Short Seller Gotham Asks Judge to Toss Grifols Defamation Suit

US short seller Gotham City Research asked a judge in New York to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of conspiring to drive down shares in Grifols SA.

The drug maker’s market capitalization has fallen by more than €3 billion ($3.15 billion) since Gotham published a report accusing the company of overstating its profits and understating its debt. Grifols, which has denied any wrongdoing, sued the short seller for defamation in January in Manhattan federal court.

Gotham, run by Daniel Yu and Cyrus de Weck, said in a Friday court filing that its report was based on their opinion ...