/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/CAR_Public/031014.mbx
C L A S S A C T I O N R E P O R T E R
Tuesday, October 14, 2003, Vol. 5, No. 202
Headlines
AMAZON NATURAL: Permanently Enjoined From Various SEC Violations
APARTHEID LITIGATION: New Suit Filed Against South Africa Firms
AUSTRIA: NY Judge Allows Suit Over Cable Car Accident To Proceed
BANK OF AMERICA: Widens Offer To Reimburse Mutual Fund Holders
BAYER: Faces Suit After Peruvians Die From Ingesting Pesticide
CATHOLIC CHURCH: KY Diocese Settles Sex Abuse Suits for $5.1M
CATHOLIC CHURCH: CA Diocese Faces Up To 80 Sex Abuse Lawsuits
COMPUTER HORIZONS: Court Convicts Ex-Chairman of Insider Trading
CREDIT SUISSE: Quattrone Says CSFB Lawyer Failed To Warn Workers
CREE INC.: Co-Founder Agrees To Drop Securities Fraud Claims
DISNEY WORLD: Documents Reveal Ride Checked Before Derailment
ENRON CORPORATION: Sues Goldman Sachs Due To Breach of Agreement
GALILEO CORPORATION: Director Found Guilty of Insider Trading
HISPANIC BROADCASTING: Agrees To Settle SEC-Filed Civil Lawsuit
IMCLONE SYSTEMS: CEO's Father, Sister Included in Trading Probe
INDIANA: Agreement Forged For Lawsuit Over South Shore Collision
K-B TOYS: Holds Sale As Part of $3M Deceptive Pricing Settlement
KENTUCKY: Lottery Faces Suit Over Extra Cash Game, Advertising
LOUISIANA: Judge Reduces Class in Suit Over Contaminated Water
MAGIC CABIN: Recalls 600 Wooden Toy Cars Due to Choking Hazard
MICHIGAN: Opening Meetings Suit V. Livonia Schools To Reach End
MICROSOFT CORPORATION: Final Hearing Set For Antitrust Suit Pact
NORTH CAROLINA: Lawsuit For Owners Of Finestone Homes Certified
OXYCONTIN LITIGATION: IL Firm Sues Over Time Release Mechanism
RANCHO DEL SOL NURSERIES: To Pay $221T Fine For Illegal Grading
TYSON FOODS: Judge Grants Class Action For Shareholders' Lawsuit
UNITED KINGDOM: NHS To Pay Man Suffering From Permanent Hunger
UNITED KINGDOM: Probe For Recalls of Carcinogenic Food Started
WAL-MART STORES: Discrimination Lawsuits Refute Corporate Image
WELLSPRING CAPITAL: CT Court Issues Injunction Over Ponzi Scheme
New Securities Fraud Cases
DDI CORPORATION: Charles Piven Lodges Securities Suit in C.D. CA
ENRON CORPORATION: Spencer & Associates Files Stock Suit in TX
HEALTHTRONICS SURGICAL: Shephard Finkelman Lodges Lawsuit in GA
JANUS CAPITAL GROUP: Spector Roseman Lodges Stock Lawsuit in CO
JANUS CAPITAL: Spector Roseman Launches Securities Lawsuit in CO
JANUS CAPITAL: Much Shelist Files Securities Fraud Lawsuit in CO
MIDWAY GAMES: Charles J. Piven Files Stock Fraud Suit in N.D. IL
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA: Bernstein Liebhard Lodges Stock Suit in NY
SPORTSLINE.COM: Charles J. Piven Lodges Stock Lawsuit in S.D. FL
STRONG FINANCIAL: Schiffrin Barroway Files Securities Suit in WI
*********
AMAZON NATURAL: Permanently Enjoined From Various SEC Violations
----------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon Natural Treasures.com, formerly Amazon Natural Treasures,
Inc., and Michael A. Sylver, both of Las Vegas, Nevada were
permanently enjoined from further violations of Sections 5 and
17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, the
Securities and Exchange Commission announced in its News Digest
(October 10, 2003 issue).
Amazon was further enjoined from violations of Sections 13(a),
13(b)(2)(A) and (B) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5, 12b-20,
12b-25, 13a-1, 13a-13, and 13b2-1. Mr. Sylver was further
enjoined from violations of Rule 13b2-2 of the Exchange Act and
from aiding and abetting Amazon's violations of Sections 13(a),
13(b)(2)(A) and (B) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5, 12b-20,
12b-25, 13a-1, 13a-13, and 13b2-1 thereunder. Mr. Sylver was
permanently barred from serving as an officer or director of a
public company, assessed a third-tier civil penalty of $120,000,
and ordered to disgorge the following:
(1) $32,000, consisting of personal expenses he charged
against the company's American Express card;
(2) $200,000, consisting of cash withdrawals he made from
the company's bank accounts which were not shown to be
for corporate purposes; and
(3) all purported "promissory notes" which Mr. Sylver
contended reflected outstanding loans to him from
Amazon. The face amount of these purported loans was
approximately $1.5 million.
On August 2, 2003, the Court denied a motion by Mr. Sylver and
Amazon for a new trial.
The case involved antifraud, bookkeeping, internal controls,
reporting and securities registration violations by Mr. Sylver
and Amazon between 1997 and 2000. At relevant times, Amazon
sold dietary supplements derived from plants grown in the Amazon
rain forest in Brazil.
According to the Commission's complaint, from at least 1997
through March 2000, Amazon and Mr. Sylver made numerous false
and misleading statements concerning Amazon's operations,
products and revenues. Among other misrepresentations, Amazon
and Mr. Sylver claimed that the company had an "AIDS prevention
cream" available for sale.
Throughout the period of these ongoing fraudulent public
statements, Mr. Sylver and Amazon also sold millions of shares
of stock to the public in unregistered, non-exempt transactions.
Amazon also failed to create and maintain adequate books and
records and internal controls, and has failed to file any
periodic reports with the Commission since September 1999.
The complaint is styled, SEC v. Amazon Natural Treasures, Inc.,
Michael A. Sylver and Domingos Loricchio Jr., Civ. No. CVS-01-
0229, filed in the United States District Court in Nevada. (LR-
18398)
APARTHEID LITIGATION: New Suit Filed Against South Africa Firms
---------------------------------------------------------------
Prominent American lawyer Ed Fagan intends to file a new class
action in New York State Court against at least five companies,
including giant South Africa finance group Alexander Forbes,
Union Carbide and the Dow Chemical company, over charges that
they defrauded South African workers during the apartheid era,
Agence France-Presse reports.
John Ngcebetsha, the South African lawyer for the claimants,
told AFP, "The claims will be filed on behalf of workers who
deposited money into pension, health, life, unemployment and
retirement funds and never received a cent back from these
companies." Ngcebetsha said. "Some of these workers have been
waiting for more than 10 years, many of them without jobs."
The suit seeks compensation for "the billions of dollars
deposited in pension, health, life, unemployment and retirement
funds which were later negligently, carelessly or recklessly
unaccounted for, improperly transferred, withheld, lost or
stolen", according to court papers, AFP reports.
AUSTRIA: NY Judge Allows Suit Over Cable Car Accident To Proceed
----------------------------------------------------------------
New York Federal Judge Shira A. Scheindlin ruled that class
action status and a single liability trial are appropriate for
the families of victims of a cable car fire in Austria that
killed 155 people, the Associate Press Newswires reports. Judge
Scheindlin also ruled that she would let the families choose
whether to join the class even though she could find no prior
use of such an "opt-in" provision.
Typically, class action members are permitted to choose not to
participate in class action litigation rather than the other way
around. In the lawsuits, relatives of victims are seeking
unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against train and
train part manufacturers and operators. The plaintiffs allege
that the companies were responsible for train and tunnel defects
that caused the deaths in Kaprun, Austria.
Eight Americans died in the November 11, 2000, accident,
including a family of four and a newly engaged couple, when fire
engulfed a cable car going through a mountain tunnel.
"I recognize that class certification will allow many non-
Americans to take advantage of this country's legal system and
its class action device, which is unavailable in many foreign
jurisdictions," Judge Scheindlin wrote.
However, Judge Scheindlin said it was necessary to combine
defendants in a single trial for liability, because few
plaintiffs could afford to bring such a complex lawsuit against
foreign defendants and because the liability claim of each
plaintiff was the same.
Cost savings for the plaintiffs were so great, wrote Judge
Scheindlin, that the non-Americans were willing to risk that a
US judgment of liability may not be recognized in their own
countries. If a trial results in a finding of liability against
any of the companies, then separate trials will be staged to
determine the amount of damages each plaintiff is owed.
The judge said two-thirds of the victims' families had expressed
interest in joining the class action, including more than 20
German families, 56 Austrian families and all 10 Japanese
families. They desire to join the class action even though they
realized that if they joined the class action they would have to
agree not to sue again in their own countries, said Judge
Scheindlin.
Robert Swift, a Philadelphia lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the
litigation in the United States was especially important because
the legal issues proceeded too slowly in Austria, where
authorities have yet to declare a cause of the accident.
Mr. Swift said the families knew that Austrian courts were not
bound by the judgments of a US court, but that the findings of a
US court could at least be recognized as evidence at a trial in
Austria.
BANK OF AMERICA: Widens Offer To Reimburse Mutual Fund Holders
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bank of America has taken in another attempt to put regulators'
scrutiny of its mutual fund business behind it, The New York
Times reports. The bank, which already has promised to
reimburse shareholders of its mutual funds who lost money
because of improper trading, now is offering to pay back holders
of any fund affected by trades that the bank allowed. From the
outset, Bank of America has said it will investigate the matter
and make restitution.
In still another step to persuade regulators of the change it is
instituting in handling its mutual fund business, the bank
appointed several outside advisers, including a former
comptroller of the currency and a retired executive of General
Electric, to review its fund operations.
The bank fired employees and announced the internal review after
it was named last month in a $40 million settlement between the
New York attorney general and Canary Capital Partners, a hedge
fund that admitted to improper trading in fund shares.
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer also filed criminal charges
against a broker at Bank of America, Theodore C. Sihpol III, who
already had been fired. Mr. Sihpol arranged for Canary to trade
in and out of the bank's funds and those managed by Alliance
Capital.
