Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM.O) stockholders can sue as a class after a federal judge decided that Qualcomm disguised anticompetitive sales and licensing activities.
According to the San Diego complaint, Qualcomm and its officials it allegedly misrepresented their chip-selling and technology-licensing businesses as distinct from hindering competition.
The investors spearheading the complaint believe the misrepresentations unfairly boosted Qualcomm shares between 2012 and 2017.
Qualcomm dismissed the claims.
Qualcomm’s claim that the sales methods were public was rejected Monday by U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta.
She said that Qualcomm’s replies to regulators’ antitrust complaints offered “much more detail” regarding activities and harmed consumers.
The class includes Qualcomm common stockholders who lost money between Feb. 1, 2012, and Jan. 20, 2017.
Qualcomm paid the Korea Fair Trade Commission 1.03 trillion won ($912.34 million) in 2017 for improper licensing and chip sales.
California consumers have sued the San Diego-based corporation for violating state law.
Shah v. Qualcomm Incorporated et al., U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, 17-121.
