On October 29, 2010, Law360 reported that thirteen directors and officers at firearms maker Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:SWHC) were targeted in a shareholder derivative action. Represented by Robbins Umeda LLP* and another firm, the shareholder claims that certain current and former officers and directors breached their fiduciary duties, wasted corporate assets, and unjustly enriched themselves by issuing misleading statements about demand for Smith & Wesson's guns, concealing excess inventory, and cashing in their personally-held stock while the company's stock price was artificially inflated by the misleading statements and omissions.
The suit seeks to recover illicitly gained profits from the executives to the company and to reform Smith & Wesson's corporate governance and financial reporting procedures to help prevent future wrongdoing.
The case is Sarnacki v. Golden, et al., case number 2:10-cv-02316-SRB, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
* The firm name changed from Robbins Umeda LLP to Robbins LLP on January 1, 2013.