Bank of America is at the center of a growing group of companies
scrambling to head off any actions by regulators in their
widening inquiry into mutual fund trading. Last week, for
example Alliance Capital Management suspended two employees for
their role in fund trading, and Fred Alger Management, another
investment firm, suspended three executives. Prudential
Securities fired 12 brokers and managers for their role in
questionable fund trading, and Merrill Lynch fired three senior
brokers.
Franklin Resources, parent company of the Franklin, Templeton
and Mutual Series funds, confirmed that it had received a
subpoena from the attorney general's office, and issued a
statement that the request for information in no way implies any
wrongdoing. Franklin prohibits what is known as late trading;
that is, trading in fund shares after the market close, at
prices based on the value of the shares at 4 p.m. It also has
restriction on market timing, or rapid trading of shares in
mutual funds. Regulators are investigating such practices,
calling them widespread.
Bank of America said recently that it would refund any money
lost by investors at other fund companies whose shares were
improperly traded by Canary, as well as holders of its Nations
Funds, assuming such investors were not already reimbursed by
Canary or other third parties, the New York Times reports.
"We (the Bank of America) are just trying to stand up and say if
there is something that happened as a result of the actions of
our employees, we will do what is responsible," Robert Stickler,
a bank spokesman, told the Times. The bank also emphasized that
it is continuing to cooperate with regulators. A spokesman for
Mr. Spitzer said that the bank's latest announcement would "have
no bearing on our ongoing investigation."
Bank of America, as already indicated above, has been taking
many steps to perform an internal review and institute "best
practices" in the conduct of their mutual fund business. The
bank officials hope that "if they can argue they are following
best practices, people will leave them alone," said Richard
Bove, an analyst with Hoefer & Arnett, an independent research
firm. "They are doing this for the public relations aspect."
Mark Schonfeld, associate regional director with the SEC in New
York, said, "We view the actions announced by Bank of America as
positive steps." He declined to comment further.
In somewhat more detail, the bank named three people to assess
various aspects of its fund group, which manages $135 billion in
assets:
(1) Dale Frey, former president and chairman of General
Electric Investment Corporation, will conduct an
overall review of the fund operations;
(2) Maureen Scannell Bateman, former general counsel of the
State Street Corporation and U.S. Trust, will review
the fund business's legal and regulatory controls;
(3) The Promontory Financial Group, a consulting firm led
by Eugene A. Ludwig, former comptroller of the
currency, will review technology related to the fund
group.
Mr. Sihpol arranged for Canary to have access to a computer
system that made it easier for the hedge fund to trade fund
shares after the market closed, according to the complaint
filed against Canary.
These officials will be independent of a team of bank executives
who are already reviewing the fund business with lawyers at
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Separately, the independent
trustees of the Nations Funds, as Bank of America's mutual funds
are known, have hired Willkie Farr & Gallagher to direct their
own inquiry.
BAYER: Faces Suit After Peruvians Die From Ingesting Pesticide
--------------------------------------------------------------
Four children and two adults died in a remote Andean village in
Peru after eating soup contaminated with a pesticide that
apparently had been spilled months ago on wheat used to prepare
the meal, the Associated Press Newswires.
Officials said they believed the insecticide involved was
methyl-parathion and that a sample of the food ingested had been
sent to Lima for analysis. Bayer produces methyl-parathion,
also known by the brand name Folidol. It was banned in Peru
after 24 school children, in another rural village, died in
1999, after drinking milk inadvertently mixed with the toxin.
Luis Gomero, director of the Peruvian Pesticide Action Network,
said that although banned, Folidol is frequently brought into
Peru from neighboring Bolivia, where it is still legal.
The pesticide, also, has come under fire from international
activists who say that farmers in the third world -- often
illiterate and unable to read the warning labels and the
instructions for use -- are unfairly exposed to the pesticide's
risks.
Bayer and the Peruvian government face a class action arising
from the 1999 deaths. Mr. Gomero said the case is being
reviewed by a Peruvian judge.
CATHOLIC CHURCH: KY Diocese Settles Sex Abuse Suits for $5.1M
-------------------------------------------------------------
The Diocese of Covington, in Kentucky, agreed to pay more than
$5.1 million to 27 people who were sexually abused by Roman
Catholic priests and religious workers, The Lexington Herald
Leader reports. Attorneys for the diocese and lawyers for the
victims recently reached the settlements, which must be approved
by the courts.
The Covington Diocese's settlements do not mean the diocese is
free of litigation. Two people who say they were abused by
priests are bringing suit in Fayette Circuit Court; and, in
addition, a class action is being brought in Boone County
Circuit Court.
Covington Bishop Roger J. Foys praised the outcome, saying that
he was pleased that this important step could be taken; that he
prays this is the beginning of healing and reconciliation with
those who have been "deeply hurt as children by priests."
Bishop Foys sought to avoid a lengthy, acrimonious court
battle. In August, he traveled twice to Lexington to personally
apologize for the sexual abuse, and he held individual meetings
with 16 victims in order to listen to their concerns and
promised to do all he could to prevent abuse in the future.
The 24 clients of Lexington attorney Angela Ford will split
$4,415,000, an average of about $184,000 per person before legal
fees. The three other victims, clients of Covington attorney
Barbara Bonar, will split $750,000. The amount of money
individual victims receive will depend in part on the severity
of the abuse they endured, Ms. Ford said. The abuse ranged from
inappropriate touching to rape, she said.
CATHOLIC CHURCH: CA Diocese Faces Up To 80 Sex Abuse Lawsuits
-------------------------------------------------------------
In the first of what lawyers say will be scores of suits filed
against the church before the years end, a 52-year-old South Bay
man filed a lawsuit against the Diocese of San Diego alleging
that retired priest Monsignor Rudolh Galindo, abused him decades
ago, the UnionTribune reports.
The suit filed yesterday concerns molestations that allegedly
occurred at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Chula Vista between
1958 and 1966. The victim was 8 years old when, he says, the
Fr. Galindo, who eventually became a monsignor before retiring
last year, molested him.
The plaintiff said he was abused in the priests' living quarters
and in numerous trips with Galindo away from San Diego. The
suit alleges that the plaintiff told his mother when he was 12
about the abuse. The priest denied it, and the mother "severely
punished" the boy. He never spoke of the abuse again until
recently.
Irwin Zalkin, a Del Mar lawyer who sits on a committee of
plaintiffs' attorneys in San Diego who represent clients
accusing priests of abuse, told the UnionTribune there would be
as many as 80 suits filed in the coming weeks. The attorneys
plan to hold a news conference this week in front of the Hall of
Justice in downtown San Diego to discuss the litigation, Mr.
Zalkin said.
About a dozen lawsuits already have been filed against the
diocese this year. Last November the diocese settled the claim
of one former altar boy who also accused Fr. Galindo of abusing
him. The suit filed yesterday said 11 altar boys have come
forward with allegations of sexual abuse against Fr. Galindo.
Rod Valdivia, a diocese spokesman, said he had not seen the
latest lawsuit, the UnionTribune reports.
The flood of suits is largely due to the fact that a special
state law allowing the suits expires at the end of the year.
That law opened a one-year period for filing lawsuits for
sexual-abuse claims that happened years ago, and for which the
legal deadline for filing such claims had passed.
"I think you can reasonably expect that many, many more cases
will be filed," attorney Andrea Leavitt, who represents a number
of abuse claimants and is also on the plaintiffs' lawyers
committee, told the UnionTribune.
All the clergy-abuse suits from Southern California have been
coordinated under one judge in Los Angeles Superior Court. The
cases have since been assigned to a special mediation judge, to
see if settlements can be reached before a trial.
COMPUTER HORIZONS: Court Convicts Ex-Chairman of Insider Trading
----------------------------------------------------------------
John J. Cassese, the former chairman and president of Computer
Horizons Corporation, was convicted in Manhattan federal court
on one count of insider trading after a one-week jury trial.
As alleged in the Indictment and proven at trial, Mr. Cassese
violated Section 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
and Rule 14e-3 thereunder by engaging in insider trading in the
stock of Data Processing Resources Corporation (DPRC) while in
possession of material, nonpublic information about a tender
offer for DPRC common stock by Compuware Corporation.
Computer Horizons (based in New Jersey), DPRC (based in Orange
County, California) and Compuware (based in Michigan) each
engaged in the business of providing temporary staffing of
computer and information technology personnel.
According to the Indictment and evidence at trial, on June 21,
1999, Mr. Cassese learned through his business relationship with
Compuware that Compuware would be making a tender offer to
acquire DPRC. Nevertheless, as alleged in the Indictment and
proven at trial, the next day, while in possession of this
material, nonpublic information, Mr. Cassese purchased 15,000
shares of DPRC common stock and subsequently sold these shares
at a profit of approximately $150,000. Mr. Cassese faces a
maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1
million.
In an earlier proceeding brought by the Commission, Mr. Cassese,
without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission's
complaint, consented to the entry of a final judgment that
permanently enjoined him from future violations of Section 14(e)
of the Exchange Act and Rule 14e-3 thereunder. Mr. Cassese also
agreed to disgorge $150,937.50 in ill-gotten gains, plus
prejudgment interest, and to pay a civil penalty of $150,937.50
The suit is styled, SEC v. John J. Cassese, Civil Action No. 02-
01605 FMC (AJWx), pending in the United States Central District
of California (LR-17378). The federal suit is styled "U.S. v.
John J. Cassese, 03 CR 302 (RWS), filed in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of New York (LR-18405).
CREDIT SUISSE: Quattrone Says CSFB Lawyer Failed To Warn Workers
----------------------------------------------------------------
Former Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) star banker Frank
Quattrone blamed CSFB's lawyer for not warning the firm's
workers against destroying files as investigators started
digging into the investment firm's activities in late 2000, the
Associated Press reports.
Mr. Quattrone is accused of obstructing a federal and Securities
and Exchange Commission probe of hot stock allocations in late
2000. At the center of the charges is the controversial e-mail
he wrote to a subordinate urging employees to get rid of some
documents, an earlier Class Action Reporter story states.
On the second day of his obstruction of justice trial, Mr.
Quattrone told the court that CSFB lawyer David M. Brodsky told
him the Company might be embarrassed by some e-mails he had
exchanged in early December 2000. He claimed Mr. Brodsky did
not tell him about a government subpoena for documents until two
days after he sent the controversial e-mail.
"Mr. Brodsky was going to be embarrassed because he hadn't told
people to preserve documents that were required by the
subpoena," Mr. Quattrone said.
