Skip to Content

Sonic Automotive, Inc.

Corporate Governance / Derivative

  • Date:
  • 2/25/2021
  • Company Name:
  • Sonic Automotive, Inc.
  • Stock Symbol:
  • SAH
  • Status:
  • Investigating

Case Finder

Locate any case using the tools below.

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, is investigating potential claims against Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: SAH) on behalf of long-term stockholders. Our investigation concerns whether the board of directors of Sonic have breached their fiduciary duties to the company.
 

On October 7, 2020, The Charlotte Observer reported that Sonic’s Chief Executive Officer, David Bruton Smith, was “arrested Monday and charged with assault on a female and felony assault by strangulation, according to public records and the Mecklenburg County Detention Center.”
 

More recently, on February 18, 2021, Bloomberg published an article entitled “CEO Charged With Choking Woman Garners Board Support, Not Rebuke: Governance watchdogs say a firmer response is needed after Sonic Automotive’s David Smith was charged with assaulting a woman.” Bloomberg reported that “[b]arely 24 hours after his release, Sonic’s board — more than a quarter of which is made up of Smith family members, including the CEO’s father and 93-year-old founder O. Bruton Smith — said it believed he was innocent and pledged its ‘steadfast’ support.” Bloomberg further reported that “Sonic’s ownership structure gives the company more room to shrug off any potential backlash … The Smith family has about 80% of the voting power despite holding only a third of the shares outstanding because of a dual-class structure with supervoting stock.”
 

If you are a long-term stockholder of Sonic Automotive, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Melissa Fortunato or Marion Passmore by email at investigations@bespc.com, or telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out the form below. There is no cost or obligation to you.

The individual or institution below (“Plaintiff”) has reviewed and agrees to the Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. (“BESPC”) retainer agreement and authorizes BESPC to prosecute an action on Plaintiff’s behalf under the federal securities laws or applicable state laws to recover damages on behalf of investors in Sonic Automotive. BESPC will prosecute the action on a full contingency basis and will forward all costs and expenses.
 

Case Finder

Locate any case using the tools below.

You may share a link to this page on any of the sites listed below or send link via email: