Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Is Investigating Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. on Behalf Of Its Shareholders

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a national law firm concentrating on investor rights, consumer rights and enforcement of federal antitrust laws, is investigating potential wrongdoing at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (“GMCR” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: GMCR).  The investigation focuses on whether certain officers and directors of GMCR breached their fiduciary duties by selling company stock based on insider non-public information.     

Robert Stiller, founder and chairman of GMCR, sold $66.3 million worth of the Company’s stock before it plunged on news that the Starbucks Corporation (“Starbucks”) had developed a rival product to its K-Cup brewing system.  Stiller's combined sales on Feb. 15 and 24 were his largest in a single month since at least 2003, when the stock traded below $2.  He would have earned $13.7 million less had he sold on March 9, when the shares fell 16 percent after Starbucks unveiled its machine for home-brewing single cups of espresso.  

In a March 9 regulatory filing, Green Mountain acknowledged having ”recently learned of Starbucks’s planned initiative in the espresso-based single-cup category.”  Spokesmen for Green Mountain wouldn’t specify what information it received about the plan and when. Starbucks has indicated it informed Green Mountain of its plans before its March 8 announcement but has declined to elaborate on the exact timing.  Other directors also sold Company stock during the same time period.

If you are a current GMCR shareholder, and you would like to discuss your legal rights, contact us by calling Beth Keller toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to bkeller@faruqilaw.com.