Lawyers sue Microsoft over Surface RT 'unmitigated disaster'
Allege that execs knew of tablet's failure months before taking massive write-off, deceiving investors
Computerworld - Several law firms joined forces on Monday to sue Microsoft, accusing the company of misleading shareholders about sales of the Surface RT tablet and calling its entry into the tablet market an "unmitigated disaster."
The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, named several Microsoft executives as co-defendants, including CEO Steve Ballmer, former CFO Peter Klein, current marketing leader Tami Reller, and Frank Brod, the company's chief accounting officer.
After detailing a brief history of the Surface tablet's rollout, the lawsuit charged that Microsoft knew the launch had gone badly: "What Defendants knew, but failed to disclose to investors, however, was that Microsoft's foray into the tablet market was an unmitigated disaster, which left it with a large accumulation of excess, over-valued Surface RT inventory."
"Defendants caused Microsoft to issue materially false and misleading financial statements and financial disclosures for the quarter ended March 31, 2013," the lawsuit charged. "Defendants' materially false and misleading conduct enabled Microsoft to forestall Surface RT's day of reckoning and delay what would be tantamount to an admission by the Company that its all-important entry into the tablet market had been a failure."
Allege that execs knew of tablet's failure months before taking massive write-off, deceiving investors
Computerworld - Several law firms joined forces on Monday to sue Microsoft, accusing the company of misleading shareholders about sales of the Surface RT tablet and calling its entry into the tablet market an "unmitigated disaster."
The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, named several Microsoft executives as co-defendants, including CEO Steve Ballmer, former CFO Peter Klein, current marketing leader Tami Reller, and Frank Brod, the company's chief accounting officer.
After detailing a brief history of the Surface tablet's rollout, the lawsuit charged that Microsoft knew the launch had gone badly: "What Defendants knew, but failed to disclose to investors, however, was that Microsoft's foray into the tablet market was an unmitigated disaster, which left it with a large accumulation of excess, over-valued Surface RT inventory."
"Defendants caused Microsoft to issue materially false and misleading financial statements and financial disclosures for the quarter ended March 31, 2013," the lawsuit charged. "Defendants' materially false and misleading conduct enabled Microsoft to forestall Surface RT's day of reckoning and delay what would be tantamount to an admission by the Company that its all-important entry into the tablet market had been a failure."