Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is being targeted by a class action lawsuit filed by the firm Robins Geller Rudman and Dowd. The firm issued a press release announcing the suit via BusinessWire.
Neowin.net was the first to spot the lawsuit, which (in addition to Microsoft itself) also names Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, former Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein, Executive Marketing VP Tami Reller and Corporate VP Frank Brod as defendants.
Microsoft alleged to have misled customers
According to the complaint, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) purposely provided misleading information in connection with the sales of its Surface RT tablets. It was filed in Massachusetts on behalf of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shareholders who owned the stock between April 18 and July 18. The press release issued by the law firm today indicates that it is seeking a lead plaintiff for its class action suit.
According to the firm, the details provided by Microsoft regarding sales for its Surface RT tablets during the March quarter were false and misleading. The complaint alleges that Microsoft management purposely led investors to believe that sales of the tablets were going better than they actually were.
In the June quarter, Microsoft recorded a $900 million write-down for the Surface RT tablets. After that announcement, the firm says Microsoft’s shares saw their biggest decline in more than four years.
Microsoft is just the firm’s latest victim
Mary Jo Foley of CNET notes that this same firm has been filing a number of class-action suits against other companies. Its site shows pending suits against 10 other companies. The suits are pretty similar to each other. All of them claim that public companies purposely misled investors regarding their financial statements.
Among the other companies facing legal action from this same firm are Vitamin Shoppe Inc (NYSE:VSI), Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ:LINE), Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) and AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVEO)
