Court Reinstates $277M Judgment Against U. of Phoenix

A federal appeals court on Wednesday overturned a lower court's 2008 decision that shielded the Apollo Group, Inc., from a jury's $277 million verdict against it in a shareholder lawsuit. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit essentially reinstated the jury's 2008 finding that a group of stockholders in the parent company of the University of Phoenix were harmed by the company's approach to disclosing information about a critical government report. Although the jury called for Apollo to pay $277.5 million in damages, a federal judge overturned that verdict in August 2008, ruling in Apollo's favor. But in its ruling Wednesday, which Apollo critiqued, the Ninth Circuit appeals panel said that the lower court judge had "erred" and that the damages award should stand.