Add this to the growing list of Netflix's woes: It's getting sued.

As it struggles with a weakened stock and battered public perception, Netflix now finds itself the subject of a class-action lawsuit in California. A group of investors filed the suit in U.S. District Court "against Netflix and certain of its officers and/or directors", contending that "company insiders" at Netflix were "conceal[ing] negative trends" that preceded the stock's ultimate plummeting and selling NFLX stock while the stock was at that "artificially inflated" peak.

For background, on July 12, the day Netflix announced that it would split its DVD and streaming services, Netflix stock closed at a price of 291.27; on October 25, 2011, the final day of the class action lawsuit, the stock closed at 77.37. On Tuesday, Netflix was trading around the 97.00 mark.

Among the defendants named in the lawsuit are embattled Netflix CEO Reed Hastings; Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos; and Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Kilgore. A summary of the accusation, from the lawsuit:

During the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business practices and its contracts with content providers. Specifically, defendants concealed negative trends in Netflix's business. As a result of defendants' false statements, Netflix's stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching a high of almost $300 per share on July 13, 2011. While Netflix stock was inflated (partially by Netflix buying back its own stock), Comapny insiders were selling 388,661 shares of their own Netflix stock for proceeds of $90.2 million.

Though Netflix has long been getting pilloried in the court of public opinion, with Internet commenters and message board denizens blasting the company for what they perceive as corporate greed, this is the first official legal thrust at the popular streaming-and-DVD service as a result of its sudden stock price drop. It had also been publicly noted that CEO Hastings was selling lots of his company's stock, with many questioning why, though this lawsuit also marks the first legal criticism of his selling.

Hastings, for one, is taking a huge pay cut for 2012, with his stock options down to $1.5 million from $3 million. His base salary of $500,000 per year remains the same.

A spokesperson Netflix declined to comment.

Earlier on HuffPost:

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If there is one lesson to be learned from The Great Qwikster Debacle of 2011 it is this: Don't take your perfectly good service and make it more expensive and then harder to use. In July, Netflix unbundled their DVD rental and streaming plan, effectively forcing customers to pay $6 more for the combo plan they had grown accustomed to. Then, in September, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced that DVD rentals and streaming would become two totally separate services. The streaming service would retain the name "Netflix," while the DVD branch would be called "Qwikster." Reactions were predictably negative, and on October 10, before Qwikster had even launched, Netflix ended the failed experiment. But the company has paid dearly. In October, Netflix announced that it had lost 800,000 subscribers during the July - September quarter. In November, the AP reported that the company had lost 75 percent of its market value. Hastings, who is largely blamed for the blunders, will see his 2012 stock options awards cut in half. Image via AP

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If there is one lesson to be learned from The Great Qwikster Debacle of 2011 it is this: Don't take your perfectly good service and make it more expensive and then harder to use.

In July, Netflix unbundled their DVD rental and streaming plan, effectively forcing customers to pay $6 more for the combo plan they had grown accustomed to.

Then, in September, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced that DVD rentals and streaming would become two totally separate services. The streaming service would retain the name "Netflix," while the DVD branch would be called "Qwikster." Reactions were predictably negative, and on October 10, before Qwikster had even launched, Netflix ended the failed experiment.

But the company has paid dearly. In October, Netflix announced that it had lost 800,000 subscribers during the July - September quarter. In November, the AP reported that the company had lost 75 percent of its market value. Hastings, who is largely blamed for the blunders, will see his 2012 stock options awards cut in half.

Image via AP

MORE SLIDESHOWS NEXT >   |   < PREV

'Drip-Casting': Mobile Companies Looking At Download Concept That Trades Money For Speed

EcoATM: Gadget Recycling Machine Pays Cash For Old Phones

Facebook Makeover Scam Offers To Turn Profile Colors Red, Black Or Pink

The Best Of CES 2012: 9 New Products That Made Us Say Wow

Watch The Top 9 YouTube Videos Of The Week

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday Honored With Google's 'Dream' Doodle

Qwikster

1

 / 15

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If there is one lesson to be learned from The Great Qwikster Debacle of 2011 it is this: Don't take your perfectly good service and make it more expensive and then harder to use. In July, Netflix unbundled their DVD rental and streaming plan, effectively forcing customers to pay $6 more for the combo plan they had grown accustomed to. Then, in September, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced that DVD rentals and streaming would become two totally separate services. The streaming service would retain the name "Netflix," while the DVD branch would be called "Qwikster." Reactions were predictably negative, and on October 10, before Qwikster had even launched, Netflix ended the failed experiment. But the company has paid dearly. In October, Netflix announced that it had lost 800,000 subscribers during the July - September quarter. In November, the AP reported that the company had lost 75 percent of its market value. Hastings, who is largely blamed for the blunders, will see his 2012 stock options awards cut in half. Image via AP

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