successfully represented Allbirds, a global footwear and apparel brand with roots in New Zealand and headquarters in San Francisco, in a securities fraud class action lawsuit brought by investors.

Cooley secured the dismissal of a securities class action alleging that Overstock misled shareholders and manipulated the market to create a “short squeeze” when it announced a digital dividend that was part of the company’s planned transition from an exclusively-focused online retailer to a developer of blockchain technologies. The court granted dismissal with prejudice.

Cooley successfully defended Activision Blizzard and certain officers in a securities class action filed in the Central District of California alleging the company made false and misleading statements regarding the termination of its partnership with Bungie LLC and its future involvement with the Destiny video game franchise. The court ultimately granted our motion to dismiss and the plaintiff did not appeal the trial court’s ruling.