The technical issues surrounding EA's recent launch of Battlefield 4 have now made themselves felt in the legal realm, with San Francisco law firm Robbins, Geller, Rudman, and Dowd filing a complaint in federal court on behalf of anyone who bought EA stock between July 24 and December 4 this year.

The 24-page complaint (PDF) accuses EA of duping investors by concealing known issues with Battlefield 4 during that period and of making numerous misleading public statements expressing confidence and excitement about the game's development. Those statements are held in contrast to an EA representative's statement earlier this month that said, "we know we still have a ways to go with fixing the game" and that "we know many of our players are frustrated, and we feel your pain. We will not stop until this is right."

In addition, the lawsuit accuses a number of EA executives of selling substantial amounts of stock in the company back in July and August, before the share price was depressed by the Battlefield 4 news. EA stock peaked at a recent high price of $27.97 in late August, but it has since dropped more than 16 percent from that level, with the bulk of the drop coming following Battlefield 4's launch.

Last week, a Georgia law firm announced that it was launching an investigation into alleged trading violations by EA in the wake of the launch, but this seems to be the first lawsuit actually filed in the matter.

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