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Law360, New York (April 7, 2015, 8:03 PM ET) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. asked a New York federal court Monday to dismiss a putative class action over subsidiary Wal-Mex's alleged bribery of officials in Mexico, saying the shareholder suit is time-barred and Wal-Mart did not “control” the subsidiary under securities law.
The company put forth a number of reasons why the suit over Wal-Mex American depositary shares, or ADRs, should not proceed, including a two-year statute of limitations that allegedly has expired and the contention that Wal-Mart is not in control of Wal-Mex under the law.
“Plaintiff’s 'control' theory, if accepted by this court, would overturn a century of cases holding that a corporate parent is not liable for the supposed conduct of its subsidiaries,” the defendants said.
They also said the alleged misstatements or omissions by Wal-Mart were, by definition, not made “in connection with” the sale of Wal-Mex ADRs.
“The specific Wal-Mart statement upon which plaintiff relies … does not anywhere mention Wal-Mex or Mexico, and was not otherwise directed towards Wal-Mex investors,” the filing said.
The controlling complaint in the suit says that the ADRs fell almost 16 percent in the first two business days after the April 2012 publication of a New York Times article that said that officials at the company's Mexico subsidiary had engaged in bribery in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
The complaint says that the alleged bribe activity in Mexico went against the company's published governance and anti-corruption policies, which included statements like, "At Wal-Mart de Mexico, we follow the most rigorous principles of corporate governance and transparency."
The suit over Wal-Mart ADRs is being litigated amid other Mexico bribery claims against the retailer.
In September, an Arkansas federal judge denied a bid by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its former CEO to dismiss a different proposed class action that also alleged the retailer concealed Mexican bribery allegations from shareholders. In that suit, U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey ruled that claims that Wal-Mart intentionally withheld the information from a regulatory filing were "plausible."
Judge Hickey denied a motion to dismiss brought by Wal-Mart and former CEO Michael Duke, also passing on Wal-Mart's objections to a magistrate's judge's May report that recommended the lawsuit against the retailer go forward.
The ruling deals with a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission form that Wal-Mart filed Dec. 8, 2011. The form disclosed that the company investigated alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, but plaintiffs say it was misleading because it did not mention that Wal-Mart became aware of these allegations in 2005 and conducted an internal investigation into them in 2006.
The lawsuit, brought by a Pontiac, Michigan-based pension fund, stems from the 2012 report by The New York Times.
When it was published, the Times story set off a firestorm for Wal-Mart, causing the biggest drop in the company's shares in years and sparking multiple investigations by U.S. and Mexican authorities, the pension fund said, adding that Wal-Mart also faces several billion dollars' worth of legal fees and potential enforcement penalties.
In another suit, investors called for sanctions in December in a Delaware Chancery Court suit, saying Wal-Mart ignored a court order to turn over all relevant internal files on what its directors knew about the possibility its officials handed out bribes in exchange for helping it set up shop in Mexico.
The Indiana Electrical Workers Pension Trust Fund asked the court to find Wal-Mart in civil contempt for its continuing failure to produce all the documents ordered by the court, saying its production still suffered from missing documents and overbroad redactions. The pension fund asked the court to sanction Wal-Mart $1 million plus $10,000 per day until it fully complied with the court's final order.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. shareholders in June rejected calls for an independent chairman and approved a lucrative executive compensation package, despite criticism that the retail giant hasn't divulged enough information about the bribery investigations.
In its annual report released in March 2014, it said it's shelled out $439 million over the past two years on investigations related to possible FCPA violations in Mexico, China, Brazil and India.
Plaintiffs Carys Egleston and Michael Fogel are represented by Thomas McKenna of Gainey McKenna & Egleston.
The defendants are represented by Jonathan Dickey of Gibson Dunn.
The case is Fogel v. Vega, case number 1:13-cv-02282, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
--Additional reporting by Jonathan Randles, Allissa Wickham and Khadijah M. Britton. Editing by Jeremy Barker
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