Dental Company Patterson Loses Bid to Hold Investor Class at Bay

Patterson Cos. Inc. failed to convince a federal judge in Minnesota that it would suffer irreparable harm if the court refused to stay an investor suit while it appealed a class certification decision.

Investors who accuse the dental supply distribution giant of misleading them about a price-fixing scheme secured permission to proceed as a class in September.

Patterson asked for a stay while it appealed the certification, but the company also failed toshow a likelihood of success on the merits, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota said.

Patterson argued that its “petition raises an important, unsettled ...