Judge Says Apple Must Face Shareholder Lawsuit
“Apple will have to face a lawsuit claiming the tech giant fraudulently concealed decreased demand for iPhones, leading to tens of billions of dollars in shareholder losses,” reports Ryan J. Farrick in Legal Reader’s Lawsuits & Litigation.
“According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers trimmed the lawsuit’s scope substantially. But she maintained that shareholders may still sue Apple over Tim Cook’s comments about the iPhone’s robust performance during a November 1st analyst call.”
“The lawsuit takes particular issue with Cook’s claim that the iPhone was faring well in China through the fourth quarter of 2018, even though sales were struggling due to political tensions.”
“In her ruling, Gonzalez Rogers found it ‘implausible’ that Apple’s chief executive would not know that iPhone demand was dropping in China—especially when, days after the call took place, Apple instructed its largest manufacturers to slow iPhone production.”
