Big enough to derail a train. But too vague to keep a lawsuit on track. That's the story of the 400-page (not including exhibits), 1,000-paragraph (who counted them?) securities class action complaint dismissed by U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman in the state of Washington.
In her May 15, mere 33-page opinion (posted on Michael J. Hassen's Class Action Defense Blog), Judge Pechman described the complaint as a "verbose and disordered pleading," and wrote that, "Remarkably, Plaintiffs make no effort to connect a particular statement made by any defendant with allegations as to why that statement was false or misleading." The opus, in her words, "never offers a cohesive presentation of the required elements for securities fraud."
The case is In re Washington Mutual, Inc. Securities, Derivative & ERISA Litig., ___ F.Supp.2d ___ (W.D. Wash. May 15, 2009) [Slip Opn., at 1-3, 5].