Eighth Circuit Upholds Dismissal under PSLRA

The Eighth Circuit in In re Cerner Corp. Securities Litigation, 425 F.3d 1079 (8th Cir. Oct. 06, 2005) upheld the district court's dismissal of a complaint for failing to satisfy the heightened pleading standards imposed by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act's (PSLRA). The court held that the complaint failed to satisfy the falsity pleading standard because it did not plead facts that "necessarily show that the defendants' statements were misleading." Further, the plaintiff's scienter allegations were insufficient because they did not reveal "unusual" trading activity sufficient to support an inference of scienter. Finally, the court upheld the district court's denial of leave to amend because the plaintiff made no effort to demonstrate how he would change the complaint to satisfy the pleading strictures of the PSLRA, even though he had ample opportunity to do so.