Published
October 16, 2026
Investors who bought Abbott Laboratories stock before the 2022 infant formula recall received preliminary court approval of a class action settlement on October 15, 2026. The settlement amount and claim deadlines have not been made public yet, and a formal order and class notice are still to come.
What Is This About?
U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger of the Northern District of Illinois granted preliminary approval on October 15, 2026 to a proposed settlement of Pembroke Pines Firefighters & Police Officers Pension Fund v. Abbott Laboratories, No. 1:22-cv-04661, a securities class action brought on behalf of investors in Abbott stock. In a minute entry, the judge wrote that he preliminarily found the settlement “fair, reasonable, and adequate,” certified the proposed settlement class and approved the proposed class notice. He added that a formal order preliminarily approving the settlement and providing for notice would follow, and that preliminary approval takes effect when that order is filed. The settlement amount has not appeared in any public filing Open Class Actions could review, and nothing can be claimed yet.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Preliminarily Approved
Minute entry October 15, 2026 · formal order to follow
Settlement Amount
Not Yet Public
Set in the August 21, 2026 settlement agreement
Opt-Out Window
120 Days
Exact dates come with the class notice
Can I Claim?
Not Yet
Claim form and deadlines arrive with the notice
What the Lawsuit Claimed
The case was filed on August 31, 2022, months after Abbott’s February 2022 recall of powdered infant formula made at its Sturgis, Michigan plant and the plant’s shutdown, which contributed to a nationwide formula shortage. The investors claimed that Abbott made misleading statements about conditions and regulatory compliance at its infant formula operations, and that people who bought Abbott shares paid inflated prices as a result. The original complaint proposed a class of investors who bought Abbott common stock from February 19, 2021 through June 8, 2022; the settlement class is defined in the settlement agreement and will be spelled out in the notice. Those claims are allegations. Abbott has not been found liable; the court dismissed the amended complaint in July 2026, and the motion for preliminary approval was filed unopposed under the terms of the settlement.How the Settlement Came Together
The settlement followed a defense win. On July 24, 2026, Judge Seeger granted Abbott’s motion to dismiss the investors’ amended complaint, and gave them three weeks to seek leave to file a second amended complaint. Before that deadline ran, the parties asked the court to pause it; on August 12, 2026, the court noted that they had agreed on a confidential term sheet and were drafting a final agreement, vacated the amendment deadline, and said that if preliminary approval were denied, the investors would have four weeks to seek leave to amend. The lead plaintiffs, two institutional investors, filed the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, dated August 21, 2026, with an unopposed motion for preliminary approval the same day. The court held a hearing on September 21, 2026, and the parties later filed a supplemental brief and a supplemental agreement under seal.In a second order on October 15, Judge Seeger described that supplemental agreement: it gives Abbott and the other defendants the option to end the settlement if a certain number of class members exclude themselves. The judge agreed the threshold number itself can stay redacted but said there was no apparent reason to seal the rest, and ordered the parties to file a redacted version on the public docket by October 23, 2026.
What Happens Next
Once the formal preliminary approval order is filed, notice goes out to investors, and the notice will state the settlement amount, the class definition, the claim deadline and how payments are calculated. The judge directed the lawyers to propose dates for the final approval hearing, noting that the schedule must leave time for the process to run, since class members have 120 days to request exclusion. Investors in securities settlements usually file a claim with records of their purchases and sales, and payments are figured from a plan of allocation. Open Class Actions will update this page when the order, the notice and a settlement website are available.Not the Same as Abbott’s Other Formula Cases
This investor case is separate from the product liability lawsuits claiming that Abbott’s preterm infant formula caused necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature babies, which Abbott agreed in August 2026 to resolve for about $670 million without admitting liability. It is also separate from the shareholder derivative case over the Sturgis plant, which received final approval in June 2026 and was brought on Abbott’s behalf rather than as a class action paying individual investors. The Similac and Enfamil NEC lawsuit page covers the product cases.Questions
How much is the Abbott securities settlement?
The amount has not been made public in any filing Open Class Actions could review as of October 16, 2026. It is set out in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement dated August 21, 2026, which is not yet available in free court databases, and it will appear in the settlement notice.
Can Abbott investors file a claim yet?
Not yet. The judge granted preliminary approval on October 15, 2026, but said a formal order preliminarily approving the settlement and providing for notice would follow. The claim form, the deadlines and the settlement website come with the notice process.
Is this the same as Abbott's baby formula NEC settlement?
No. This case is a securities class action on behalf of investors who bought Abbott stock. It is separate from the product liability cases over preterm infant formula and necrotizing enterocolitis, and separate from the shareholder derivative case, which received final approval in June 2026.
How long will investors have to opt out of the Abbott settlement?
The judge's October 15, 2026 order says class members have 120 days to request exclusion. The exact dates will be set by the formal preliminary approval order and the class notice.
Sources
- Minute entry granting preliminary approval (ECF No. 85), October 15, 2026.
- Minute entry on the supplemental agreement (ECF No. 86), October 15, 2026.
- Lead plaintiffs’ unopposed motion for preliminary approval (ECF No. 74), August 21, 2026.
- Docket, Pembroke Pines Firefighters & Police Officers Pension Fund v. Abbott Laboratories, No. 1:22-cv-04661 (N.D. Ill.), including the August 31, 2022 complaint, the July 24, 2026 memorandum opinion and order granting the motion to dismiss (ECF No. 71) and the August 12, 2026 minute entry (ECF No. 73).
- Abbott Laboratories Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (derivative litigation final approval); reporting on the August 2026 NEC settlement by Insurance Journal and Bloomberg Law.
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Status
Preliminarily Approved
Case Title
Pembroke Pines Firefighters & Police Officers Pension Fund v. Abbott Laboratories
Case Number
1:22-cv-04661
Court
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Judge
Steven C. Seeger
Date Filed
August 31, 2022
Official Website
Court Docket (CourtListener)
