The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida denied Target Corporation’s motion to dismiss the shareholder derivative lawsuit titled Craig v. Target Corporation filed by America First Legal (AFL).
The Court ruled the allegations in the lawsuit about Target failing to adequately disclose the risk of consumer backlash to the corporation’s LGBT “Pride Month” marketing and sales campaign legitimately state a claim for violating federal securities laws.
On August 8, 2023, AFL filed a lawsuit against Target and its Board of Directors for misleading investors about the market risks of a key corporate initiative: its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) mandates.
The lawsuit alleged that Target embraced a radical transgender agenda targeting children and families through the corporation’s infamous 2023 “Pride” campaign. AFL’s lawsuit further alleged that the backlash to Target’s 2023 Pride Campaign led to billions in losses.
The court found that the lack of risk disclosure could be materially misleading by not noting their “plan for a new and aggressive 2023 Pride Month Campaign.”
Target also failed to reveal its ESG and DEI goals, which could have led to investor backlash and a loss of sales.
The Court refused to dismiss AFL’s lawsuit.
Reed D. Rubinstein, America First Legal Senior Vice President:
“Today’s decision is a warning to publicly traded corporations’ boards and management: Our federal securities laws mandate fair and honest disclosure of the market risk created by management when it uses shareholder resources, including consumer goodwill, to advance idiosyncratic and extreme social or political preferences. The risk of ESG mandates and DEI initiatives, such as Target’s “Pride Month” that targeted young children, cannot be whitewashed with boilerplate language or ignored,” said Reed Rubinstein.
BREAKING: Today, a federal court ruled that Target may have violated federal securities laws by failing to disclose the risks tied to its LGBTQ activism.@America1stLegal pic.twitter.com/gMxb0hLpsp
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 4, 2024
Does this poster have a point?
No wonder Target doesn’t give a shit about their customers… When you have BlackRock and Vanguard as your biggest shareholders, they call the shots. Corporations now care so much about their ESG score, they’ll alienate their consumer base for it.
It’s one big mafia and BlackRock… pic.twitter.com/UrAmw9s7AE— Establishment Eradicator (@wheresourLOGIC) May 26, 2023
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