Household International, Inc. - Securities Class Action

Company and Case Information

IMPORTANT INFORMATION | INDEX OF FILINGS | SEARCH

Home

Index of Filings

News and Press Releases

Filings

Decisions

Settlements

Litigation Activity Indices

Top Ten List

Annual/Quarterly Updates

Clearinghouse Research

Articles & Papers

Search

Related Sites

About Us

Local Rules

Sponsors

Register

_______________
Copyright (c) 2001
Stanford Law School

Household International, Inc. Summary: The original complaint alleges that defendants violated the federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations and future prospects. The Class Period begins on October 23, 1997 the date on which Household International announced its third-quarter 1997 results. The Class Period ends on August 14, 2002, the day Household International announced it would restate its prior eight years financials, because it had overstated its net income by $386 million during that period. Specifically, Household International said it would revise the way it had accounted for its MasterCard/Visa co-branding and affinity card relationships, as well as a credit-card marketing agreement with a third party. As a result of the Defendants' false and misleading statements, Household International securities traded at artificially high levels during the Class Period.

According to the Company’s for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, a number of these actions allege violations of Federal securities laws were filed between August and October 2002, and seek to recover damages in respect of allegedly false and misleading statements about our common stock. These legal actions have been consolidated into a single purported class action, Jaffe v. Household International, Inc., et al., No. 02 C 5893 (N.D. Ill., filed August 19, 2002), and a consolidated and amended complaint was filed on March 7, 2003. On December 3, 2004, the court signed the parties’ stipulation to certify a class with respect to the claims brought under § 10 and § 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The parties stipulated that plaintiffs will not seek to certify a class with respect to the claims brought under § 11 and § 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 in this action or otherwise. The amended complaint asserts claims under the Federal securities laws, on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired our securities between October 23, 1997 and October 11, 2002, arising out of alleged false and misleading statements in connection with our collection, sales and lending practices, the 2002 state settlement agreement referred to above, the restatement and the HSBC merger. The Court dismissed all claims against Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. The Court also dismissed certain claims alleging strict liability for alleged misrepresentation of material facts based on statute of limitations grounds. The claims that remain against some or all of the defendants essentially allege the defendants knowingly made a false statement of a material fact in conjunction with the purchase or sale of securities, that the plaintiffs justifiably relied on such statement, the false statement(s) caused the plaintiffs’ damages, and that some or all of the defendants should be liable for those alleged statements. On February 28, 2006, the Court also dismissed all alleged § 10 claims that arose prior to July 30, 1999, shortening the class period by 22 months. Discovery has concluded. Separately, one of the defendants, Arthur Andersen LLP, entered into a settlement of the claims against Arthur Andersen. This settlement received Court approval in April, 2006. Remaining defendants’ summary judgment motion is pending.

The Court has set a trial date of March 30, 2009. On March 30, 2009, the first day of jury trial was held before the Honorable Ronald A. Guzman.

According to an article dated May 8, 2009, Household International Inc. executives made misleading public statements about the company's business practices, deceiving shareholders, a Chicago federal court jury found after a monthlong trial. The jury returned the verdict Thursday after 3 1/2 days of deliberation, finding the company and three executives … made the remarks recklessly. Household, now known as HSBC Finance Corp., was acquired by London-based HSBC Holdings PLC for $15.5 billion in March 2003. Jurors didn't award a lump sum to shareholders. U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman, who presided over the trial, said the case is not over. HSBC Finance, based in Mettawa, said it will ask the court to overturn the verdict.

On March 22, 2010, the plaintiff filed a motion for judgment, and on July 28, 2010, Honorable Ronald A. Guzman denied the motion as moot.

INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION:
SIC Code: 6141
Sector: Financial
Industry: Consumer Financial Services

COMPANY/ISSUER NAME:	Household International, Inc.
COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER:	HI
COMPANY WEBSITE:	http://www.household.com

FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE

Lawrence E. Jaffe Pension Plan, et al. v. Household International, Inc., et al.

