14 DAY TRIAL // The group of Apple shareholders, whose suit against the company for the backdating of stocks was recently dismissed by a California judge, have recently announced their intentions to further pursue the matter in courts.
When Judge Jeremy Fogel of the US District Court for the Northern District of California rejected the claims of fraud raised by Apple's shareholders, he did allow for them to revise their complaint and re-file the lawsuit, which they fully intend to do.
The judge sided with Apple, describing the plaintiff's arguments as being "too general", especially considering that there was no financial prejudice as a result of the backdating, even offering examples of how under the right circumstances backdating can be a boon for shareholders. Despite alleging that the false proxy statements cited in the case landed beyond the statute of limitations, he did give the plaintiffs the option to amend their complaint to change their argument.
The lawsuit was filed on the 30th of June, 2006, and claims that Apple directors and officers, including CEO Steve Jobs, were not properly doing their respective jobs and lied to shareholders when they backdated option awards made between 1997 and 2001. As a result, these shareholders want any backdated options or profits on strength of them to be returned to the company.
Last week, the same judge rejected a similar shareholder lawsuit, this time led by a New York pension scheme. There also the plaintiffs were give the chance to re-file their claims by joining this case, Apple Computer Inc. Derivative Litigation, 06-04128. Although Apple's own internal investigation as well as the SEC probe that looked into Apple's backdating practices found Jobs as well as all current executives clear of any wrongdoing, the shareholders do not seem to be appeased and are still after the company.