Florida AG files class action lawsuit against Target over Pride displays, DEI policies

Target is in hot water once again over its DEI policies and disastrous 2023 Pride merchandising as Florida’s attorney general has filed a class action lawsuit against the retail chain.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and America First Legal, along with law firms Boyden Gray and Lawson Huck Gonzalez, brought the suit against the retailer, accusing it of knowingly misleading and defrauding investors about the risks of its “radical LGBTQ activism.”

The lawsuit contends that Target “actively misled” investors that they would monitor the risks associated with their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) but instead only monitored the reaction of left-wing activist groups. These actions led Target shareholders to lose tens of billions of dollars, per the lawsuit.

TARGET HIT WITH CLASS ACTION SUIT CLAIMING THEY MISLED INVESTORS OVER DEI POLICIES

Fox News Digital reached out to Target for comment, but did not immediately hear back. 

“While Target told investors they would keep the company out of controversy to protect the stock price, the retailer engaged in a marketing campaign targeting and sexualizing children,” Uthmeier said in a post on X. 

“Target misled and defrauded its investors, destroying billions in shareholder value to serve its management’s corrosive, radical, and deeply destructive social agenda,” America First Legal claimed.

TARGET HONCHOS ‘HAVEN’T LEARNED THEIR LESSON’ DESPITE WIDESPREAD BACKLASH TO PRIDE MERCHANDISE

Target was hit with massive consumer backlash after the store began selling “tuck friendly” female-style bathing suits and other transgender-affiliated items as part of its June 2023 Pride campaign. An ensuing boycott led to a significant drop in sales and stock value. The retailer’s stock price plummeted 22% in in Nov. 2024 wiping out $16 billion in market cap. 

This suit comes just weeks after another class action case was filed against the retailer over its Pride and DEI initiatives. The suit, led by the City of Riviera Beach Police Pension Fund in Florida, alleged that Target misused investor funds for “political and social goals,” and duped investors into buying stock at “artificially inflated prices.”