A week ago, Mr. Brodsky testified that he told Mr. Quattrone
that the company was under investigation by federal regulators
and prosecutors and that he should get a lawyer because he might
be questioned, the Associated Press reports.
Mr. Quattrone added he was never disciplined or reprimanded in
any way for his e-mail. He said he never thought his warning to
clean out files would cause people to destroy subpoenaed
documents. He added that he believed the type of files that
would be destroyed would have "no relevance whatsoever" to the
investigations, AP reports.
CREE INC.: Co-Founder Agrees To Drop Securities Fraud Claims
------------------------------------------------------------
Cree, Inc. co-founder Eric Hunter decided to drop the federal
securities fraud claim in a $3.2 billion lawsuit he spearheaded
against the Company, a day before a special committee of Company
directors cleared the Company of wrongdoing, the News Observer
reports.
In early June, Eric Hunter and wife Jocelyn charged the Company
and Chairman F. Neal Nunter with inflating financial results and
misleading investors. Eric Hunter also claimed he was harassed,
followed and threatened by the Company after he filed the
charges. Neal Hunter, Eric Hunter's younger brother, members of
the extended Hunter family and Cree employees have all alleged
that Eric Hunter suffers from mental illness and that there was
no wrongdoing.
A committee was then formed from the Company's board of
directors to investigate the allegations. Independent directors
William J. O'Meara and Robert J. Potter, and attorneys with
Latham & Watkins pored through documents and conducted more than
25 interviews. Last Friday, the panel declared that the
allegations "lack merit."
"The committee did not discover any evidence to support any of
the allegations," the panel's report said, according to a
statement from the Company on Friday, The News Observer reports.
The Company, which wants the entire case tossed out, declined to
provide a copy of the full report.
The Company is still the subject of inquiries from the
Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nasdaq Stock Market
has also asked for information. It also faces several
securities class actions filed in the United States District
Court in Greensboro, North Carolina.
However, analysts believe that the Company's troubles have been
greatly reduced by Mr. Hunter's withdrawal of the claims and the
publication of the board's report.
"I think it's just a house of cards, and they're now dropping,"
Peter Reiss, who owns a "substantial" number of Cree shares and
works as a stockbroker with Paulson Investment Co., the firm
that helped take the company public, told the News Observer.
Eric Hunter's "case didn't seem to have any wheels."
Eric Hunter's attorney, Mike Unti, called the conclusions
"grossly misleading" because the panel failed to conduct a
thorough investigation. He told the News Observer in a
statement that his client was interviewed only once for an hour.
Eric Hunter continues to believe the company misled investors
and dropped his federal securities fraud claim to streamline the
judicial process, Mr. Unti said in an interview. "There's going
to be a consolidated class action ... that's going to address
the same and additional issues ... making our federal securities
claims redundant," he said.
Many analysts say any class action lawsuit will likely be hurt
because Eric Hunter's claims underpinned many of the
allegations. "This distraction is done," said Harsh Kumar, an
analyst who follows Cree for Morgan Keegan & Co. in Memphis.
"The main thing that everybody focused on is that the company
may have committed securities fraud.
"The fact that Eric Hunter has backed off some of these claims
and the independent committee has given them a clean bill of
health is a positive," Mr. Kumar told the News Observer.
DISNEY WORLD: Documents Reveal Ride Checked Before Derailment
-------------------------------------------------------------
An investigation of a Disney roller coaster that derailed and
killed a 22-year-old revealed that a Disneyland repair crew
found nothing wrong with the ride when they inspected it hours
before, police documents revealed, the Associated Press reports.
On September 5,2003, Marcelo Torres was killed and 10 others
were injured as the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad derailed
inside a tunnel while climbing a steep grade. Four Disneyland
mechanics performed routine maintenance on the ride on the
morning of September 5, according to documents released
Thursday.
The documents also contained testimonies from witnesses, AP
reports. "People were yelling and screaming," according to a
description of one passenger's experience. "Then the lights
came on and (the passenger) could see the people in front of her
were bleeding or injured."
Disneyland employees told police they heard an unusual clanking
sound and were about to take one of the trains out of service
before the crash, AP states. Police have said the accident was
not the result of criminal wrongdoing.
ENRON CORPORATION: Sues Goldman Sachs Due To Breach of Agreement
----------------------------------------------------------------
According to a report filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission Enron North America Corporation filed suit in the US
Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York against
Goldman Sachs Group and Goldman Sachs Capital Markets LP for
ending a 2001 derivatives agreement, and is seeking at least $45
million in damages, the Associated Press reports.
Enron North America and Goldman Sachs Capital Markets had a deal
on trading over-the-counter derivatives between them. The filing
said the agreement was allegedly guaranteed by Goldman Sachs
Group. Enron North America is part of bankrupt energy company
Enron Corporation.
Elsewhere in the filing, Goldman Sachs said some shareholders
filed a purported class action July 18 in the US District Court
for the District of Nevada, on behalf of purchasers of its
common stock from July 1, 1999 through May 7, 2002, against the
company and its chairman and chief executive, Henry M. Paulson
Jr., over allegations that the defendants breached their
fiduciary duties and violated the Securities Exchange Act of
1934. Plaintiffs seek among other things, unspecified
compensatory damages, or rescission, or both.
GALILEO CORPORATION: Director Found Guilty of Insider Trading
--------------------------------------------------------------
After a two-week trial, a Massachusetts federal jury returned a
guilty verdict against Robert D. Happ for insider trading in the
stock of Galileo Corporation, formerly a Sturbridge,
Massachusetts company. The SEC had initiated the lawsuit.
The SEC had alleged that, in late June 1998, while Mr. Happ was
a director of Galileo and the chairman of the board of
directors' audit committee, Mr. Happ learned from the company's
chief executive officer that Galileo was experiencing
difficulties in its fiscal 1998 third quarter and that the CEO
needed to meet with him to discuss those difficulties.
According to the SEC, upon receiving this information, Mr. Happ
sold all his shares of the company's stock on June 29, 1998.
When the company eventually announced these difficulties and
their effect on the company's 1998 third quarter results to the
public, the stock price dropped 64%. The court will determine
the amount of the loss Mr. Happ avoided as a result of his June
29 sale.
The jury heard closing arguments in the two-week trial yesterday
and announced its verdict today. In rendering its verdict, the
jury found, among other things, that:
(1) Mr. Happ possessed and used material, nonpublic
information about the company when he sold his stock as
a company insider;
(2) Mr. Happ acted with intent, knowledge and recklessness;
and
(3) Mr. Happ violated the duty of trust and confidence that
he owed Galileo and its shareholders.
The SEC's complaint, originally filed on October 5, 2000, and
amended on May 18, 2001, charged Mr. Happ with violations of
Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.
The Honorable Robert Keeton of the US District for the District
of Massachusetts presided over the trial.
The SEC and defendant Happ have been given two weeks to submit
written arguments regarding the remedies the court should impose
against Mr. Happ for his insider trading.
For further information, see Litigation Release No. 16755. The
suit is styled "SEC v. Robert D. Happ, C.A. No. 00-12051-REK,
pending in the United States District Court in Massachusetts.
(LR-18406)
HISPANIC BROADCASTING: Agrees To Settle SEC-Filed Civil Lawsuit
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil fraud suit
in the United States District Court in Dallas, Texas, against
Stephen A. White, William D. White III, Ernest Bieling and
Robert Hughes (collectively, defendants) alleging that each
defendant violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.
Additionally, the complaint alleges that Mr. Hughes violated
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act. The SEC's complaint alleged
that the defendants purchased or advised others to purchase
shares of Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation common stock, based
on material non-public information that Univision Communications
Corporation would acquire Hispanic in an all-stock transaction.
Simultaneously with the filing of its action, the SEC accepted
offers of settlement from the defendants in which they agreed,
without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's
complaint, to the entry of an order enjoining them from further
violations of the securities laws; to collectively pay civil
money penalties in the amount of $224,078; and to collectively
disgorge $218,683 in illegal profits, plus $13,192 in
prejudgment interest.
The suit is styled, "SEC v. Stephen A. White, William D. White
III, Ernest Bieling and Robert Hughes, Defendants, Civil Action
No. 3:03-CV-2351-G," filed in the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas (LR-18407).
IMCLONE SYSTEMS: CEO's Father, Sister Included in Trading Probe
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation of
insider trading charges against Imclone Systems, Inc. has been
expanded to include Chief Executives Samuel Waksal's father and
sister, Reuters reports.
Earlier this year, CEO Waksal agreed to pay more than $800,000
to partially settle the SEC civil charges against him, alleging
that he tried to sell his ImClone shares in late 2001 before the
company disclosed that the US Food and Drug Administration would
reject its highly touted new cancer drug, Erbitux. He was
sentenced in June to more than seven years in prison for
securities fraud, perjury and other crimes.
The probe has initially hit home decorating maven Martha
Stewart, also Mr. Waksal's personal friend. Ms. Stewart was
accused of selling her Imclone shares on the basis of insider
information. The allegations have spurred several securities
class actions against Ms. Stewart's own company, Martha Stewart
Living Omnimedia, Inc. Ms. Stewart was indicted in June for
securities fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making
false statements. She has denied any wrongdoing.
Last week, the SEC added Jack Waksal, 82, as a defendant to its
civil complaint against Samuel Waksal. Mr. Waksal's sister
Patti, 47, was named as a relief defendant, who did not break
the law but benefited from illegal actions of her father.
Jack Waksal allegedly sold ImClone shares belonging to himself
and his daughter for about $8 million, shortly before the share
price plunged on bad news about the experimental cancer
treatment drug, Erbitux. The SEC said that the senior Waksal
had been tipped off by his son, Reuters reports.
Jack Waksal, 82, lives in East Hampton, New York and Hallandale,
Florida. Reached at his home, the elder Waksal told Reuters he
did not want to talk about the charges. "We will respond in due
course to this civil action by the SEC for money damages," said
his lawyer Charles Stillman.
INDIANA: Agreement Forged For Lawsuit Over South Shore Collision
----------------------------------------------------------------
A last minute settlement, described as record-breaking for
Porter County, Indiana, derailed the wrongful death trial
stemming from a fatal collision between a Chicago-bound commuter
train and a cargo truck in June of 1998 that resulted in the
deaths of three men, the Southbend Tribune reports.
The settlement Wednesday secured an undisclosed amount of money
for Baroda resident Carol Berndt, widow of Gary Berndt; LaPorte
resident Carol McCombs, widow of William McCombs; and Michigan
City resident Christa Eackles-Walker, widow of Glen Walker.
"It's never going to bring back her husband, but hopefully it
will bring some closure," said Chicago attorney Kevin Durkin,
who helped to represent Ms. McCombs.
Mr. Durkin told the Tribune he believed the defendants agreed to
the last-minute deal in order to avoid having the issue of fault
argued before the six-member jury, which had been selected
during a lengthy process Tuesday.
The list of defendants includes the Northern Indiana Commuter
Transportation District, which operates the South Shore commuter
trains; Norfolk Southern Railway Co., which now owns tracks at
the crossing where the accident occurred; Thyssen Steel, where
the steel coil originated; Sequa Coatings Corp., parent company
of Precoat Metals, where the coil was bound; National Steel of
Mishawaka; truck driver Keith Lintz of Niles; and trucking
firms.
Each of the nine defendants in the case secured a share of the
settlement, Portage, Indiana, attorney Donald Rice, who served
as counsel on behalf of the surviving wives told the Tribune.
Former Porter Superior Judge Robert Kennedy, who served as an
out-of-court mediator in the case, received much of the credit
for the settlement. "I think the mediator did a wonderful job,"
Michigan City and Chicago attorney Ted Leonas, who helped to
represent Eackles-Walker, told the Tribune.
Judge Kennedy, who worked right up to the point when the
settlement was announced, said he has been busy each day over
the past two weeks keeping the lines of communication open for a
potential settlement. Porter Superior Judge Roger Bradford
thanked everyone involved, saying he wished other attorneys
could see how well the case had been handled.
Wednesday's settlement is the second in the case. A settlement,
reached last week on behalf of 16 South Shore passengers injured
in the 1998 crash, totaled near $1 million.
K-B TOYS: Holds Sale As Part of $3M Deceptive Pricing Settlement
----------------------------------------------------------------
As part of the $3 million agreement proposed by Pittsfiled,
Massachusetts-based chain KB Toys, Inc. to settle a lawsuit
alleging misleading prices, the Company is offering 30 percent
off purchases of at least $30 at its 1,300 stores, not including
video game systems, video cartridges and gift cards, AP Newswire
Reports.
If the sale doesn't reach the $3 million mark in discounts, the
chain must donate the balance in the form of full-priced toys to
charities, the settlement stipulates. Terms of the settlement
barred advertisements, as they might have encouraged crowds and
driven up store profits, according to an attorney for the
plaintiffs.
The class action, filed in Chicago, claimed the retailer
inflated original prices on items to make sale prices falsely
appear lower, violating truth-in-pricing laws. The plaintiffs
alleged the items never initially sold at such high regular
prices.
K-B Toys officials and the company's attorney in the case could
not be reached for comment, AP states.
KENTUCKY: Lottery Faces Suit Over Extra Cash Game, Advertising
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Kentucky Lottery Corporation faces a class action filed in
Jefferson County Circuit Court, over its Extra Cash game and its
advertising, the Associated Press reports.
The suit, filed by Keith B. Hunter, former general counsel for
the lottery, is the second one launched against the lottery.
Ronald Hub, of Stanton, Kentucky, filed the first suit.
The Hub suit challenges the wording in a lottery brochure, which
originally said the single-digit numbers on the ticket would be
randomly generated. Mr. Hub noticed that digits that didn't
match the numbers he had selected were printed on his ticket
significantly more often than the numbers that would have
allowed him to win. The lottery later changed the brochure's
wording, stating that winners - not the numbers on the ticket -
are randomly generated.
Mr. Hunter argues that that's still misleading. "I don't
necessarily think there's a problem with the game if people
understand what they're buying," he told AP.
The lottery denied any wrongdoing in Hub's lawsuit, which is
pending, and its general counsel, William May, told AP that the
response to the basic allegation in the new lawsuit would be
similar. Mr. May reiterated statements that he made in response
to the Hub lawsuit that the wording of the advertising was
changed to better reflect the randomness of the game. He also
said there was no intent to mislead players.
LOUISIANA: Judge Reduces Class in Suit Over Contaminated Water
--------------------------------------------------------------
The number of people eligible to participate in a class action
against the city of Port Allen, Louisiana, because of
contaminated water, was sharply reduced recently from 9,000
people to fewer than 2,000 people, The Baton Rouge Advocate
reports.
Attorney Brad Myers, who represents the plaintiffs said that
about 9,000 people claimed in five separate lawsuits that they
were harmed by ingesting coliform bacteria in the city's water
supply. The bacteria was found in samples taken by the state's
Department of Health and Hospitals. An order by Judge James
Best of the 18th Judicial District Court consolidated the claims
into one lawsuit and certified that lawsuit as a class action.
However, the class-certification order limits the class to those
living in a certain geographic area bounded by Court Street,
North Alexander, Rosedale Road and the western city limits,
attorney Brad Myers said. The class is further limited to
people who can establish with written documentation that they
either lived or worked in the area during the time the bacteria
was found.
"They (the Class members) still have to come in and prove
individually that they were exposed and injured," Mr. Myers
said. He said, however, that existence of a limited class does
not mean that others cannot file a claim, but they will have to
come in and file individually.
MAGIC CABIN: Recalls 600 Wooden Toy Cars Due to Choking Hazard
--------------------------------------------------------------
Magic Cabin, Inc., of Dayton, Ohio, is cooperating with the U.S.
Consumer Products Safety Comission by voluntarily recalling 600
units of the Sonato Wooden Toy Car as the wheels on the toy car
can come off, posing a choking hazard to young children.
The Sonato Smiling Mini-Car Toy is wood with four solid- colored
wheels painted orange, blue, yellow and green. A smiling face
is painted on the front. On the top of the toy is a red button
that squeaks when pushed. The toy car was sold individually and
as a part of the "Wooden Baby Toys Set of 5." The toy car sold
separately is item # 828143 and with the set # 828144.
The toy, manufactured in Germany, was sold at Magic Cabin
catalogs and Web site from December 2002 through August 2003 for
about $10.
There have been no incidents or injuries reported.
For more details, contact Magic Cabin toll-free at
(888) 623-3655 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through
Friday or visit the firm's Web site at www.magiccabin.com.
MICHIGAN: Opening Meetings Suit V. Livonia Schools To Reach End
---------------------------------------------------------------
A settlement may be in the offing for the controversial Open
Meetings Act lawsuit filed by residents against Livonia Public
Schools last year over its handling of the old Rosedale school
site, the Detroit News reports.
Lawyers representing both sides met Tuesday for more than 1 1/2
hours at Wayne Circuit Court, trying to resolve the year-old
case. No settlement was reached but plaintiff Tim Bailey said a
resolution is "close." He wouldn't comment further.
Tuesday's meeting comes just weeks after the Livonia Board of
Education passed a resolution directing its superintendent and
lawyer to take steps towards the resolution of the lawsuit. A
Wayne Circuit judge in July rejected a request by the district
to throw out the case.
The lawsuit stems from several closed meetings the school board
held to discuss selling the old Rosedale school site at
Orangelawn and Cranston. Residents who sued the district in
March 2002 contend the board violated the Open Meetings Act when
it discussed selling the school.
The district ultimately sold the land to developer William
Roskelly, who wants to build homes on the 2.5-acre site.
Residents such as Mr. Bailey, who are part of a group called
Friends of Open Spaces in Livonia, want to preserve the old
school site as gardens and open space.
MICROSOFT CORPORATION: Final Hearing Set For Antitrust Suit Pact
----------------------------------------------------------------
Thousands of West Virginia computer users could be eligible for
a share of a proposed $18 million class action settlement
between Microsoft and the state, which settles the class-action
lawsuit along with the state's antitrust claims, the Associated
Press Newswires reports.
Boone County Circuit Court Judge E. Lee Schlaegel has granted
preliminary approval for the class-action settlement which
settles the lawsuit alleging that Microsoft unlawfully used
anticompetitive means to maintain a monopoly on certain software
and overcharged West Virginia consumers who bought the
products. Another hearing, which could result in final approval
of the settlement, has been scheduled for February 10, 2004, by
Judge Schlaegel.
If Judge Schlaegel gives final approval, consumers who submit
claims are eligible to receive $5 vouchers for each license they
hold for the Microsoft operating systems MS-DOS, Windows
versions 1.0 to 3.2, Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT
Workstation and Windows Millenium Edition and Windows 2000
Professional, purchased between August 3, 1995 and December 31,
2002. Consumers who purchased the operating systems Windows 95,
Windows 98 and Windows Millenium Edition during the same period
are eligible for $10 vouchers for each license.
The vouchers can be submitted for cash rebates on a variety of
software and hardware, including products made by Apple and
other Microsoft competitors. Assistant Attorney General Douglas
Davis said thousands of West Virginians could be eligible for
vouchers.
NORTH CAROLINA: Lawsuit For Owners Of Finestone Homes Certified
---------------------------------------------------------------
Judge Ben Tennille, special Superior Court judge in Forsyth
County for complex business cases, has granted class action
status to the lawsuit brought by owners of homes clad with
Finestone synthetic stucco, the Charlotte Observer (NC) reports.
Homes clad with Finestone were not part of an earlier class
action settlement concerning an exterior insulation finish
systems commonly called synthetic stucco.
Charlotte attorney Gary Jackson, who is representing homeowners
in the Finestone Stucco case, recently granted certification as
a class action, estimates that 70 percent of the affected homes,
perhaps 300 to 400, are in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.
OXYCONTIN LITIGATION: IL Firm Sues Over Time Release Mechanism
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Simmons Law Firm, in East Alton, Illinois, is seeking
plaintiffs who allegedly became addicted to the painkiller
Oxycontin to participate in a lawsuit filed against the drug's
maker, Purdue Pharma, The Telegraph reports.
The lawyers have already filed several suits in Madison County
Circuit Court on behalf of 11 defendants, charging the Company
with selling a morphine-like painkiller with a defective time
release mechanism. The Company allegedly advertised the drug as
not as dangerous as straight morphine because of a 12-hour time-
release mechanism.
"The problem is, the time release mechanism doesn't work," Tor
Hoerman, a lawyer with the firm, told the Telegraph. He also
claimed that the Company had received 3,000 phone calls
inquiring about the suits.
