WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Financial services

company BlackRock ( BLK ) and some of its corporate leaders are

facing an investor lawsuit that accuses them of mounting an

illegal campaign to curb coal production across the United

States.

The lawsuit, filed by a shareholder on Monday in federal court

in Texas, claims ‌BlackRock leaders used the asset management

firm's sizable holdings in major coal companies to pressure them

into cutting production.

BlackRock's ( BLK ) ​influence helped to push coal producers to scale

back output from 2019 to 2022, ‍even as demand and prices rose,

the lawsuit said.

BlackRock ( BLK ) did ⁠not immediately respond to ⁠a request for comment.

An attorney for plaintiff Joseph Crognale declined to comment.

The case was filed as ‌a so-called derivative lawsuit on the

company's behalf. ​The defendants include Laurence Fink,

BlackRock's ( BLK ) chairman and chief executive, and Martin Small, the

company's chief financial officer.

"The anticompetitive effects of BlackRock's ( BLK ) output

suppression scheme ⁠imposed severe harms on American consumers,

the ‍competitive coal ​market, and ultimately BlackRock's ( BLK ) own

stockholders," the lawsuit said.

BlackRock ( BLK ) allegedly misled investors by marketing some of its

funds as unrelated to environmental or social objectives while

still ‍using the shares held in those funds to support a

climate-related agenda.

The lawsuit said BlackRock's ( BLK ) directors approved and oversaw

the alleged scheme despite the antitrust risks and in breach of

their fiduciary duties to shareholders.

Their conduct "has exposed the company to massive antitrust

liability and financial exposure," according to the lawsuit.

A judge last year declined to ​dismiss most ‍of an earlier lawsuit

filed by Texas and 12 other Republican-led states that claimed

BlackRock ( BLK ) and other fund managers violated antitrust law through

climate activism that ​reduced coal production and boosted energy

prices.

BlackRock ( BLK ) and the other fund managers denied any wrongdoing in

the states' lawsuit, calling the claims "half-baked and

untested."

The investor lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages on

behalf of BlackRock ( BLK ), changes to the company's governance

practices, and repayment from directors and officers who

allegedly benefited.

The case is Joseph Crognale v. Laurence Fink et al., U.S.

District Court for the Eastern District ​of Texas, No.

6:26-cv-00085.

For plaintiff: Gregory Nespole of Levi & Korsinsky and Brian

Robbins of Robbins LLP

For defendant: No appearance yet

Read more:

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