SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A federal judge dismissed a class action accusing Yelp of manipulating businesses' reviews for money.
Lead plaintiff Joseph Curry sued Yelp and its executives in August 2014 for securities violations, claiming Yelp goosed its stock price through "false denials of the company's extortionlike practices."
Curry claimed Yelp often did not screen or remove fake reviews of businesses that didn't advertise with Yelp, to coerce them into buying ads.
U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar dismissed the case Tuesday, finding the consolidated class action "fails to satisfy the requirements for a securities fraud claim."
The plaintiffs have 30 days to file an amended complaint.
Plaintiffs' attorney Shawn Williams with Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd in San Francisco and defendants' attorney Gilbert Serota with Arnold and Porter in San Francisco could not be reached by deadline Wednesday.
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