Wellpoint Class Action

Anthem, Inc. (n/k/a WellPoint, Inc.)

Summary: In December 2005, the case was transferred from the U.S. District Court for the Northern Ohio to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. On January 31, 2006, a Second Amended Class Action Complaint For Money Damages And For Injunctive And Other Equitable Relief was filed. The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of former members of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. ("Anthem Insurance") who received cash compensation in or about December 2001 when Anthem Insurance converted from a mutual to a stock insurance company. The conversion took place on November 2, 2001. The class action lawsuit alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Indiana statutes, breach of fiduciary duty and contract, unjust enrichment and negligence.
Specifically, the suit alleges Defendants made material misrepresentations and omitted material facts in documents sent to members who approved the conversion. To raise the cash needed to compensate former members for their interests, Anthem stock was sold in an initial public offering ("IPO") on October 30, 2001. Defendants reduced the price at which the IPO shares would be offered in order to sell almost twice as many shares as had been represented would be sold, thus raising almost twice as much cash. Defendants then allegedly took advantage of the cash compensation default mechanism in the Plan of Conversion and prevented hundreds of thousands of members from becoming Anthem shareholders. Defendants allegedly devised the scheme to save costs and avoid complexities associated with a large shareholder population. Since the cash compensation paid to former members was tied to the allegedly depressed IPO share price, all former members who were paid cash are alleged to have received inadequate compensation. In addition, Anthem and Anthem Insurance allegedly misinformed former members that the entire cash compensation was taxable capital gain income.

COMPANY/ISSUER NAME: Anthem, Inc.
COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER: WLP
COMPANY WEBSITE: http://www.anthem.com
FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE
Daniel J. Cescato, et al. v. Anthem, Inc., et al.
COURT: N.D. Ohio DOCKET NUMBER: 05-CV-02004
JUDGE NAME: Hon. Dan Aaron Polster
DATE FILED: 08/16/2005
SOURCE: Notice of Filing
CLASS PERIOD START: 11/02/2001 CLASS PERIOD END: 11/02/2001
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Unamended/Unconsolidated
PLAINTIFF FIRMS IN THIS OR SIMILAR CASE:
# Dennis P. Barron
P.O. Box 8190, Cincinnati, OH, 45208
(voice) (513) 871-2369, (fax) (513) 871-2369, dennispbarron@aol.com
_____________________________________________
TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 1
DOCUMENTS FOR THE REFERENCE COMPLAINT
Second Amended Class Action Complaint For Money Damages And For Injunctive And Other Equitable Relief
Type: Complaint Date on the document: 01/31/2006
Order Appointing Lead Plaintiff And Counsel
Type: Order Date on the document: 06/16/2006
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket Date on the document: 06/16/2006
Info source: http://securities.stanford.edu/1035/WLP_01/

10.23.2007.