Partner Darren Robbins Discusses Upcoming Slack Case with the Daily Journal

In summer 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in an investor’s case against Slack Technologies, Inc. alleging the company misled investors in 2019 when its shares became publicly traded using a direct listing that included both registered shares and unregistered shares. The Daily Journal sat down with Robbins Geller partner Darren Robbins to discuss the implications of the case.

Robbins told the Daily Journal that the outcome of the case could set precedent affecting a “core protection for investors in newly public companies.”

The case at the Supreme Court centers on the question of whether companies which go public using a direct listing rather than a traditional initial public offering can be held liable under the Securities Act of 1933.

Slack is arguing that investors cannot sue a company under Sections 11 and 12 of the Securities Act of 1933 for allegedly false or misleading statements if the investors cannot specifically plead or prove whether they purchased registered or unregistered shares.

Robbins told the Daily Journal that a ruling that companies using a direct listing cannot be held liable under Section 11 would “immunize a pretty significant range of misstatements to investors” and “not only harm investors, but ultimately market participants on all sides.”

Robbins Geller is currently representing investors in another case against Slack in California state court.

The full Daily Journal article is available here: https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/370885/

About Robbins Geller

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is one of the world’s leading complex litigation firms, representing plaintiffs in securities fraud, shareholder derivative, antitrust, corporate takeover, and consumer fraud and privacy cases. With 200 lawyers in 9 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the world’s largest plaintiffs’ firms, and the Firm’s attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities, antitrust, and consumer class action recoveries in history.

The Firm is ranked #1 on the most recent ISS Securities Class Action Services Top 50 Report for recovering nearly $2 billion for investors in 2021 — more than triple the amount recovered by any other plaintiffs’ firm. The Firm secured the largest-ever securities fraud class action settlement — $7.2 billion — in In re Enron Corp. Securities Litigation.

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