Reed Hastings

Investors who were upset by Netflix’s poor decision making in 2011 have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company in a U.S. District Court in Northern California. “At the beginning of the class period, Netflix was facing increasing competition for streaming business, and content providers were exploring new ways to distribute their content and/or maximize their licensing fees,” the lawsuit reads. “Rather than fully disclose the devastating cost increases which were then threatening Netflix’s entire business, the defendants talked about [the company's] ability to grow.” Netflix lost as many 800,000 customers during the third quarter of 2011 when it decided to raise its prices and spin off its DVD rental service into a new subsidiary called Qwikster. The spin-off decision was soon reversed but customers had already left in droves. According to paidContent, investors are also suing because several of Netflix’s executives sold stock before it tanked due to poor decision making. More →