The suit alleges that the time-release mechanism disperses too
much of the drug during the first few hours of the 12-hour
period, so patients feel more pain before the 12 hours have
elapsed and have to take an added "rescue dose." The process
results in dangerous addiction and behavior similar to street
drug users.
"A lot of families have been ruined by this drug," Mr. Hoerman
told the Telegraph.
There are already another 500 or so potential plaintiffs, many
of them from Madison and St. Clair counties, but the firm will
not be asking to certify the cases as a class action cause, a
practice that has prompted criticism by the business community
of the Madison County courts.
"I don't think it works as a class action," Mr. Hoerman told the
Telegraph. There are too many individual differences in the
individual plaintiffs, he said.
Spokesman for the Company Tim Bannon denied the charges. He
added the company has successfully gotten 50 similar cases in
other venues withdrawn without paying a settlement.
RANCHO DEL SOL NURSERIES: To Pay $221T Fine For Illegal Grading
---------------------------------------------------------------
The San Diego city attorney's office announced that the
president of Rancho Del Sol Nurseries Inc. Robert D. Barczewski
has been ordered to pay $221,000 in civil penalties and costs
for illegal grading violations committed by the nursery, The
UnionTribune reports.
San Diego Deputy City Attorney Michael Neumeyer filed the action
after the city's neighborhood code compliance investigators
observed the violations. In 2001 and 2002, Rancho Del Sol
Nurseries graded and developed large portions of a 26-acre site
in the Carmel Valley area without the required permits. Under
the terms of the settlement, Mr. Barczewski will have to apply
for and obtain all necessary permits.
"This civil action is consistent with the city's no tolerance
policy of illegal grading and destruction of environmentally
sensitive land," said San Diego City Attorney Casey Gwinn.
TYSON FOODS: Judge Grants Class Action For Shareholders' Lawsuit
----------------------------------------------------------------
US District Judge Sue Robinson granted class-action status to a
shareholders' lawsuit against Tyson Foods Inc., a Springdale,
Arkansas, meat processor, The Wall Street Journal reports. The
lawsuit alleges securities fraud in Tyson's acquisition of beef-
packing company IBP two years ago.
Judge Robinson decided in US District Court in Delaware that IBP
shareholders who sold stock between March 29, 2001 and June 15,
2001, could join together to accuse Tyson of making false
statements that unnaturally drove down IBP's stock price.
The lawsuit was brought by several hedge funds, which say they
lost a total of about $20 million on the transaction. Their
lawsuit seeks to represent all those who bought IBP shares on or
before March 29, 2001, and subsequently sold them, incurring
losses as the price of IBP shares temporarily plummeted on
belief that the merger was not going to happen.
On March 29, Tyson issued a press release contending it had been
fraudulently induced into the merger with IBP and was backing
out. Tyson, at that time, cited a government investigation into
alleged accounting discrepancies at IBP unit, DFG Foods, the
meatpacker's Chicago-based canape and appetizer subsidiary.
That report caused IBP shares to drop sharply, court filings
say.
However, IBP, based in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, went to court
to compel Tyson to complete the $4.7 billion purchase. During
court proceedings, it was revealed in the testimony of Tyson
Chairman John H. Tyson that the company's executives knew about
the fraud at DFG when they decided to buy IBP. Tyson became the
world's largest meat producer when the chancery court ruled in
June 2001, that the company had to go forward with the purchase
of IBP.
A Tyson spokesman has called the judge's order granting the
shareholders' lawsuit class action status a "normal procedural
development," The Wall Street Journal reports.
Karin E. Fisch, a New York-based attorney for the potential
plaintiffs, said a class action by sellers, rather than buyers
of stock, is rare. Also, she said that the chancery court's
decision to force the two companies to merge is unique. The
strategy against Tyson would be the same as in typical stock-
buyers' cases.
Ms. Fisch noted that instead of trying to prove the stock price
had been artificially inflated, in this case, she said, we would
be saying it was artificially deflated. Ms. Fisch said the key
to the case will be whether the plaintiffs can establish that
Tyson knowingly made false statements in the March 29, 2001,
press release calling off the merger.
"We are going to try to prove that the bulk, if not all, of the
drop was attributable to what we considered to be Tyson's false
statements," said Ms. Fisch. Based on the number of shares
outstanding and trading volumes during the 2001 period in
question, there could be hundreds of participants in the class
action, she added.
She also said that institutional shareholders were particularly
numerous at the time, as they tend to be when mergers are in the
works. Four major hedge funds, Aetos Corporation, Pelican LP,
Stark Investments LP and Shepherd Investments International
Ltd., lost more than $20 million on IBP stock and were named
representatives for the class action.
Associated Press contributed to this story.
UNITED KINGDOM: NHS To Pay Man Suffering From Permanent Hunger
--------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Williams, a 24-year-old man who suffers from permanent
hunger as a result of a brain tumor is set to receive œ400,000
compensation from the NHS, ananova.com reports.
Mr. Williams, who would eat himself to death if not supervised
24 hours a day, has a tumor known as craniopharyngioma, a type
of brain cancer which affects the part of the brain that
controls appetite. His doctors allegedly failed to diagnose it
for seven years.
Mr Williams was left with brain damage when doctors at Bristol
Children's Hospital, then run by the former Avon Health
Authority, did not spot the tumor until he was 12 years old, his
mother Tracey Williams claims. She told Ananova she is still
angry that no one had admitted liability or been brought to
justice for the alleged mistake.
"I knew from the age of five that something was wrong with
Daniel," she said. "He was always complaining that his head
hurt and it got progressively worse. I kept telling the doctors
that he had a problem, but nobody would listen to me. They all
just thought I was being an over-protective mother."
"When he was finally diagnosed as having a tumor in 1991, a lot
of damage had already been done to his brain, which earlier
treatment would have restricted", she told ananova.com.
She said the out-of-court settlement reached with the NHS
Litigation Authority would help fund further treatment for her
son, who lives most of the time at a specialist hospital in
Nottingham but goes home for some weekends.
"The œ400,000 will help, but what we really wanted was someone
to admit liability because so many mistakes were made. It is no
compensation for a life ruined. If this had been spotted
earlier he would now have a better quality of life," she added.
A spokeswoman for the new Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
Strategic Health Authority said it had not denied liability for
Mr. Daniel's condition.
UNITED KINGDOM: Probe For Recalls of Carcinogenic Food Started
--------------------------------------------------------------
More investigations mount in the UK in efforts to unearth food
products contaminated by the potential carcinogen Sudan 1,
months after EU initiated emergency measures to block imports of
chili powder contaminated with the red dye, the Food
Navigator.com reports.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) rolled off a list of food
products recalled this week due to contamination with the
illegal dye. The food company Netto issued a product recall of
its 392g cans of Chili Con Carne, due to contamination of one of
the ingredients with Sudan I.
Other products known to have been contaminated are Bilash
Premium Chicken Curry in 400g cans, on sale in Aldi
supermarkets, UM Glenbrook Chilli Con Carne 368g at Tescos and
Plumrose Chilli Con Carne 1.7kg sold at Sainsbury's. All the
products were produced by Glenbrook Foods, Portadown, Craigavon
Northern Ireland.
Sudan I is not a permitted colour under the Colours in Food
Regulations 1995. It is considered to be a genotoxic carcinogen
and its presence, at any level, is not permitted in foodstuffs
for any purpose.
When France discovered products contaminated with Sudan 1 in May
this year, it immediately took interim protective measures and
simultaneously informed the Commission and other Member States
of the risk through the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed.
The EU's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health
(SCFCAH) reacted with a range of emergency control measures.
"We have already identified some relishes, chutneys and
seasonings that people should avoid and our investigations are
on-going," said David Statham, FSA director of food standards
and enforcement at the time. "There should not be any Sudan I
in food," he stressed.
The fact that the authorities are continuing to find this
illegal dye in UK food products suggests that investigations
should be kept on track and food agencies and government bodies
across Europe should remain vigilant.
WAL-MART STORES: Discrimination Lawsuits Refute Corporate Image
---------------------------------------------------------------
Retailing giant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.'s aggressive cost-cutting
strategy that turned it into the largest corporation in the
world and a global financial success, with $245 billion in sales
in 2002, has also made the company a target for critics,
including unhappy workers, lawyers and labor activists, The News
& Observer reports.
Presently, the Company's image as an employer and global
corporate citizen is being tarnished by more than 6,600 active
lawsuits. One of these lawsuits could become a huge
discrimination class action representing 1.6 million current and
former female Wal-Mart employees in the United States, alleging
that the Company systematically discriminated against women in
pay and promotions.
The United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) also has
made Wal-Mart a key organizing focus in several states, where it
has cited substandard wages and poor working conditions.
Lately, the Arkansas-based retail company has been in the news
for limiting health-care coverage and raising premiums for most
of its 1.1 million workers in the United States.
In North Carolina, where Wal-Mart has grown to become the
state's largest private-sector employer, three former Wal-Mart
workers will ask a Forsyth County Judge to classify their
complaint as a statewide class action that would cover 181,000
current and former hourly employees, all alleging that they were
pressured to work off the clock in violation of state labor
laws. According to the UFCW, the food and commercial workers
union, there are at least 37 other such lawsuits in other
states.
"Wal-Mart puts pressure on its management to encourage its
employees not to record all their time and not to take earned
rest and meal breaks," according to the Forsyth County Superior
Court lawsuit.
Their complaint further alleges, "This is done in an effort to
reduce labor costs and increase profits. Wal-Mart awards
bonuses based on such factors and net profit ratios, which are
affected and enhanced by low payroll ratios. This also
encourages management to grossly understaff its stores."
Lewis Laska, a Tennessee State University business law
professor, who runs the Wal-Mart Litigation Project to assist
attorneys suing the retailer, said of the process that is going
on in the courts, "It's known as a paradigm shift." Professor
Laska said, "I believe that Wal-Mart, in two to five years (will
be) facing a tipping point in which judges and juries will no
longer perceive Wal-Mart as a good place to shop or to work."
Professor Laska said he started his project to "level the
playing field" between Wal-Mart and people who have been wronged
by the company; he denies that he has a vendetta against "the
world's largest retailer."
Employees may have their grievances, but that has not stopped
shoppers from flocking to Wal-Mart. True to its slogan, "Always
low prices," the company last year saved US consumers $20
billion, according to estimates by the New England Consulting
Group, a Westport, Connecticut marketing consulting firm.
