Florida Attorney General James Usmierer filed a class action lawsuit against Target Corporation, claiming the company misunderstood investors about the risks of the 2023 LGBTQ Pride Campaign. The state’s holdings have challenged the allegations and said it has warned investors about potential boycotts related to the initiative.
Three days after his job, Florida Attorney General James Usmierer announced a class action lawsuit Thursday claiming Target Corporation fails to properly disclose the risks of the 2023 LGBTQ Pride Campaign to investors. Stock price.
Uthmeier and his private attorney filed a 163-page lawsuit in federal court at Fort Myers on behalf of the state management board that manages large Florida pension funds and other investments. The lawsuit is one of at least three similar cases against a Florida target.
The lawsuit alleges that Target issued false and misleading statements about “environmental, social, governance” and “diversity, equity and inclusion” that led to the May 2023 Pride Campaign.
“The campaign has caused an immense consumer backlash and boycott, with Target’s sales falling for the first time in six years, wiping it down by more than $25 billion in Target’s market capitalization. Target’s stocks have been in 23 years. I had the longest losing streak in the lawsuit,” the lawsuit said. .
Uthmeier was sworn in as Attorney General on Monday after serving as Governor Ron Desantis’ Chief of Staff. DeSantis has appointed Usmeyer to replace former Attorney General Ashley Moody who became a US Senator last month.
The lawsuit targets the defendant, CEO Brian Cornell, and members of the company’s board of directors. It alleges a violation of the law known as the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934.
“Target CEO Brian Cornell and his board of directors did not oversee or disclose the obvious risks of Target’s 2023 LGBT-Pride campaign and the ESG/DEI initiative that it advanced, but informed investors that they had done so. “The lawsuit stated.
“In doing so, they will deceive the target investors regarding the true nature of the risks of the investment, unconsciously support the target board and management to misuse the investors’ funds, and ultimately, the investors. sacrificed billions.”
However, as one of the other Florida cases was filed by the court in January 2024, Target challenged such claims and, for initiatives including the 2023 Pride Campaign, the company faced the risk of boycotting consumers. He repeatedly warned of the risks.”
Target Filing said that the plaintiff was dissatisfied with “target’s business judgment regarding merchandising.” However, opposing the target’s business judgment will not cause any viable claims under the securities law. ”
Details: Target must face pride repulsion, shareholder lawsuits over judge rules
Also, targets accused of shareholder fraud in relation to DEI
The new lawsuit filed on behalf of the State Board of Trustees aims to include the class of all people who purchased the target stock from March 9, 2022 to August 16, 2023. Members’. ”
The rank period was selected because Target issued its 2021 Annual Report on March 9, 2022 and reported quarterly revenue on August 16, 2023.
The lawsuit states that the state trustees held 787,694 target shares on March 8, 2022 and continued to buy the shares since. He also stated that on May 17, 2023, there was a stock price of $160.96 on May 17, 2023, falling to a low of $105.01 per share on October 6, 2023.
Uthmeier has joined the filing of lawsuits by the lawyers of Group America First Legal and Boyden Gray PLLC and Lawson Huck Gonzalez.
“Companies that promote radical left-wing ideology at the expense of financial interests will risk the retirement security of Florida’s first responders and teachers,” Usmeyer said in a prepared statement. “My office will thrust corporate reform so that businesses return to business doing business rather than offensive political theatre.”
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