In re Origin Materials Inc., Securities Litigation
Bernstein Liebhard Announces Preliminary Approval of a $9 Million Settlement for a Class of Origin Materials, Inc. Investors
Bernstein Liebhard is lead counsel representing the lead plaintiff in a securities class action titled In re Origin Materials, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 2:23-cv-01816-WBS-JDP (E.D. Cal.). Origin Materials’ common stock trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol ORGN (Warrants at ORGNW). The action alleged violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of a Class who purchased publicly traded Origin Materials securities on the open market of a U.S. stock exchange during the period from March 7, 2023 through August 9, 2023 (the “Class Period”).
Origin Materials developed a platform to convert the carbon found in plant-based carbon, such as wood residues, into materials that can replace the petroleum-based substances typically used in various end products. Origin represented that it planned to scale this platform to convert wood into plastics on a commercial basis at a new Origin 2 plant in Louisiana. Investors closely watched the schedule for building Origin 2 because production at the Origin 2 plant was Origin Materials’ path to profitability.
Lead Plaintiff alleged that the Defendants misled investors by making false and misleading statements concerning the schedule to begin construction of Origin 2. The Second Amended Complaint alleged information indicating that the Defendants misrepresented the Company’s schedule to begin construction of and produce products from the Origin 2 plant throughout the Class Period.
On the last day of the Class Period, Defendants admitted that the Origin 2 plant was delayed by over a year. This caused losses for investors as the stock price dropped 65%. Later, Origin revealed that it would not go forward with the Origin 2 plant at all. The stock price fell below one dollar, and the Company was in danger of being delisted from the NASDAQ and issued a going concern warning to investors.
The Parties mediated the action while conducting further discovery into the facts of the case. Lead Plaintiff agreed to settle the action for a cash payment of nine million dollars ($9,000,000) for the benefit of the Settlement Class. According to Lead Plaintiff’s damages expert, this recovery is well over the median settlement amount for similar securities fraud class action settlements on a percentage basis.
On January 7, 2026, the Court preliminarily approved the Settlement and authorized Notice to the Class. More information about how to participate in the Settlement is available at https://www.strategicclaims.net/OriginMaterials/.
