Activision beats shareholder class action over sex bias claims, for now -Breaking
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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – A crowd waits to see a presentation from Activision at their booth at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (known as E3) in Los Angeles on June 11, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan AlcornBy Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) – Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ:) won dismissal in California of a suit alleging that the videogame maker misled investors by downplaying sexual harassment allegations and discrimination towards female employees.
Percy Anderson of Los Angeles, U.S. District Court, released a ruling on Tuesday. He found Activision shareholders hadn’t cited specific false statements that the company made during three investigations. Anderson also said they could not prove fraudulent claims.
Anderson granted plaintiffs thirty days for an amended complaint to Activision. Activision denied discrimination and misled shareholders.
Both lawyers representing the shareholders and the company did not immediately reply to inquiries for comment.
Anderson ruled that Activision’s executives did not know of any discrimination allegations. Anderson wrote in his ruling that plaintiffs had failed to assert that Activision made false statements.
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:) In January, Activision said that it would buy Activision, maker of Call of Duty, for $68.7billion in what is the largest ever gaming industry acquisition. Antitrust reviews are being conducted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
U.S. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a California Anti-Discrimination Agency filed separate lawsuits against Activision last year. They accused Activision tolerating widespread bias towards women. Now, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will be probing Activision’s disclosures regarding workplace misconduct.
Activision reached a $18million settlement with the EEOC last month. California Department of Fair Employment and Housing is still suing.
The shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit in August claiming that Activision failed to disclose how many workplace discriminations it had. This artificially increased the stock’s value. Activision shares plunged sharply in the last year due to the news about the SEC investigation and its alleged failures to address sexual harassment and bias.
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