Constr. Laborers Pension Trust for S. Cal. v. CBS Corp.

• Decision Date: 15 January 2020
• Docket Number: 18-CV-7796 (VEC)
• Citation: 433 F.Supp.3d 515
• Parties: CONSTRUCTION LABORERS PENSION TRUST FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, Gene Samit and John Lantz, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. CBS CORPORATION et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

433 F.Supp.3d 515

CONSTRUCTION LABORERS PENSION TRUST FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, Gene Samit and John Lantz, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs,

v.CBS CORPORATION et al., Defendants.

18-CV-7796 (VEC)

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

Signed January 15, 2020

Jonah H. Goldstein, Laura Andracchio, Laurie L. Largent, Spencer A. Burkholz, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, San Diego, CA, Joseph Alexander Hood, II, Jeremy Alan Lieberman, Pomerantz LLP, New York, NY, David Avi Rosenfeld, Mary Katherine Blasy, Vincent Michael Serra, Samuel Howard Rudman, Samuel Howard Rudman, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, Melville, NY, for Plaintiffs.

John Lantz, pro se.

Andrew J. LeVander, Hector Gonzalez, Brendan Michael Herrmann, Margaret Mortimer, Dechert LLP, New York, NY, Angela M. Liu, Dechert LLP, Chicago, IL, for Defendant Leslie Moonves.

OPINION AND ORDER

VALERIE CAPRONI, United States District Judge:

This is a putative securities class action against CBS Corporation ("CBS" or "the Company") and several of its officers and employees, including former CEO and Chairman of the Board Leslie Moonves. Plaintiffs bring claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b), 78t(a), and related regulations.

The Amended Complaint alleges that Moonves—the architect of the Company's success—concealed a dark history of sexual misconduct and fostered a hostile workplace culture that posed material business risks to the Company. Am. Compl. (Dkt. 59) ¶¶ 2–3, 5. Defendants allegedly failed to disclose the risk that journalists would uncover and expose Moonves's misconduct and force Moonves out, all the while paying lip service to the Company's purported anti-harassment ethical standards. Id. ¶¶ 4, 6.

The putative class includes purchasers of CBS stock from September 26, 2016, to December 4, 2018 (the "Class Period") and hinges on two corrective disclosures—Ronan Farrow's initial exposé on Moonves and CBS that was published in the New Yorker on July 27, 2018, and three articles that were published on December 4, 2018, by the New York Times disclosing new details about Moonves's misconduct that the reporters drew from an independent investigation that had been commissioned by CBS and then leaked to the press. Id. ¶¶ 1, 19.

CBS and all individual Defendants except Moonves made a joint motion to dismiss, and Moonves made a separate motion to dismiss. Dkts. 76–77. Both argue that the Amended Complaint fails to state a claim and must be dismissed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The Court grants in part and denies in part both motions.

BACKGROUND¹

CBS is a mass media, entertainment, and publishing company. Am. Compl. ¶ 28. It operates various businesses spanning these industries, including the CBS Television Network, cable networks, content production and distribution, television stations, internet-based businesses, and consumer publishing. Id. ¶ 2. Individual Defendants include Moonves, his former co-Board member and CBS's controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, other Board members from the Class Period, and three executive employees: former COO Joseph Ianniello, former Executive VP Lawrence Liding, and President of CBS News David Rhodes. Id. ¶¶ 28–29, 30–33. The facts in this case center on Moonves's allegedly unique value to the Company and on accusations of sexual misconduct made against Moonves and other non-defendant executives at CBS that were reported by the New Yorker and other news organizations.

I. Moonves's Leadership Was Instrumental to CBS's Success

Moonves led CBS for over two decades in varying roles, including President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board. Id. ¶¶ 38–41. He stepped down on September 9, 2018, and was terminated for cause on December 17, 2018. Id. ¶¶ 18, 29. During his tenure, CBS's stock rose from $5 per share to $70. Id. ¶ 39. Analysts lauded his leadership, stating, for example, that Moonves was the "secret weapon" and "key to" CBS's success. Id. ¶ 40. Analysts placed an "unquantifiable premium" on Moonves's creative input, network, and successful strategic track record. Id. ¶ 41. The Company's proxy statements attributed record-setting revenues in 2016 and 2017 to Moonves's leadership. Id. ¶¶ 40, 42.

