The courtroom battle surrounding the Avalara $8.4B Buyout Dispute Suit has intensified as shareholders accused the tax software company of trying to stall their federal case that alleges misleading investors ahead of its $8.4 billion sale to Vista Equity Partners.
In a Thursday filing, lead plaintiff Martin Sohovich and other investors told a Washington federal judge that Avalara Inc. “cannot cite a single case” supporting its motion to pause proceedings while a related state court case plays out.
They urged the court to reject Avalara’s attempt to stay litigation, arguing that the company’s reasoning was “legally hollow” and strategically designed to delay accountability.
A Clash Over Jurisdiction and Justice
Avalara wants to hit pause on the federal action until a separate case, Pipe Fitters Local Union 120 Pension Plan and Suzanne Flannery v. Scott McFarlane, winds its way through the Washington Court of Appeals.
Both cases revolve around claims that Avalara’s management misled investors to secure approval for its $93.50-per-share buyout in 2022.
However, the shareholders emphasized that their case was filed three months before Pipe Fitters, making Avalara’s argument for deference to the later-filed case “procedurally flawed.”
“The company presumes overlapping issues must be decided in Pipe Fitters,” the investors wrote, “even though that case trails behind this one and asserts entirely different causes of action.”
