Representing the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Monday she has begun an investigation into a potential stockholder derivative action against the board of directors of Fox Corporation, the corporate parent of Fox News, for breach of fiduciary duty.
She noted that the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund is a Fox investor.
“Treasurer Read and I believe that Fox’s board of directors breached its fiduciary duties by allowing Fox News to broadcast false claims that Dominion and Smartmatic rigged the 2020 presidential election,” Rosenblum said in a news release. “We hope to hold the board accountable and protect the long-term value of Oregon’s investment in Fox Corp.”
The DOJ/Treasury investigation will explore leading a suit against Fox’s management on behalf of the company’s harmed investors, which include Oregon’s public employees.
Fox directors and senior officers manage the company on behalf of its investors. A news release from Rosenblum's office said, "They have a duty to manage the company competently, honestly, and in a manner that prevents foreseeable and catastrophic financial harm like that inflicted upon company’s shareholders by the Dominion and Smartmatic suits."
The attorney general said the investigation will explore whether the board of directors of Fox should be held responsible for the $787.5 million incurred by Fox to settle Dominion’s defamation claim, and other legal costs connected to the defamatory...
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