QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) on Friday averted the lengthy process of litigation after a case against it, filed by the New York Pension Fund, was dropped. The fund filed the case in early January following alleged questionable political spending by Qualcomm. The move to drop the case was fuelled by Qualcomm’s decision to implement a revised political disclosure policy.
San-Diego based QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) was lauded by New York State Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli. Mr. DiNapoli remarked that Qualcomm’s disclosure policy set high standards, citing that the company deserved praise for its actions.
Qualcomm’s chief executive and chairman, Paul E. Jobs, also shared his thoughts on the incident. In a joint statement by DiNapoli and the company, CEO Jobs strongly advocated for transperancy. “Increased transparency for election-related activities by corporations is very beneficial,” he said.
Chip maker gives in after slight struggle
Despite the fact that Qualcomm agreed to disclose its political spending, it didn’t go down without a fight. Earlier reports show that there was a quasi-tag of war between Qualcomm and the New York Fund. At the time of the suit, Thomas DiNapoli argued that he had settled down on Qualcomm because of its prolonged resistance to disclose how much it spent on political causes. DiNapoli even noted that he, alongside the Fund, had tried different tactics on Qualcomm, but to no avail.
As if justifying the early January decision to sue Qualcomm, DiNapoli was at the time noted to say, “Because of the resistance on the part of this company, we felt that this was a useful place to start.”
At the time of the lawsuit, DiNapoli said QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) had spent an excess of $4.5 million on lobbying in 2012. OpenSecrets.org also gave a detailed breakdown of the spending, alleging that Washington-based Qualcomm Political Action Committee had contributed $166500 to federal candidates, 48 percent to republicans and 53 percent to democrats.