Groceries, available at the company's supercenters, average 14
percent below what other grocery chains charge.
Like most Wal-Mart shoppers, William Hewitt has little knowledge
of the retailer's controversial employment policies. Instead,
he was raving about prices on outdoor grills during a visit to
one of the company's stores in Raleigh, North Carolina. At
Sears, he told the News & Observer, they would cost at least 30
percent more.
As long as the customers continue to show up, Wal-Mart should
have little to worry about, predicted Heather Brilliant, a stock
analyst who follows the company for Morningstar, a Chicago
research firm, the News & Observer reports. "I think some of
the things going on, especially the lawsuit concerning
discrimination, definitely concerns them," said Ms. Brilliant.
"This is a company that prides itself on having a very strong
corporate governance and social responsibility. But I don't
expect (the lawsuits) to have a huge impact on their business."
WELLSPRING CAPITAL: CT Court Issues Injunction Over Ponzi Scheme
----------------------------------------------------------------
A Connecticut federal court issued a written order imposing a
preliminary injunction, asset freeze and other ancillary relief
against Connecticut resident Blake A. Prater and his Guilford,
Connecticut-based company, Wellspring Capital Group, Inc., in
connection with an internet Ponzi scheme. The court had
previously issued a temporary restraining order granting
substantially the same relief.
In ruling on the preliminary injunction, which the Securities
and Exchange Commission had requested in connection with its
fraud action filed on September 5, 2003, the Honorable Mark
Kravitz, US District Judge for the District of Connecticut,
found that the Commission had made a prima facie showing that
Mr. Prater and Wellspring had engaged in securities fraud and
other violations of the federal securities laws.
Based on the Commission's prima facie showing, the court found
that Mr. Prater and Wellspring operated a sophisticated Internet
Ponzi scheme that raised millions of dollars from over twenty
thousand investors. On the same basis, the Court also found
that Mr. Prater's scheme used a series of interrelated Internet
web sites and a network of agents operating throughout the
United States to guarantee prospective investors exorbitant
returns through a variety of programs.
Under one set of programs, Mr. Prater, through Wellspring,
promised that, in exchange for a small sum of money, it would
pay investors returns as high as 1,000 percent per year in the
form of payments for various living expenses of the investors,
such as car loans, rent, or business expenses. In ruling on the
preliminary injunction, the Court concluded that the websites
operated by the defendants "appear to underscore the wisdom of a
tried and true investment axiom: If it looks too good to be
true, it probably is."
The Court also found at this preliminary stage in the litigation
that the Commission's evidence showed that Wellspring claimed to
use the investor funds to invest in a portfolio of companies,
and that the profits from the portfolio, in turn, paid for the
exorbitant returns to investors. The Court noted, however,
that "the Court has not been presented with any evidence of any
business or investment activity that would allow defendants to
provide the extravagant returns they are promising - that is,
short of using the money of later investors to pay off earlier
investors."
The Court concluded that the SEC was "not required to wait until
such a `rob Peter to pay Paul' scheme collapsed of its own
weight" and that a preliminary injunction was therefore
appropriate. The Court also found that the Commission had
produced evidence showing that Mr. Prater made material
misrepresentations about the portfolio companies and investment
offerings and that he failed to disclose his criminal history,
which includes forgery and fraud convictions, to investors.
In issuing the preliminary injunction, the Court ruled that the
Commission had made a prima facie showing that Mr. Prater and
Wellspring violated Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.
For additional information, see Litigation Release No. 18336.
The suit is styled SEC v. Blake A. Prater and Wellspring Capital
Group, Inc., the United States District Court for the District
of Connecticut, Civil Action No. 03-CV-01524-MRK.
New Securities Fraud Cases
DDI CORPORATION: Charles Piven Lodges Securities Suit in C.D. CA
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Law Offices Of Charles J. Piven initiated a securities class
action in the United States District Court for the Central
District of California on behalf of shareholders who purchased,
converted, exchanged or otherwise acquired the common stock of
DDi Corporation (OTC BB: DDICQ.OB) between December 19, 2000 and
April 29, 2002, inclusive.
The action charges that defendants violated federal securities
laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading
statements to the market throughout the Class Period which
statements had the effect of artificially inflating the market
price of the Company's securities.
For more details, contact Charles J. Piven by Mail: The World
Trade Center-Baltimore, 401 East Pratt Street, Suite 2525,
Baltimore, Maryland 21202, by Phone: 410-986-0036 or by E-mail:
hoffman@pivenlaw.com
ENRON CORPORATION: Spencer & Associates Files Stock Suit in TX
--------------------------------------------------------------
Spencer & Associates has initiated a class action in the United
States District Court for Southern District of Texas, Houston
Division on behalf of Samuel Giancarlo, Individually and on
behalf of all others similarly who purchased and/or acquired
Enron Corporation's notes, debt or other debt instruments,
through PaineWebber.
The complaint alleges federal statutory fraud and violations of
section 11, section 12(2) and section 15 of the Securities Act
of 1933; and violations of section 10(b), Rule 10b-5 and section
20(a), of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934.
Specifically, Plaintiff claims that, from October 2000, and
possibly before, through December, 2001, in connection with the
purchase and sale of Enron debt, notes and other debt
securities, UBS Financial Services, Inc., UBS Securities,
L.L.C., UBS AG and UBS O'Connor, L.L.C.:
(1) employed manipulative and deceptive devices,
contrivances, schemes, and artifices to defraud them;
(2) made false statements of material fact and omitted to
state material facts necessary in order to make the
statements not misleading in light of the circumstances
under which they were made; and
(3) employed acts, practices, and a course of business that
operated or would operate as a fraud and deceit upon
Plaintiff.
For more details, contact Bonnie E. Spencer, Dawn R. Meade,
Joseph J. Hroch, or David L. Augustus by Mail: 4041 Richmond
Ave., Fifth Floor, Houston, Texas 77027 by Phone: (713) 961-7770
or (713)961-5336 by Fax: 1(800) 237-4LAW(4529), or visit the
firm's Website: http://www.spencer-law.com
HEALTHTRONICS SURGICAL: Shephard Finkelman Lodges Lawsuit in GA
---------------------------------------------------------------
Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLC initiated a securities
class action in the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Georgia against HealthTronics Surgical
Services, Inc., Argil J. Wheelock, M.D., Russell Maddox, Ronald
Gully, Martin McGahan, and Victoria W. Beck on behalf of all
persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of
HealthTronics Surgical Services, Inc., (Nasdaq: HTRN), between
January 4, 2000 and July 25, 2003, inclusive.
The complaint charges that defendants violated Sections 10(b)
and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5
promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of materially false
and misleading statements to the market, and by failing to
disclose material information that plaintiffs contend defendants
had a duty to disclose, between January 4, 2000 and July 25,
2003.
More specifically, the complaint alleges that defendants made
material misrepresentations and/or omitted to make material
disclosures during the Class Period concerning the efficacy,
testing and market acceptance of OssaTron(R), its leading
product for the treatment of heel pain.
Among other things, the complaint charges, defendants failed to
disclose that some of the Company's own tests failed to support
defendants' statements that OssaTron(R) was more effective,
safer and less costly than alternative, non-surgical treatments
for heel pain.
In addition, the complaint alleges that defendants
misrepresented the market acceptance of OssaTron(R) because
defendants knew, or were severely reckless in disregarding at
the time these statements were made, that serious questions
existed among the medical community concerning the effectiveness
of extracorporeal shock wave treatment (ESWT) for heel pain,
which in turn raised serious issues as to whether insurance
carriers and other third party payors would cover OssaTron(R)
procedures.
As a result, and because the Company was experiencing difficulty
in its billing and collection department, which further made
insurance reimbursement difficult to obtain, the complaint
claims, the Company's January 28, 2003 earnings projections
lacked any reasonable basis in fact when made.
When defendants finally acknowledged that the OssaTron(R)
product was not being absorbed by the market as they had
previously claimed, the market's reaction to the disclosures was
swift and severe. On July 28, 2003, the market price of
HealthTronics common stock tumbled over 26% in unusually heavy
trading.
Indeed, the price of HealthTronics common stock dropped from a
high of $17.60 per share during the Class Period to as low as
$7.76 per share on July 28, 2003.
For more details, contact James C. Shah by Mail: 35 E. State
Street, Media, Pennsylvania, 19063 by Phone: 1-877-891-9880
(toll-free) or by E-mail: jshah@classactioncounsel.com
JANUS CAPITAL GROUP: Spector Roseman Lodges Stock Lawsuit in CO
---------------------------------------------------------------
Spector, Roseman & Kodroff, P.C. initiated a securities class
action in the United States District Court for the District of
Colorado on behalf of purchasers, redeemers and holders of
shares of the Janus Mercury Fund (Nasdaq:JAMRX), Janus Fund
(Nasdaq:JANSX), Janus Enterprise Fund (Nasdaq:JAENX), Janus
Olympus Fund (Nasdaq:JAOLX), Janus Global Technology Fund
(Nasdaq:JAGTX), Janus Orion Fund (Nasdaq:JORNX), Janus Twenty
Fund (Nasdaq:JAVLX), Janus Growth and Income Fund
(Nasdaq:JAGIX), Janus Special Equity Fund (Nasdaq:JSVAX), Janus
Worldwide Fund (Nasdaq:JAWWX), Janus Strategic Value Fund
(Nasdaq:PFVAX), and other funds managed by wholly owned
subsidiaries of Janus Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:JNS)
(collectively, the "Janus Funds") between October 1, 1998
and July 3, 2003.
In addition to the funds listed above, the following funds are
also subject to the above class action lawsuit:
(1) Janus Fund (Nasdaq:JANSX)
(2) Janus Enterprise Fund (Nasdaq:JAENX)
(3) Janus Olympus Fund (Nasdaq:JAOLX)
(4) Janus Global Technology Fund (Nasdaq:JAGTX)
(5) Janus Orion Fund (Nasdaq:JORNX)
(6) Janus Twenty Fund (Nasdaq:JAVLX)
(7) Janus Venture Fund (Nasdaq:JAVTX)
(8) Janus Global Life Sciences Fund (Nasdaq:JAGLX)
(9) Janus Global Value Fund (Nasdaq:JGVAX)
(10) Janus Overseas Fund (Nasdaq:JAOSX)
(11) Janus Worldwide Fund (Nasdaq:JAWWX)
(12) Janus Balanced Fund (Nasdaq:JABAX)
(13) Janus Core Equity Fund (Nasdaq:JAEIX)
(14) Janus Growth and Income Fund (JAGIX)
(15) Janus Special Equity Fund (Nasdaq:JSVAX)
(16) Janus Risk-Managed Stock Fund (Nasdaq:JRMSX)
(17) Janus Mid Cap Value Fund (NASDAQ: JMCVX, JMIVX)
(18) Janus Small CapValue Fund (NASDAQ: JSCVX, JSIVX)
(19) Janus Federal Tax-Exempt Fund (Nasdaq:JATEX)
(20) Janus Flexible Income Fund (Nasdaq:JAFIX)
(21) Janus Short-Term Bond Fund (Nasdaq:JASBX)
(22) Janus Money Market Fund (Nasdaq:JAMXX)
(23) Janus Government Money Market Fund (Nasdaq:JAGXX)
(24) Janus Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund (JATXX)
The Complaint charges the Janus Mutual Funds, Janus Capital
Group and certain of its subsidiaries with violating the
Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Investment Company Act of 1940, and for common law breach of
fiduciary duties in return for substantial fees and other income
for themselves and their affiliates.
The Complaint alleges that, during the Class Period, the Janus
Mutual Funds and the other defendants engaged in illegal and
improper trading practices, in concert with certain
institutional traders, which caused financial injury to the
shareholders of the Janus Mutual Funds.
According to the Complaint, the Defendants surreptitiously
permitted certain favored investors, including Defendant Canary
Capital Partners, LLC and Canary Investment Management, LLC
(collectively, "Canary") to engage in "timing" of the Janus
Mutual Funds whereby these favored investors were permitted to
conduct short-term, "in and out" trading of mutual fund shares,
despite explicit restrictions on such activity in the Janus
Mutual Funds' prospectuses.
For more details, contact Robert M. Roseman by Phone:
888-844-5862 by E-mail: classaction@srk-law.com or visit the
firm's Website: http://www.srk-law.com.
JANUS CAPITAL: Spector Roseman Launches Securities Lawsuit in CO
----------------------------------------------------------------
Spector, Roseman & Kodroff, P.C initiated a securities class
action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the
District of Colorado on behalf of purchasers, redeemers and
holders of shares of the Janus Mercury Fund (Nasdaq:JAMRX),
Janus Fund (Nasdaq:JANSX), Janus Enterprise Fund (Nasdaq:JAENX),
Janus Olympus Fund (Nasdaq:JAOLX), Janus Global Technology Fund
(Nasdaq:JAGTX), Janus Orion Fund (Nasdaq:JORNX), Janus Twenty
Fund (Nasdaq:JAVLX), Janus Growth and Income Fund
(Nasdaq:JAGIX), Janus Special Equity Fund (Nasdaq:JSVAX), Janus
Worldwide Fund (Nasdaq:JAWWX), Janus Strategic Value Fund
(Nasdaq:PFVAX), and other funds managed by wholly owned
subsidiaries of Janus Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:JNS) between
October 1, 1998 and July 3, 2003.
In addition to the funds listed above, the following funds are
also subject to the above class action lawsuit:
(1) Janus Fund (Nasdaq:JANSX)
(2) Janus Enterprise Fund (Nasdaq:JAENX)
(3) Janus Olympus Fund (Nasdaq:JAOLX)
(4) Janus Global Technology Fund (Nasdaq:JAGTX)
(5) Janus Orion Fund (Nasdaq:JORNX)
(6) Janus Twenty Fund (Nasdaq:JAVLX)
(7) Janus Venture Fund (Nasdaq:JAVTX)
(8) Janus Global Life Sciences Fund (Nasdaq:JAGLX)
(9) Janus Global Value Fund (Nasdaq:JGVAX)
(10) Janus Overseas Fund (Nasdaq:JAOSX)
(11) Janus Worldwide Fund (Nasdaq:JAWWX)
(12) Janus Balanced Fund (Nasdaq:JABAX)
(13) Janus Core Equity Fund (Nasdaq:JAEIX)
(14) Janus Growth and Income Fund (JAGIX)
(15) Janus Special Equity Fund (Nasdaq:JSVAX)
(16) Janus Risk-Managed Stock Fund (Nasdaq:JRMSX)
(17) Janus Mid Cap Value Fund (NASDAQ: JMCVX, JMIVX)
(18) Janus Small CapValue Fund (NASDAQ: JSCVX, JSIVX)
(19) Janus Federal Tax-Exempt Fund (Nasdaq:JATEX)
(20) Janus Flexible Income Fund (Nasdaq:JAFIX)
(21) Janus Short-Term Bond Fund (Nasdaq:JASBX)
(22) Janus Money Market Fund (Nasdaq:JAMXX)
(23) Janus Government Money Market Fund (Nasdaq:JAGXX)
(24) Janus Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund (JATXX)
The Complaint charges the Janus Mutual Funds, Janus Capital
Group and certain of its subsidiaries with violating the
Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Investment Company Act of 1940, and for common law breach of
fiduciary duties in return for substantial fees and other income
for themselves and their affiliates.
The Complaint alleges that, during the Class Period, the Janus
Mutual Funds and the other defendants engaged in illegal and
improper trading practices, in concert with certain
institutional traders, which caused financial injury to the
shareholders of the Janus Mutual Funds.
According to the Complaint, the Defendants surreptitiously
permitted certain favored investors, including Defendant Canary
Capital Partners, LLC and Canary Investment Management, LLC
(collectively, "Canary") to engage in "timing" of the Janus
Mutual Funds whereby these favored investors were permitted to
conduct short-term, "in and out" trading of mutual fund shares,
despite explicit restrictions on such activity in the Janus
Mutual Funds' prospectuses.
For more details, contact Robert M. Roseman by Phone:
888-844-5862 by e-mail: classaction@srk-law.com or visit the
firm's Website: http://www.srk-law.com.
JANUS CAPITAL: Much Shelist Files Securities Fraud Lawsuit in CO
----------------------------------------------------------------
Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C. initiated
a securities class action against Janus Capital Group, Inc. and
its Funds in the United States District Court for the District
of Colorado.
The lawsuit is on behalf of purchasers, redeemers and holders of
shares of the Janus Mercury Fund (Nasdaq:JAMRX), Janus Fund
(Nasdaq:JANSX), Janus Enterprise Fund (Nasdaq:JAENX), Janus
Olympus Fund (Nasdaq:JAOLX), Janus Global Technology Fund
(Nasdaq:JAGTX), Janus Orion Fund (Nasdaq:JORNX), Janus Twenty
Fund (Nasdaq:JAVLX), Janus Growth and Income Fund
(Nasdaq:JAGIX), Janus Special Equity Fund (Nasdaq:JSVAX), Janus
Worldwide Fund (Nasdaq:JAWWX), Janus Strategic Value Fund
(Nasdaq:PFVAX), and other funds managed by wholly owned
subsidiaries of Janus Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:JNS) between
October 1, 1998 and July 3, 2003.
In addition to the funds listed above, the following funds are
also subject to the above class action lawsuit:
(1) Janus Fund (Nasdaq:JANSX)
(2) Janus Enterprise Fund (Nasdaq:JAENX)
(3) Janus Olympus Fund (Nasdaq:JAOLX)
(4) Janus Global Technology Fund (Nasdaq:JAGTX)
(5) Janus Orion Fund (Nasdaq:JORNX)
(6) Janus Twenty Fund (Nasdaq:JAVLX)
(7) Janus Venture Fund (Nasdaq:JAVTX)
(8) Janus Global Life Sciences Fund (Nasdaq:JAGLX)
(9) Janus Global Value Fund (Nasdaq:JGVAX)
(10) Janus Overseas Fund (Nasdaq:JAOSX)
(11) Janus Worldwide Fund (Nasdaq:JAWWX)
(12) Janus Balanced Fund (Nasdaq:JABAX)
(13) Janus Core Equity Fund (Nasdaq:JAEIX)
(14) Janus Growth and Income Fund (JAGIX)
(15) Janus Special Equity Fund (Nasdaq:JSVAX)
(16) Janus Risk-Managed Stock Fund (Nasdaq:JRMSX)
(17) Janus Mid Cap Value Fund (NASDAQ: JMCVX, JMIVX)
(18) Janus Small CapValue Fund (NASDAQ: JSCVX, JSIVX)
(19) Janus Federal Tax-Exempt Fund (Nasdaq:JATEX)
(20) Janus Flexible Income Fund (Nasdaq:JAFIX)
(21) Janus Short-Term Bond Fund (Nasdaq:JASBX)
(22) Janus Money Market Fund (Nasdaq:JAMXX)
(23) Janus Government Money Market Fund (Nasdaq:JAGXX)
(24) Janus Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund (JATXX)
The Complaint charges the Janus Mutual Funds, Janus Capital
Group and certain of its subsidiaries with violating the
Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Investment Company Act of 1940, and for common law breach of
fiduciary duties in return for substantial fees and other income
for themselves and their affiliates.
The complaint alleges that, during the Class Period, the Janus
Mutual Funds and the other defendants engaged in illegal and
improper trading practices, in concert with certain
institutional traders, which caused financial injury to the
shareholders of the Janus Mutual Funds.
According to the Complaint, the Defendants surreptitiously
permitted certain favored investors, including Defendant Canary
Capital Partners, LLC and Canary Investment Management, LLC
(collectively, "Canary") to engage in "timing" of the Janus
Mutual Funds whereby these favored investors were permitted to
conduct short-term, "in and out" trading of mutual fund shares,
despite explicit restrictions on such activity in the Janus
Mutual Funds' prospectuses.
For more information on this, please contact Carol V. Gilden by
Phone: (800) 470-6824 or by E-mail: investorhelp@muchshelist.com
MIDWAY GAMES: Charles J. Piven Files Stock Fraud Suit in N.D. IL
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Law Offices Of Charles J. Piven, P.A. initiated a securities
class action in the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Illinois on behalf of shareholders who
purchased, converted, exchanged or otherwise acquired the common
stock of Midway Games, Inc. (NYSE:MWY) between December 11, 2001
and July 30, 2003, inclusive.
The action charges that defendants violated federal securities
laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading
statements to the market throughout the Class Period which
statements had the effect of artificially inflating the market
price of the Company's securities.
