UnitedHealth Group Inc. must defend itself against a shareholder lawsuit filed by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), a federal judge ruled. US District Judge Jeffrey Bryan said CalPERS may proceed with claims that UnitedHealth misled shareholders about financial transactions that added $3.3 billion to earnings in 2024. The judge found CalPERS adequately pleaded that part of its case, allowing the lawsuit to move forward on those allegations.
However, Bryan dismissed claims of wide-ranging misconduct over four years that allegedly caused a historic stock meltdown in 2025, including allegations of upcoding, insider trading, and monopolistic practices. UnitedHealth said it was “pleased that the court dismissed with prejudice virtually all of the alleged misstatements” and will defend itself on the remaining limited claims. CalPERS, the nation’s largest public pension fund, sued UnitedHealth in 2024 and amended its complaint multiple times.
The defendants include CEO Stephen Hemsley, former CEO Andrew Witty, and Brian Thompson, former CEO of its healthcare unit who was fatally shot in December 2024. The accused shooter, Luigi Mangione, pleaded guilty in August to federal charges. UnitedHealth faces federal criminal and civil probes, fallout from a cyberattack affecting 190 million Americans, and has since replaced its CEO and revamped senior management to regain investor trust.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing