Advance Auto Parts Investor Loses Bid to Reopen Accounting Suit

Advance Auto Parts Inc. escaped a securities fraud lawsuit alleging former executives hid improper accounting practices to boost margins during a turnaround effort, an appellate court ruled.

The pension fund leading the case failed to allege a strong inference of the leaders’ intent or recklessness to deceive investors—or scienter, a required pleading for securities fraud claims—the US Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit said, affirming a lower court’s dismissal Tuesday.

The City of Southfield General Employees’ Retirement System didn’t sufficiently allege executives had a reason to know financial information was inaccurate when releasing results, Judge Albert Diaz said in ...