Shareholder Sues FileNet Over Stock Dive : Courts: He claims the Costa Mesa company misled its investors about prospects. Its stock fell 34% in a day.

FileNet Corp. said Tuesday that it has been sued by a shareholder who alleges that the company misled investors about its prospects before it announced an anticipated loss.

Attorneys for Kenneth M. Wortman, who bought 1,000 shares of the document processing company’s stock last year for $32.25 apiece, sued FileNet in federal court in Santa Ana on Jan. 6. The suit also names Ted Smith, chief executive, and Mark St. Clare, chief financial officer, as defendants.

St. Clare said that the suit, the second such action against FileNet, is without merit and that the company will defend itself vigorously against the allegations.

The lawsuit alleged that between Feb. 13 and Jan. 4, the period during which Wortman owned stock, FileNet misled investors about its earnings and revenue potential. The company announced on Jan. 4 that it would report nearly $10 million in losses for the fourth quarter, lay off 10% to 15% of its 1,000-member work force and take a $6.8-million charge against earnings. The announcement sent FileNet’s stock plunging 34% in a single day.

St. Clare said the company announced the news as soon as it learned that a number of significant orders were delayed or canceled in the last two weeks of the fourth quarter.

The suit was filed by attorneys for Milberg Weiss Bershad Specthrie & Lerach, a San Diego law firm that specializes in shareholder lawsuits. Attorneys did not return calls Tuesday for comment.

FileNet was sued by investor Michael Friedman in October, 1990, after its stock suffered a similar plunge in the wake of an announcement that the company would report worse-than-expected financial results. The company settled that suit in July, 1991, by paying $85,000 in legal costs plus $10,000 to Friedman.

In Tuesday’s trading on the NASDAQ market, FileNet’s stock closed at $15 a share, up 62.5 cents for the day.