COURT: N.D. Illinois	DOCKET NUMBER: 02-CV-5893
JUDGE NAME: Hon. Ronald A. Guzman
DATE FILED: 08/19/2002	SOURCE: Business Wires
CLASS PERIOD START: 10/23/1997	CLASS PERIOD END: 08/14/2002
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Complaint (Unamended and Unconsolidated)
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Cauley Geller, Bowman Coates & Rudman, LLP (Boca Raton, FL) One Boca Place. 2255 Glades Road, Suite 421A, Boca Raton, FL, 33431 (voice) 561.750.3000, (fax) 561.750.3364, Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer, LLP (former New York, NY) 805 Third Avenue, 22nd Floor, New York, NY, 10022 (voice) 212.687.1980, (fax) 212.687.7714, info@kaplanfox.com Kenneth A. Elan (Chicago ) 30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 3200, Chicago , IL, 60602 (voice) 312782.4880, (fax) , mmiller@millerfauchner.com Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP (San Diego, CA) 600 West Broadway, 1800 One America Plaza, San Diego, CA, 92101 (voice) 800.449.4900, (fax) , support@milberg.com Schiffrin & Barroway LLP 3 Bala Plaza E, Bala Cynwyd, PA, 19004 (voice) 610.667.7706, (fax) 610.667.7056, info@sbclasslaw.com _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 5

DOCUMENTS FOR THE FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT
Class Action Complaint for Violation of Federal Securities Laws - Jury Trial Demanded
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 08/19/2002

REFERENCE COMPLAINT

Lawrence E. Jaffe Pension Plan, et al. v. Household International, Inc., et al.

COURT: N.D. Illinois	DOCKET NUMBER: 02-CV-5893
JUDGE NAME:
DATE FILED: 03/13/2003	SOURCE: Internet
CLASS PERIOD START: 10/23/1997	CLASS PERIOD END: 10/11/2002
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: First Consolidated
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP (S.F., CA) 100 Pine Street - Suite 2600, San Francisco, CA, 94111 (voice) 415.288.4545, (fax) 415.288.4534, Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP (San Diego, CA) 600 West Broadway, 1800 One America Plaza, San Diego, CA, 92101 (voice) 800.449.4900, (fax) , support@milberg.com _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 2

DOCUMENTS FOR THE REFERENCE COMPLAINT
Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint for Violation of the Federal Securities Laws
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 03/07/2003
Stipulation Of Settlement With Arthur Andersen LLP
Type: Settlement		Date on the document: 06/16/2005
Final Judgment And Order Of Dismissal With Prejudice As To Arthur Andersen LLP
Type: Order		Date on the document: 04/06/2006
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 11/13/2006
Notification Of Docket Entry
Type: Other		Date on the document: 03/30/2009
Jury Verdict
Type: Other		Date on the document: 05/07/2009
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 05/07/2009
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 01/27/2011

OTHER DOCUMENTS
Complaint For Violation Of The Federal Securities Laws
Case Name and/or Number: Abrams, et al. v. Household International, Inc., et al.
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 08/19/2002
Notice Of Settlement Of Shareholder Class And Derivative Actions
Case Name and/or Number: Lawrence E. Jaffe Pension Plan, et al. v. Household International, Inc., et al.
Type: Notice		Date on the document: 09/28/2003

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY:
The information included on this Web site, whether provided by personnel employed by Stanford Law School or by third parties, is provided for research and teaching purposes only. Neither Stanford University, Stanford Law School, nor any of their employees, agents, contractors, or affiliates warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information or analyses displayed herein, and we caution all readers that inclusion of any information on this site does not constitute an endorsement of the truthfulness or accuracy of that information. In particular, this Web site contains complaints and other documents filed in federal and state courts, which make allegations that may or may not be accurate. No reader should, on the basis of information contained in or referenced by this Web site, assume that any of these allegations are truthful.

Go to Search page | Go to Case Index page | Back to Top

