Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the US venture capital firm, has been named as a defendant in the class action lawsuit against Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO), the home and lifestyles media group, over alleged insider trading.

The defendants include Martha Stewart herself, and John Doerr, a partner at Kleiner Perkins who is on the board of MSLO, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and seven other Martha Stewart executives.