In a Wednesday filing with the US District
Court in Manhattan, lawyers for BlackBerry and the shareholders asked the
presiding judge to adjourn the trial so they could negotiate a preliminary
settlement, which requires the judge's approval.
Jury selection had been scheduled to begin
on Thursday. Lawyers for the shareholders did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
While the BlackBerry 10 won positive
reviews from critics, the public preferred Android-based smartphones and
Apple's iPhone, eventually leading to BlackBerry's 2016 decision to stop making
phones.
Shareholders accused the Waterloo,
Ontario-based company, which now focuses on cybersecurity, of concealing
BlackBerry 10's true sales prospects in public statements during 2013,
resulting in an inflated share price.
In February this year, BlackBerry said it
will sell its legacy patents primarily related to mobile devices, messaging,
and wireless networking for $600 million to a special purpose vehicle formed to
acquire the company's patent assets.
BlackBerry said the transaction with the
vehicle, Catapult IP Innovations, will not impact customers' use of its
products or services.
The move comes weeks after BlackBerry
pulled the plug on service for its once ubiquitous business smartphones, which
were toted by executives, politicians, and legions of fans in the early 2000s. ©
Reuters
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