Why are investor planning to sue Apple CEO?
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."
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