For more details, contact Charles J. Piven by Mail: The World
Trade Center-Baltimore, 401 East Pratt Street, Suite 2525,
Baltimore, Maryland 21202 by Phone: 410-986-0036 or by E-mail:
hoffman@pivenlaw.com.
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA: Bernstein Liebhard Lodges Stock Suit in NY
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bernstein, Liebhard & Lifshitz, LLP initiated a securities class
action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York on behalf of all persons who
acquired securities of National Australia Bank, Ltd. (NYSE:NAB)
between April 1, 1999 and September 3, 2001, inclusive.
The Complaint charges that Defendants violated Sections 10(b)
and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5
promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material
misrepresentations to the market during the Class Period,
thereby artificially inflating the price of NAB securities.
Specifically, the Complaint alleges that NAB's subsidiary
HomeSide knowingly used unreasonably optimistic valuation
methodologies in connection with financial modeling of its $180
billion mortgage servicing portfolio. As a result, the
Company's financial condition was materially overstated during
the Class Period.
These unreasonably optimistic valuation methodologies were
revealed on September 3, 2001 when NAB announced that it would
write off $1.75 billion due to problems at HomeSide. In
reaction to this news, when trading resumed on September 4,
2001, NAB's ADRs fell to $78.40 from $88.64.
For more details, contact Linda Flood, Director of Shareholder
Relations by Mail: 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016
by Phone: (800) 217-1522 or 212-779-1414 or by E-mail:
NAB@bernlieb.com.
SPORTSLINE.COM: Charles J. Piven Lodges Stock Lawsuit in S.D. FL
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Law Offices Of Charles J. Piven, P.A. initiated a securities
class action in the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Florida on behalf of shareholders who
purchased, converted, exchanged or otherwise acquired the common
stock of Sportsline.com, Inc. (NasdaqNM: SPLN) between May 15,
2001 and September 25, 2003, inclusive.
The action charges that defendants violated federal securities
laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading
statements to the market throughout the Class Period which
statements had the effect of artificially inflating the market
price of the Company's securities.
For more details, contact Charles J. Piven by Mail: The World
Trade Center-Baltimore, 401 East Pratt Street, Suite 2525,
Baltimore, Maryland 21202 by Phone: 410-986-0036 or by E-mail:
hoffman@pivenlaw.com
STRONG FINANCIAL: Schiffrin Barroway Files Securities Suit in WI
----------------------------------------------------------------
Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP initiated a securities class action in
the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Wisconsin on behalf of all purchasers, redeemers and holders of
shares of the Strong Funds listed below, which are managed by
Strong Capital Management, Inc. and Strong Financial Corporation
between October 1, 1998 and July 3, 2003.
The Funds are subject to the above class action lawsuit:
(1) Strong Advisor Bond Fund (SVBDX, SADBX, SABCX, SIBNX,
F008W1, SBDIX)
(2) Strong Advisor Municipal Bond Fund (SAMAX, SMBBX,
F00BH8)
(3) Strong Advisor Municipal Select Fund (SMUIX, STAEX,
F005LZ, F005M9)
(4) Strong Advisor Short Duration Bond A Fund (STSDX,
SSDKX, SSHCX, STGBX)
(5) Strong Advisor Common Stock Fund (SCSAX, SCSKX, STSAX,
STCSX)
(6) Strong Advisor Endeavor Large Cap Fund (STALX, F008GO)
(7) Strong Advisor Focus Fund (F005MO, F005M7, F005LT)
(8) Strong Advisor International Core Fund (F008GQ, F008GR,
F008GS)
(9) Strong Advisor Large Company Core Fund (SLGAX, F00AO2,
F00AO3, SLCKX)
(10) Strong Advisor Mid-Cap Growth Fund (F005LQ, F005M1,
F005LO, SMDCX)
(11) Strong Advisor Small Cap Value Fund (SMVAX, SMVBX,
SMVCX, SSMVX)
(12) Strong Advisor Strategic Income Fund (SASAX, F005L7,
SASCX)
(13) Strong Advisor Technology Fund (SASCX, F005LM, F005LM)
(14) Strong Advisor U.S. Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund (F009D0,
F009D1)
(15) Strong Advisor U.S. Value (F005M2, F005M5, F005MA,
SEQKX, SEQIX)
(16) Strong Advisor Utilities and Energy Fund (SUEAX,
F00AED, F00AEE, F009D5)
(17) Strong All Cap Value Fund (F009D5)
(18) Strong Asia Pacific Fund (SASPX)
(19) Strong Balanced Fund (STAAX)
(20) Strong Blue Chip Fund (SBCHX)
(21) Strong Discovery Fund (STDIX)
(22) Strong Dividend Income Fund (SDVIX, F008VY)
(23) Strong Dow 30 Value Fund (SDOWX)
(24) Strong Endeavor Fund (SENDX)
(25) Strong Energy Fund (SENGX)
(26) Strong Enterprise Fund (SENAX, F04ANX, SENTX, SEPKX)
(27) Strong Growth & Income Fund (SGNAX, SGNIX, SGRIX,
SGIKX)
(28) Strong Growth 20 Fund (SGTWX, SGRTX, SGRAX, F00B67,
SGRNX)
(29) Strong Growth Fund (SGROX, SGRKX)
(30) Strong Index 500 Fund (SINEX)
(31) Strong Large Cap Core Fund (SLCRX)
(32) Strong Large Cap Growth Fund (STRFX)
(33) Strong Large Company Growth Fund (SLGIX, F04ANY)
(34) Strong Mid Cap Disciplined Fund (SMCDX)
(35) Strong Multi-Cap Value Fund (SMTVX)
(36) Strong Opportunity Fund (SOPVX, SOPFX, F00AH2)
(37) Strong Overseas Fund (F00B4I, SOVRX)
(38) Strong Small Company Value Fund (F009D3)
(39) Strong Technology 100 Fund (STEKX)
(40) Strong U.S. Emerging Growth Fund (SEMRX)
(41) Strong Value Fund (STVAX)
(42) Strong Life Stages - Aggressive Portfolio Fund (SAGGX)
(43) Strong Life Stages - Conservative Portfolio Fund
(SCONX)
(44) Strong Life Stages - Moderate Portfolio Fund (SMDPX)
(45) Strong Corporate Bond Fund (SCBDX, SCBNX, STCBX)
(46) Strong Corporate Income Fund (SCORX)
(47) Strong High-Yield Bond Fund (SHBAX, SHYYX, STHYX)
(48) Strong Government Securities Fund (SGVDX, F00B66,
SGVIX, STVSX)
(49) Strong High-Yield Municipal Bond Fund (SHYLX)
(50) Strong Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund (SIMBX)
(51) Strong Municipal Bond Fund (SXFIX)
(52) Strong Minnesota Tax-Free Fund (F00B64, F00B65, F00B63)
(53) Strong Wisconsin Tax-Free Fund (F0068K)
(54) Strong Short-Term High-Yield Municipal Bond Fund
(SSHMX, SSTHX, STHBX)
(55) Strong Short-Term Municipal Bond Fund (F00B62, STSMX)
(56) Strong Short-Term Income Fund (F00B1K)
(57) Strong Short-Term Bond Fund (SSTVX, SSHIX, SSTBX)
(58) Strong Ultra Short-Term Income Fund (SADAX, SADIX,
STADX)
(59) Strong Ultra Short-Term Municipal Income Fund (SMAVX,
SMAIX, SMUAX)
(60) Strong Florida Municipal Money Market Fund (SLFXX)
(61) Strong Heritage Money Fund (SHMXX)
(62) Strong Money Market Fund (SMNXX)
(63) Strong Municipal Money Market Fund (SXFXX)
(64) Strong Tax-Free Money Fund (STMXX)
The parties named as defendants in the suit are :
(i) Strong Capital Management, Inc.,
(ii) Strong Financial Corporation,
(iii) the Strong Funds,
(iv) Thomas Ognar,
(v) Bruce C. Olson,
(vi) William A. Ferer,
(vii) William H. Reaves,
(viii) Edward J. Stern,
(ix) Canary Capital Partners, LLC,
(x) Canary Investment Management, LLC, and
(xi) Canary Capital Partners, Ltd.
The defendants are charged with violations of the Securities Act
of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment
Company Act of 1940, and for common law breach of fiduciary
duties. The complaint alleges that the defendants engaged in a
fraudulent scheme to defraud and cause financial injury to the
shareholders of the Strong Funds.
According to the Complaint, the Strong Funds, Defendants Canary
Capital Partners, LLC and Canary Investment Management, LLC
(collectively, the "Canary Defendants"), and other defendants
engaged in illegal and improper trading practices, in concert
with certain institutional traders, which caused financial
injury to all shareholders of the Strong Funds.
In particular, the Defendants surreptitiously permitted certain
favored investors, including the Canary Defendants to illegally
receive the prior day's price for orders placed after 4 p.m.
This allowed the Canary Defendants and other mutual fund
investors who engaged in the same wrongful course of conduct to
capitalize on post 4:00 p.m. information, while those who bought
their mutual fund shares lawfully could not.
The complaint further alleges that defendants permitted the
Canary Defendants and other favored investors to engage in
"timing" of the Strong Funds whereby these favored investors
were permitted to conduct short-term, "in and out" trading of
mutual fund shares, despite explicit restrictions on such
activity in the Strong Funds' prospectuses.
For more details, contact Marc A. Topaz, or Stuart L. Berman by
Mail: Three Bala Plaza East, Suite 400, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 by
Phone: 1-888-299-7706 (toll free) or 1-610-667-7706 or by E-
mail: info@sbclasslaw.com
*********
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Wednesday's edition of the Class Action Reporter. Submissions
via e-mail to carconf@beard.com are encouraged.
Each Friday's edition of the CAR includes a section featuring
news on asbestos-related litigation and profiles of target
asbestos defendants that, according to independent researches,
collectively face billions of dollars in asbestos-related
liabilities. The Asbestos Defendant Profiles is backed by an
online database created to respond to custom searches. Go to
http://litigationdatasource.com/asbestos_defendant_profiles.html
*********
S U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N
Class Action Reporter is a daily newsletter, co-published by
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Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C. Enid Sterling, Roberto
Amor, Aurora Fatima Antonio and Lyndsey Resnick, Editors.
Copyright 2003. All rights reserved. ISSN 1525-2272.
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