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James Hardie Investors Face Dec. 23 Deadline in Securities Suit Over Alleged Inventory Misstatements

Plaintiff firms are pressing shareholders to meet a Dec. 23 lead‑plaintiff deadline in an early-stage case with no rulings yet.

Overview

  • A federal securities class action is pending in the Northern District of Illinois, alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) and Rule 10b-5.
  • Investors who purchased James Hardie stock between May 20 and August 18, 2025 can seek lead-plaintiff status by December 23, with multiple firms actively soliciting candidates.
  • The complaint claims executives denied distributor destocking and asserted strength in North America Fiber Cement even as inventory reductions were observed in April and early May 2025.
  • Plaintiffs allege sales reflected inventory loading with the hallmarks of fraudulent channel stuffing in a segment cited as the company’s primary earnings driver.
  • On August 19, 2025 the company disclosed a 12% sales drop in the North America Fiber Cement unit tied to “normalization of channel inventories,” and the stock fell over 34% to $18.64 by August 20.