SHAPIRO HABER & URMY LLP FILES
SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE ACTION ON
BEHALF OF UNITEDHEALTH GROUP, INC.
Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP has filed a
shareholder derivative action on
behalf of UnitedHealth Group, Inc.,
a Minnesota-based health care
company,
against certain executive officers
of the company. The complaint was
filed by shareholder Jan Brandin in
the United States District Court for
the District of Minnesota. The
defendants in this case include
William C. McGuire, former Chairman
of the Board and CEO of United
Health, and Stephen J. Hemsley,
UnitedHealth's current President and
CEO.
Brandin’s complaint, filed on March
29, 2006, alleges that McGuire and
Hemsley, along with the other
defendants, knowingly backdated
stock options grants for their
personal enrichment at the expense
of the company and its stockholders
(click
here to learn more
about backdated stock options and
why they’re illegal). The complaint
further alleges that many of the
grant dates received by the
defendants were not, as was required
by the company’s stock option plan
and reported in its SEC filings,
priced on the same date of the
grant, but were in fact chosen at a
later date to secure low exercise
prices and greater profit for the
defendants.
The complaint emphasizes the damage
done to UnitedHealth and its
shareholders by the conduct of the
defendants, and the unethical nature
of backdating, stating that
backdating "[lined] the
pockets of UnitedHealth's executives
at the direct expense of the
Company." This action seeks to
recover damages to UnitedHealth and
its shareholders that were the
result of this alleged breach of
fiduciary duties to the company by
the individual defendants.
·
Click
here to see the complaint in
In re: United Health Group, Inc.
Shareholder Derivative Litigation,
No. 06-1216 in the United States
District Court for the District of
Minnesota, in which the Court has
appointed Attorney Michelle Blauner
to serve on the Plaintiffs’
Coordinating Committee for the
litigation.
If you have any questions regarding
this case or your rights or
interests, please contact
Sophie Horowitz, Paralegal, Shapiro Haber &
Urmy LLP, 53 State Street, Boston,
Massachusetts 02109, by calling
(800) 287-8119, by sending a
facsimile to (617) 439-0134, or by
sending email to
cases@shulaw.com.
