081593P.pdf   09/09/2009  Horizon Asset Management  v.  H&R Block, Inc.
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  08-1593
                          and No:  08-1670
   U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City   
   [PUBLISHED] [Colloton, Author, with Bowman and Riley, Circuit Judges]
   Civil case - Securities. After evaluating all of Horizon's allegations
   with respect to the false statements allegedly made by Block's Chairman
   and its Chief Financial Officer, the court concludes that the district court
   did not err in dismissing Horizon's claims against them as Horizon failed
   to raise a strong inference that the men made any of the statements with
   the scienter required to state a private securities fraud claim; Horizon also
   failed to plead scienter adequately with respect to Block or the individual
   defendants; because Horizon's control-person claims under section 20(a)
   of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 must be predicated on some
   underlying violation, Horizon also failed to state a claim under section
   20(a); while the district court's consolidation of nine securities and
   derivative actions against Block under Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(a) was not an
   abuse of discretion, the court's decision to appoint Horizon as the lead
   plaintiff for all of the claims, including the derivative claims asserted by
   the Iron Workers Local, was erroneous, as the court erred in determining
   the claims were not derivative claims and the Local showed that Horizon
   would not pursue the claims; on remand, the separate complaints filed by
   the Local and by Momentum Partners should be reinstated.