America First Legal has filed a lawsuit against Target and its Board of Directors on behalf of Brian Craig, a Target shareholder, for "betraying Target’s customers and shareholders with misleading representations about its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) mandates, and for causing Target shareholders to lose billions of dollars."
Conservatives have been boycotting Target over the company's Pride collection, which featured LGBTQ-themed items for children — and some pieces designed by a controversial artist who regularly creates pro-Satanism imagery.
The boycott caused shares in the company to collapse by more than $12 billion in value, the largest price decline in over two decades."This is not the first time Target’s management has used shareholder funds to virtue signal to leftist extremists, heedless of the consequences for the corporation’s brand, customers, and shareholders," America First Legal said in a press release. "For example, after the North Carolina legislature adopted a law in 2016 to keep biological men out of bathrooms used by women and girls, Target released a 'Pride Manifesto' and welcomed its employees and shoppers to use restrooms and fitting rooms 'corresponding to their gender identities.' After a massive backlash, CEO Brian Cornell reportedly admitted to Target staff that 'Target didn’t adequately assess the risk' and that 'the ensuing backlash was self-inflicted,' but instead of apologizing, publicly defended the decision: 'We took a stance, and we’re going to continue to embrace our belief of diversity and inclusion, just how important that is to our company.'"
Further, Target has adopted "supplier diversity" targets, which meant that a majority of collections were to be made by “LGBTQIA+ creators and brands” in 2022, according to the legal organization, and "engaged in the odious and illegal practice of race-based hiring by adopting a plan to increase its 'representation of Black team members across the Company by 20 percent.'"
"Federal law requires publicly-traded corporations to provide certain information to shareholders in their proxy statements that allow those shareholders to make informed decisions," said Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Vice President and General Counsel. "As alleged in our complaint, Target failed to execute its duty to its shareholders by making statements that led them to believe that political and social risks were being assessed–when in reality, the only thing Target’s Board and Management cared about was how effectively they fulfilled the desires of various metrics advanced by leftwing “stakeholders.” In so doing, they caused our client to lose a substantial amount of money, and we will vindicate his rights in federal court."
The lawsuit is seeking a declaration that Target’s 2023 director election was void, a declaration that the company violated the Exchange Act, an "order awarding to Plaintiff the damages he has sustained as a result of the violations set forth above from each Defendant, jointly and severally," and other and further relief "as the Court deems just and proper, including reasonable attorney’s fees and costs."
According to a report from Newsweek last month, Target's popularity has hit the lowest point since it began being tracked.
"Target's popularity in the second quarter of this year was 65 percent among 1,560 respondents nationwide—its lowest since it began being tracked in the third quarter of 2020," the report states. "Target previously enjoyed highs of 71 percent during 2021. Now, 15 percent of respondents dislike the brand, while 19 percent were neutral toward it."
