A U.S. District Judge rejected BlackBerry Ltd’s bid to dismiss a long-running lawsuit alleging that the company misled shareholders by inflating the success and profitability of its BlackBerry 10 smartphones. The judge, Colleen McMahon also stated the class-action case will finally have its day in court this fall.
McMahon said “genuine issues of material fact” in the eight-year-old case were still contentious, including Blackberry’s accounting, and that “battle-of-the-experts” issues prevented her from ruling for either side.
While the BlackBerry 10 was hailed by critics, most consumers opted for Android-based smartphones and Apple Inc’s iPhone, leading to BlackBerry’s decision in 2016 to stop producing phones.
Shareholders accused the Canadian technology company, which currently specializes in cybersecurity, of failing to disclose BlackBerry 10’s true revenue prospects in public statements in 2013, leading to a surge in its share price.
McMahon said that while criminal trials will be prioritized over civil trials in her Manhattan courthouse during the COVID-19 pandemic, she is keen to pay attention to the BlackBerry case because of its age.
The judge expects the trial to begin in September or October.
Defendants in the case include former Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins, former Chief Financial Officer Brian Bidulka and former Chief Legal Officer Steve Zipperstein.
For more information, read the original story in Reuters.