November 4, 2026
Erik Groothuis was recently featured in Packaging Dive discussing a newly filed securities fraud class action lawsuit against O-I Glass and its CEO and CFO, which alleges the company misled investors about its financial outlook and the performance of its Fit to Win improvement program.
Upon reviewing the case and a similar lawsuit against Graphic Packaging International, Erik shares that it’s too soon to determine whether the O-I case is a frivolous lawsuit or not, considering “complaints like this are filed routinely after a sharp one-day drop on a guidance cut,” he explains.
Erik identifies several aspects of the complaint that could strengthen the plaintiffs’ arguments, including O-I management’s own statements acknowledging operational setbacks. In particular, he points to the company's July 2026 earnings call, during which CEO Gordon Hardie acknowledged a “stumble, a chunk of it of our own making.” Erik also notes that this admission is “something plaintiffs can push back on.”
Erik also highlights potential weaknesses in the lawsuit that the defendants could challenge, including its reliance on public statements and analyst reports rather than confidential witnesses or internal documents. He notes that the complaint's suggestion that the company's optimistic projections proved misleading after financial shortfalls emerged could face challenges as a potential case of “fraud by hindsight,” a theory courts often reject.
He further observes that the company's Fit to Win cost-reduction program reportedly exceeded its targets, which could complicate the plaintiffs' argument that O-I misrepresented its financial performance.
Read the full article in Packaging Dive.
Erik S. Groothuis is a partner at Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP and member of the Firm’s management committee. His practice focuses on real estate litigation, financial services litigation, and professional liability litigation. In 2022, Mr. Groothuis was appointed to the American Arbitration Association's roster of neutrals and maintains an active practice serving as an arbitrator in commercial cases. He has been selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers® list in Business Litigation since 2022.