The Supreme Court holds that section 11 liability does not
attach to a statement of opinion merely because the opinion is
objectively false.
On March 24, the US Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated
decision in Omnicare Inc. v. Laborers District Council
Construction Industry Pension Fund
(Omnicare).1 Justice Kagan delivered the
opinion of the Court, in which Chief Justice Roberts and Justices
Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, and Sotomayor joined. Justice
Scalia filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the
judgment. Justice Thomas filed an opinion concurring in the
judgment. The Court's opinion vacated the ruling of the US
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which held that a plaintiff
need not show that a speaker subjectively disbelieved a statement
of opinion for section 11 liability to attach, as long as the
opinion is objectively false.
