The Federal Securities Case Against View Inc. Could be Halted

The back-and-forth in the case against View Inc., for allegedly violating federal security law continues. Sweta Sonthalia, the lead plaintiff movant, has submitted a Motion for Stay of Proceedings Pending Disposition—which is a ruling to suspend a proceeding or trial. Stadium Capital, a financial services company, has submitted an opposition to this motion.

The submission comes after Judge Beth Freeman appointed Stadium Capital LLC as the case’s lead plaintiff. Stadium Capital and Sonthalia had disputed who the presumptive lead plaintiff should be since they calculated their losses in different ways, according to court documents. Freeman ultimately named Stadium Capital the lead.

According to its opposition documents, Stadium Capital says that “after losing a bid to have this Court grant reconsideration and appoint Sonthalia as the lead plaintiff, [she] now files a Motion to Stay to delay the… securities class action. The stay is sought ostensibly to permit Sonthalia time to obtain an order from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacating the Court’s well-reasoned decision appointing, and subsequent decision reaffirming, Stadium Capital as the lead plaintiff.”

The motion says Sonthalia’s reasoning for submission is “because the Court’s Lead Plaintiff Order and its Order denying leave to reconsider … are currently the subject of the Mandamus Petition.” If the petition is granted, the Ninth Circuit would find that Freeman shouldn’t have appointed Stadium as the lead.

“Alternatively, the Ninth Circuit could resolve inconsistent case law and adopt a separate methodology, and this Court would have to reassess the movants’ applications for appointment as lead plaintiff. Accordingly, until the Ninth Circuit has adjudicated the legal propriety of Stadium’s appointment, Ms. Sonthalia respectfully submits that it would be improper and inefficient for this putative class action to proceed under Stadium’s leadership,” the motion for stay continues.

In March 2021, View announced the completion of its business combination with CF Finance Acquisition Corp. II, and was named the surviving public entity. View was then listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, and according to court documents, “On August 16, 2021, after the market closed, View announced that it ‘began an independent investigation concerning the adequacy of the company’s previously disclosed warranty accrual.’ On this news, [View’s] share price fell $1.26, or more than 24%, to close at $3.92 per share on August 17, 2021, on unusually heavy trading volume.”

According to the court’s docket, a Motion Hearing is scheduled for June 16. Replies to Stadium’s opposition are due by April 7.

This story is progressing. Stay tuned to USGNN™ for updates as they are made available.