SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. District Court for the Northern District Court of California recently agreed to consolidate lawsuits against a northern California tech company and ruled that a pension fund for a New York union representing hotel and gaming workers will be the lead plaintiff in the securities class action.
The New York Hotel Trades Council & Hotel Association of New York City Inc. Pension Fund has satisfied all the requirements that allow it to be named the lead plaintiff in the class action against San Jose-based Super Micro Computer, the court said in its May 25 order.
The class action, filed on behalf of anyone who bought shares in Super Micro between Aug. 5, 2016, and Jan. 30, 2018, accuses the company of violating the 1934 Security Exchange Act.
The complaint claimed that Super Micro, which designs and manufactures servers and other computer accessories, made false and misleading statements and failed to disclose adverse information, according to court documents.
The court order, which also consolidated all the actions against Super Micro, followed a request by the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System to be named the lead plaintiff in the case.
The New York pension fund claimed in should be the lead plaintiff because it suffered the greatest financial loss – $180,622, according to court documents.
"Once a movant has demonstrated that it has the largest financial interest, it need only make a prima facie showing of its typicality and adequacy," U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar wrote in the order.
He explained that "the test of typicality is whether other members have the same or similar injury, whether the action is based on conduct which is not unique to the named plaintiffs, and whether other class members have been injured by the same course of conduct."
Further, under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, if the lead plaintiff has demonstrated it has made “a reasonable choice of counsel, the district court should generally defer to that choice.”
Super Micro Computer, which is listed on the Nasdaq exchange, recently announced it was granted continuing listing on Nasdaq by the exchange's hearings panel until Aug. 24.