A U.S. judge is allowing a class-action lawsuit claiming BlackBerry Ltd. defrauded investors by misleading them about the success of its BB10 devices to move forward.
New York judge Colleen McMahon ruled this week that the case brought against the Waterloo, Ont. technology company by purchasers of BlackBerry’s common stock can head to trial, likely in September or October.
Lead plaintiffs Todd Cox and Mary Dinzik filed the class-action in 2013, claiming that BlackBerry made “rosy” public statements that concealed a “far less rosy truth” about their products.
The plaintiffs further allege that BlackBerry prematurely recognized revenue for BB10 devices to keep its stock inflated.
BlackBerry denied several of the plaintiffs’ claims and asked for them to be dismissed because it alleged the plaintiffs did not raise triable issues of fact during the period the case will cover.
McMahon tossed several of the plaintiffs’ allegations because of the length of time that had passed since shareholders objected to them, but found “genuine issues of material fact” remain in dispute, so other claims can proceed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2022.
