Merit Medical Investors Want Final Nod for $18.25 Million Deal

Merit Medical Systems Inc. investors who say it misled them about its purchases of two medical device manufacturers asked a federal judge in California to sign off on their $18.25 million settlement.

The cash deal recovers between 12% and 55% of maximum realistic damages if the case were to go to trial, the disposable medical device maker’s investors said in a memo filed as part of their final settlement approval bid in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

In reaching a settlement, the investors “considered the many costly milestones that remain in this litigation,” the Wednesday memo said. “Absent settlement now, the Parties may face years litigating this Action to a final resolution, including further discovery, dispositive motions, trial, and likely post-trial appeals.”

The settlement class consists of everyone who purchased Merit common stock from Feb. 26, 2019, through and including Oct. 30, 2019, and lost money as a result, with exceptions for those with certain close ties to the company.

Co-lead counsel Saxena White PA and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP in a separate Wednesday filing asked for 30% of the settlement fund—$5.475 million—in attorneys’ fees. The firms also want nearly $104,700 as reimbursement for their litigation expenses.

Judge David O. Carter is overseeing the case.

King & Spalding LLP represents Merit.

The case is In re Merit Med. Sys. Inc. Sec. Litig., C.D. Cal., No. 8:19-cv-02326, final settlement approval motion filed 3/9/22.