US Supreme Court weighs Slack direct listing class action

FILE PHOTO: The Slack Technologies Inc. logo is seen on a banner outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during thew company's IPO in New York, U.S. June 20, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday weighed a bid by Salesforce Inc's Slack Technologies to avoid a lawsuit over its 2019 direct listing in a case that could undermine the ability of shareholders to sue companies for alleged misstatements when they go public.

The justices heard arguments in an appeal by Slack, which makes workplace communications software, of a lower court ruling that let the proposed class action lawsuit filed by shareholder Fiyyaz Pirani for alleged violations of a federal investor protection law proceed. A direct listing is an alternative to a traditional initial public offering.