NEW YORK -- Defending against dozens of lawsuits from disgruntled shareholders, Facebook Inc. is suggesting that trading problems at the Nasdaq Stock Market contributed to a sharp drop in the company's stock price after its initial public offering.

The defense was in a court filing in which Facebook and the banks, led by Morgan Stanley, that oversaw the IPO, are seeking to combine the more than 40 federal and state lawsuits around the country into one federal case in New York.

First Published June 16, 2012, 4:00 a.m.