The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on July 11 granted motions to dismiss a purported securities class-action lawsuit filed against Willis Towers Watson PLC over the merger of Willis Group Holdings PLC and Towers Watson & Co.

The lawsuit alleged that the defendants violated provisions of the Securities Exchange Act by issuing false and misleading statements in proxy materials filed with the SEC. The complaint sought damages in an unspecified amount. The defendants include Towers Watson, Willis Group Holdings, Towers Watson shareholder ValueAct Capital Management LP, and executives John Haley, Dominic Casserley and Jeffrey Ubben.

On July 30, the lead plaintiff filed a notice of appeal against the dismissal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.