A U.S. judge on Monday said British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson must face shareholder claims he concealed problems in Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc's spaceship program, and sold hundreds of millions of dollars of stock at inflated prices.
Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson departs with his crew prior to boarding, for travel to the edge of space in Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane VSS Unity, near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, U.S., July 11, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File PhotoNEW YORK, Nov 7 - A U.S.
Shareholders can sue over July 2019 statements that Virgin had made "great progress" overcoming "hurdles" to commercial spaceflight, despite a near-disastrous test flight five months earlier when its rocket plane Unity suffered critical damage., where he soared 50 miles above the earth, had been "flawless" though Unity had strayed from its assigned airspace.
In a 55-page decision, Ross said shareholders also could sue over approximately $301 million of stock that Branson sold the month after the flight.In seeking a dismissal, they said there was no proof of intent to defraud, and that the defendants had thoroughly disclosed safety and design issues in developing commercial space travel, "unquestionably a high-risk proposition.
The case is Kusnier et al v. Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 21-03070.
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