On August 4, 2017, Lead Plaintiffs moved for preliminary approval of a settlement in the Bach v. Amedisys, Inc. securities fraud class action litigation pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. Subject to Court approval of the settlement, Amedisys and its insurance carriers will pay $43.75 million for the benefit of the Class in exchange for a dismissal with prejudice of the litigation. The parties reached the settlement on behalf of a Class of all persons and entities who or which purchased the publicly traded common stock of Amedisys during the period from August 2, 2005 through September 30, 2011, inclusive and were damaged thereby.
The litigation concerned Lead Plaintiffs’ allegations that Amedisys hid a Medicare fraud scheme by which Amedisys improperly inflated Medicare reimbursements by pressuring and intimidating nurses and therapists to provide unnecessary treatment to trigger higher fees. Lead Plaintiffs alleged that while committing this alleged Medicare fraud, Amedisys made several false and misleading statements that artificially inflated the price of the company’s stock.
This settlement was achieved after almost seven years of significant litigation, including successfully appealing the district court’s initial order of dismissal to the Fifth Circuit, and defeating defendants’ motion to dismiss Lead Plaintiffs' amended complaint.
The District Court has not yet scheduled a hearing to consider approval of the proposed settlement.