II. Moonves and CBS Face a #MeToo Reckoning

Several events portended what has become known as the #MeToo movement—a wave of victim- and journalist-driven revelations of sexual assault perpetrated by media and entertainment power brokers. In late 2016, Fox News came under scrutiny when it settled several sexual harassment claims against top executives and media figures, including Bill O'Reilly and Roger Ailes. Id. ¶ 44. These and past settlements came to light due to investigative reporting, leading to O'Reilly's termination. Id. A ground swell of solidarity from victims of sexual harassment and assault trended on Twitter as hashtag MeToo, rattling the industries as new accusations against executives rolled out from what came to be characterized as a "movement." Id. ¶¶ 44–45. The most significant report, credited with officially kicking off the #MeToo movement, was Ronan Farrow's exposé published in the New Yorker in October 2017 of film producer Harvey Weinstein, describing in lurid detail a long history of sexual misconduct. Id. ¶¶ 7, 46.

Before and after the New Yorker article about Weinstein, CBS had its own issues with workplace sexual harassment. Producer Brad Kern, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg, vice president Vincent Favale, and other senior level managers were accused of sexual harassment; CBS terminated or suspended some of them and settled several related lawsuits. Id. ¶¶ 13, 66, 70–73, 84. There were also allegations of retaliation against victims by those managers. Id. ¶¶ 70, 74, 87. On November 20, 2017, the Washington Post published an article detailing alleged sexual misconduct by Charlie Rose—a contributing correspondent for CBS News's 60 Minutes and co-host of CBS This Morning —involving multiple women who worked with him. Id. ¶ 7. CBS News fired Rose shortly after the report ran. Id. ¶ 68.

Around November 2017, Moonves learned of a criminal complaint that had been filed with the Los Angeles Police Department ("LAPD") "accusing Moonves of physically restraining [the complainant] and forcing her to perform oral sex on him, and of exposing himself to her and violently throwing her against a wall in later incidents." Id. ¶¶ 15, 55. Law enforcement sources later reported that they found the complainant's allegations "credible and consistent but prosecutors declined to pursue charges because the statutes of limitations for the crimes had expired." Id. ¶ 55.

In early December 2017, on the heels of learning about the LAPD complaint, Moonves was contacted by Marv Dauer, the former manager of actress Bobbie Phillips, about the possibility that Phillips would publicly reveal incidents of sexual assault by Moonves that occurred at the beginning of her career. Id. ¶¶ 16, 57–58. Moonves acknowledged to Dauer that he believed that an article about him and Phillips would be published shortly. Id. ¶ 80. Through Dauer, Moonves offered Phillips work at CBS, stating privately to Dauer that he believed he would be "done" if Phillips talked to the media. Id. ¶¶ 58, 80.

In January 2018, Redstone heard rumors that Moonves would soon face accusations of sexual misconduct and have a "#MeToo moment" in the press. Id. ¶ 78. At her direction, CBS engaged a law firm to investigate the rumor. Id. ¶ 79. In late January, the law firm reported that "Moonves had told [them] that while there might have been a few incidents before he came to CBS, there was no cause for concern now." Sept. 12, 2018, N.Y. Times Article (Dkt. 80, Ex. 28) at 3. The law firm told CBS that "there was nothing to worry about." Nov. 28, 2018, N.Y. Times Article (Dkt. 80, Ex. 29) at 6–7. Also in early 2018, Moonves informed some members of the nomination and governance ("N&G") committee of the CBS Board about the complaint that had been filed with the LAPD; in April 2018, the CBS Board called an emergency meeting to discuss a course of action if a rumored-of report should publicly emerge regarding Moonves. Am. Compl. ¶ 78. The Board cancelled the meeting when it discovered that Moonves was not the subject of the soon-to-be-published article about which they had heard rumors. Id.

A few months later, on July 27, 2018, the New Yorker published an exposé detailing accusations from six women who claimed Moonves had sexually assaulted them "between the nineteen-eighties and the late aughts," with the most recent incident allegedly occurring in 2006. Id. ¶¶ 9, 49, 52, 145, 149; see July 27, 2018, N.Y. Times Article (Dkt. 80, Ex. 21). The accusations included "forcible touching or kissing during business meetings, in what they said appeared to be a practiced routine," and two women stated that "Moonves physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers." Id. ¶¶ 49–53. A second New Yorker article, published on September 9, 2018, detailed accusations from six other women, including allegations of forced oral sex. Id. ¶¶ 54–56. Moonves also allegedly retaliated against his accusers. Id. In addition, these articles and others from outlets such as the Wall Street Journal described incidents of sexual harassment at CBS that went beyond Moonves, including with "60 Minutes" chief Jeff Fager. Id. ¶¶ 65–67.

Shortly after first New Yorker article broke in July 2018, the CBS Board announced that it would engage outside counsel to independently investigate the allegations against Moonves and CBS. Id. ¶¶ 18, 59. The day of the second article's publication, CBS reported that Moonves would step down as the Company's Chairman and CEO. Id. ¶ 12.

III. A Draft Report Leaks from CBS's Independent Investigation of Moonves

On December 4, 2018, the New York Times published the details of a fifty-nine page draft report from CBS's independent investigation into Moonves, describing...