Shareholders take Alphabet Inc. to task over Rubin payout

Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. was sued for approving Android creator Andy Rubin's $90m exit payment despite his misconduct allegations. The suit was filed by shareholders who claimed the board failed in its duties by allowing harassment to occur, approving big payouts, and keeping the details private.

The complaint was targeted at the company's top executives and committee members, including co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, venture capitalist John Doerr, investor Ram Shriram and Alphabet chief legal officer David Drummond, among others. The New York Times had revealed that Google executives approved a four-year, $90m pay package for Rubin after an employee accused the executive of sexual harassment.

The shareholder suits are the first critiques aimed directly at the Alphabet board. Read more on this case at Daily Maverick.