Actavis (ACT) / Forest Laboratories, Inc. (FRX):** No Records Found on Appeal. In a letter dated 23-Sep-2014, the SEC cited the "law enforcement exemption" of the FOIA as basis to deny the public access to the detailed records we sought on this company. As a matter of law, the SEC was acknowledging some sort of investigative activity. At the time of the SEC’s earlier response to us, we also found no clear disclosures of SEC investigative activity made by Actavis or Forest Laboratories.
This was sufficient for us to add Actavis / Forest Laboratories, Inc. to the Probes Reporter Watch List as a company with a “Possible Undisclosed SEC Investigation”.
We filed an administrative appeal to challenge this denial. An appeal response, regardless of outcome, is the highest standard we can achieve regarding SEC investigative activity at a public company. In our experience, about two-thirds of the SEC’s law enforcement exemption responses are confirmed on appeal. This is not one of them.
In a response to our appeal dated 29-Dec-2014, the SEC has now informed us there are no records responsive to our request. While the SEC’s letter was not specific, we were told this could mean --
- There was an investigation that concluded in the past but the SEC’s records were not current at the time of our request
- Alternatively, there may be an investigation involving not the company, but some other person or entity in which the company was incidentally named or tangentially listed.
Based on new information presented here, we are removing Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Actavis from our Watch List.
**On July 2014, Actavis plc completed the acquisition of Forest Laboratories.
To learn more on our process and what our findings mean, click here.
Notes: The SEC did not disclose the details on investigations referenced above. The SEC reminds us that its assertion of the law enforcement exemption should not be construed as an indication by the Commission or its staff that any violations of law have occurred with respect to any person, entity, or security. New SEC investigative activity could theoretically begin or end after the date covered by this latest information which would not be reflected here.
The Probes Reporter™ Watch List tracks those companies involved in undisclosed SEC investigative activity. Names are added to and removed from this list frequently based on responses we receive to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests we file with the SEC. This is our latest update.
