News

A US federal judge has thrown out a class-action lawsuit brought against Bausch & Lomb (B&L) and a number of its top executives alleging securities fraud in conjunction with the recall of MoistureLoc contact lens solution, reports the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

The civil suit, filed in 2006, alleged that B&L and its management team, including former chief executive officer Ronald Zarrella, misled the public about various business operations between 2003 and 2006 including downplaying public health problems with its MoistureLoc contact lens solution.

It was also alleged that B&L was cashing in on stock trades during this period.

However, in his ruling, US district judge, Michael A Telesca, said there was no proof that stock trades carried out by B&L were suspicious or questionable and that the company was justified in thinking early reports of eye infection problems potentially related to MoistureLoc contact lens solution were not statistically significant enough to pull the product sooner.

In related litigation, it was also reported that B&L is dealing with nearly 1,500 lawsuits alleging injuries from the use of the now discontinued MoistureLoc contact lens solution.

A company spokesman Michael McDougall said that B&L has settled some cases and is in litigation over others.

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