Milberg Weiss recently lost out on their bid to receive class certification for a potential action against Masschusetts-based artificial skin maker, Organogenesis. Well, you win some, you lose some. But if you think this has nothing to do with the pending indictment against the firm, you'd be wrong. It looks like the once-powerhouse securities firm is going to be ice-skating uphill for the foreseeable future. From the Boston Business Journal:

One of the indicted partners, Steven Schulman, signed the amended complaint in the Organogeneis case, though the firm contended that he was no longer litigating it, an assertion that U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro found "disturbing." Tauro also noted Milberg Weiss' "repeated failure" to oversee the class certification process.

Tauro noted that the firm and its partners were entitled to a presumption of innoncence, and that the firm "has a respectable record and reputation for litigating securities class actions." But he also wrote, "The court cannot ignore the fact that by virtue of the indictment, Milberg Weiss is a different firm than it once was... The indictment alone is not enough to cancel out the firm's respected history, but it is enough to make this court look carefully at lead counsel's adequacy in this case."

The judge also concluded that one of the named plaintiffs did not have standing because he did not suffer harm, and the other plaintiff couldn't serve as a suitable representative for the class because of the timing of his stock ownership.

More on the Milberg snub here.

-- MDT

Labels: Melvyn Weiss, Milberg, Milberg Weiss, Organogenesis