U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan, N.Y., dismissed a shareholder lawsuit that said Express Scripts Holding Co. inflated its share price by not disclosing its worsening ties with Anthem Inc., Reuters reported.
The lawsuit stated that Express Scripts hid its deteriorating relationship with its largest customer from shareholders for over a year, which caused a decline in the company's share price when Anthem sued Express Scripts for $15 billion in March 2016.
While dismissing the suit, Ramos said the shareholders were not able to prove their claims that the company misled them intentionally. The judge also did not give the shareholders permission to file a new version of their case, Reuters reported.
Anthem's lawsuit, which stated that the pharmacy benefit manager was overcharging it by $3 billion annually, sought to recover damages related to operational issues and for a declaration of its right to terminate its contract with Express Scripts. The lawsuit is also pending before Ramos.
Express Scripts said in April 2017 that its contract with Anthem would not be renewed when it expired in 2019.
