Following Under Armour’s acceptance of a $9 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this month, Baltimore federal court judge Richard Bennett has ruled that a long-running consolidated shareholder suit against the company can go forward. The suit, which names the company and its former CEO Kevin Plank as defendants, alleges that Under Armour pulled forward orders in 2015 and 2016 to maintain a string of 26 consecutive 20 percent growth quarters. The SEC settlement’s findings were broadly in line with the plaintiffs’ claims, but UA’s consent to the order did not admit or deny those findings. The complaint had been dismissed with prejudice in 2019, but was remanded after a successful appeal to the Fourth Circuit, which allowed the plaintiffs to amend and refile their complaint. In announcing the new review of the case, the judge indicated that it will help determine the actual details of this “pull forward” practice and its effect on revenue estimates.

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