Apple Inc probably will be sued by investors unhappy with the company's about-face on the health of its visionary chief executive, but the law is not clear on what duty the company has to disclose personal medical information, legal experts said on Wednesday.

Apple said CEO Steve Jobs, 53, will take a medical leave of absence until June. The announcement that comes just nine days after the pancreatic cancer survivor downplayed investor concerns about his dramatic weight loss in recent months, saying it was caused by an easily treatable hormone imbalance.

The company's share price dropped as much as 10 percent on the announcement despite some analysts' belief that a potential Jobs health crisis was "baked in" to the price.

'The most private part of his life' "It is extremely difficult because it is the most private part of his life," Steve Williams, a plaintiffs attorney for Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy, said. "At the same time, Apple is Steve Jobs."

But a defense attorney said investors probably would need a "smoking gun" to overcome the company's likely defense that Jobs' medical condition was constantly evolving.

"In the absence of some memo from a doctor that contradicts what he is saying, I would think it would be problematic for a plaintiffs (to sue for disclosure lapses)," said the attorney, who asked not to be named because his firm is litigating with Apple. "It is not the same as looking at a piece of financial information at the end of the month."