Lowey Dannenberg reminds investors that they have until March 30, 2020 to seek to be appointed as the lead plaintiff in a securities class action against Beyond Meat Inc. (“Beyond Meat”) if they purchased the company’s securities (stock symbol: BYND) from May 2, 2019 through January 27, 2020, inclusive (the “Class Period”).  This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Beyond Meat Inc. is a Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes.  The class action lawsuit results from the company’s failure to disclose the extent of potential liability they face in a current dispute with a prior manufacturer of their product, and from the failure to disclose food safety violations. The manufacturer asserted claims for breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition due to the termination of an exclusive supply agreement. The manufacturer later added allegations that Beyond Meat produced false or altered food safety inspection documents. On January 27, 2020, the manufacturer announced a favorable ruling from the L.A. County Superior Court upholding the probable validity of their claims against Beyond Meat, causing Beyond Meat’s stock price to fall.

The securities class action claims that defendants publicly misrepresented or failed to disclose that the termination of the supply agreement constituted a breach, exposing the company to potential legal liability and reputational harm and that the company and certain of its employees doctored and omitted material information from a food safety consultant’s report.  Following the revelations on January 27, 2020,the market price of Beyond Meat’s securities declined by over 3.5 percent, causing investors to suffer hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.  Investors who purchased Beyond Meat securities during the Class Period who sustained a financial loss may be eligible to apply to be lead plaintiff until March 30, 2020.  If you would like to join the litigation please contact Barbara Hart, Lowey Dannenberg, at 914-733-7227.