Orient Plus Int'l Ltd. v. Baosheng Media Group Holdings Ltd.

OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiffs have sued thirteen corporate and individual defendants alleging violations of federal securities laws. See ECF No. 82 (the “Second Amended Complaint” or “SAC”) 1. Plaintiffs successfully served the corporate defendants — Baosheng Media Group Holdings Limited (“BAOS”), Univest Securities, LLC, The Benchmark Company, LLC, WestPark Capital, Inc., Marcum LLP, and Friedman LLP — all of whom have appeared. Plaintiffs now move for leave to serve Sheng Gong, Yu Zhong, Zuohao Hu, Yue Jin, and Yanjun Hu (together with Adam (Xin) He and Wenxiu Zhong, the “Individual Defendants”) by alternative means pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 4(f)(3). ECF No. 71 (“Br.”) at 1; ECF No. 83 (“Reply”). BAOS opposes the motion. ECF No. 73 (“Opp.”). For the reasons stated below, the motion is GRANTED.¹ BACKGROUND On February 1, 2024, Plaintiffs filed their initial complaint, asserting claims under Sections 11, 12, and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933. ECF No. 1. In the operative Second Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs allege, among other things, that BAOS failed to disclose in its registration statement that BAOS was under investigation by the Chinese government in the months before its IPO; that this investigation caused the company to “essentially shut down” operations in the months leading up to the IPO; and that the investigation would likely result (and did result) in a large fine and the loss of BAOS’s most significant client. SAC

51-54. Although BAOS is registered as a corporation in the Cayman Islands, its current and former directors and officers are all based in China. Id.