Techtronic’s Libel Suit Against Short Seller Moves Forward

A defamation lawsuit by Techtronic Indus. Co. Ltd. against a short seller who accused the power-tool supplier of using manipulative accounting to inflate its profits won’t be dismissed, a federal judge ruled.

The publicly traded Hong Kong company lost $3.5 billion in market capitalization after Jehoshaphat Research, run by investment analyst Victor Bonilla, published a report alleging the company was hiding its financial situation from the public. Bonilla later published a second report alleging Techtronic was defrauding Home Depot, its biggest customer, leading to a further loss of $600 million in market capitalization, according to the Monday opinion from ...