Lawsuits over Facebook's IPO flop to be consolidated in NY
The roughly 50 lawsuits brought against the social network and its underwriters are being joined into one case to be heard before a federal judge in Manhattan.
Facebook's wishes have been granted, at least for now. The dozens of lawsuits brought against the social network over its bungled initial public offering have been consolidated and will be heard before one federal judge in New York, according to Reuters.
Approximately 50 lawsuits have been brought against the social network, some of its underwriters, and the Nasdaq exchange. Earlier today, a panel of federal judges ruled that all of these cases will be collected throughout the U.S. and transferred to U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan.
According to Reuters, Facebook said that it was pleased with the ruling and it planned to defend itself "vigorously." In its initial motion in June, Facebook sought to have the dozens of lawsuits consolidated into one case.
Facebook became embroiled in this extensive legal battle shortly after its IPO in May. The company's stock opened on the Nasdaq priced at $38 and, aside from a slight uptick right at the start, has plummeted since then. It closed today at $21.95. Defendants in the lawsuits, many of whom are investors, claim that Facebook failed to disclose in the critical days leading up to the IPO that there was "a severe and pronounced reduction" in forecasts for Facebook's revenue growth.
Facebook has maintained it's innocent of wrongdoing and instead placed the blame on Nasdaq charging that system glitches on the first day of trading were the source of the decline in share price. Nasdaq's chief executive responded to these claims by saying that "arrogance" and "overconfidence" among the stock exchange's staffers contributed to Facebook's mishandled IPO.
The lawsuits are seeking unspecified damages but ultimately could cost the social network millions, according to Reuters.
A Nasdaq spokesperson told CNET that it does not have a comment. CNET also contacted Facebook for comment and we'll update the story when we get more information.
Updated October 5 at 12:45 p.m. PT with information from Nasdaq's spokesperson.