NY comptroller sues Qualcomm on political spending
New York's comptroller has sued Qualcomm Inc. in an attempt to compel the wireless technology company to disclose its political spending to him as a shareholder.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Delaware seeks a court order to inspect company records, saying prior requests for the information have been rebuffed by the San Diego-based corporation. The suit cites studies showing corporate political spending tends to hurt investor returns.
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is sole trustee of New York's pension fund for public workers, which has 6.1 million Qualcomm shares valued at almost $380 million.
The comptroller's office says the company spent more than $4.5 million on lobbying last year.
Qualcomm didn't initially respond Thursday to a request for comment.
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