Google had a big presence at this week's CES 2019 trade show, but with a new lawsuit being issued against the company from shareholders, it might have to get ready to make an appearance in court.
James Martin, a shareholder of Google's parent company Alphabet, filed a lawsuit against the company at the San Mateo Superior Court claiming that Google breached its trust with shareholders when it paid millions of dollars to former executives who had been accused of sexual harassment.
Updated January 11, 2019 — Andy Rubin's lawyer says the lawsuit 'mischaracterizes' his departure from the company
Just a day after the lawsuit was issued, Andy Rubin's lawyer, Ellen Winick Stross, has already responded with the following statement:
This lawsuit, like much of the recent media coverage, mischaracterizes Andy's departure from Google and sensationalizes claims made about Andy by his ex-wife. Andy left Google voluntarily. Andy denies any misconduct, and we look forward to telling his story in court.
Part of the lawsuit reads as follows:
We are saying to the board of directors that it's time they stand up and do what Google says — 'do the right thing.' There has been substantial evidence of sexual harassment at Google. And yet, there hasn't been the appropriate follow-through. In fact, quite to the contrary. The perpetrators of the sexual harassment have been rewarded handsomely — in one case, by a $90M payout. And that's just wrong.
In addition to the former execs needing to pay back the money they received from Google as a result of their payouts, the lawsuit also calls for three new independent directors to join Alphabet's official board.
News of these payouts first surfaced in late October last year, with the two former executives including Android's creator Andy Rubin and former head of Google Search Amit Singhal.
Google buried 'credible' sexual misconduct claims against Andy Rubin
