Bausch Health Companies, Inc. obtained the dismissal of racial discrimination and tortious interference claims brought by a former director. In a September 4 ruling, a federal court in the Southern District of Florida ruled that the court lacks personal jurisdiction.
The plaintiff, who was a portfolio manager at Icahn Capital and a member of Bausch Health’s board, alleged that Bausch Health, Icahn Capital and others intentionally discriminated against him on the basis of race by preventing him from serving on the board of Bausch + Lomb when it spun off of Bausch Health in 2022. The plaintiff sought hundreds of millions of dollars in back pay and damages for breaches of his employment agreement with Icahn Capital.
The plaintiff claimed that Icahn Capital nominated, and Bausch + Lomb accepted, a racially diverse candidate in lieu of him because Bausch + Lomb had a Board Diversity Policy requiring at least 30 percent of board members to be diverse.
In granting Bausch Health’s motion to dismiss, the court ruled that Florida’s long-arm statute does not permit jurisdiction over Bausch Health because the complaint lacked allegations that any wrongful actions took place in Florida. The court also ruled that even if the long-arm statute were satisfied, exercising personal jurisdiction would violate due process because Bausch Health’s allegedly tortious acts were not targeted at Florida, save for the fact that the plaintiff lived there.
The S&C team representing Bausch Health included Robert Giuffra Jr., Ann-Elizabeth Ostrager, William Wolfe, Brandon Wallace and Maude Wilson.