Pegasystems Leaders Hid Dispute That Cost $2 Billion, Suit Says

Pegasystems Inc. executives and directors kept silent about a competitor’s trade secret allegations until just before a trial that ended in a more than $2 billion verdict, according to a new derivative suit.

That misconduct subjected the artificial intelligence company to a proposed investor class action with massive potential liability, shareholder Mary Larkin says. She filed her complaint Monday in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Larkin says “Pegasystems and its senior executives and employees crafted a scheme to misappropriate” its rival Appian Corp.'s trade secrets by employing someone with access to Appian’s software. Appian was tipped ...