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_______________
Copyright (c) 2001
Stanford Law School


Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. : AOL Time Warner Inc.
Summary: According to a press release dated September 29, 2008, a judge has granted class certification in a massive securities class action against Credit Suisse' U.S. operations over the glowing research it provided during Time Warner Inc.’s botched merger with AOL. Judge Nancy Gertner of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Friday appointed lead plaintiff Bricklayers and Trowel Trades International Pension Fund as class representative in the case, which targets the bank formerly known as Credit Suisse First Boston (USA) Inc. Overall, however, the courts have been split on the issue, the judge noted. “Indeed, as the court noted previously, while proving that a particular statement was material and had an impact on a stock’s market price may be more difficult for analysts' statements than for issuer statements, the identity of the speaker should not alter the legal or analytical framework,” Judge Gertner wrote.

On March 2, 2007, the Plaintiff filed a motion for class certification.

On December 7, 2006, the Court entered the Amended Memorandum and Order signed by U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner denying the defendants' motions to dismiss the Second Consolidated Amended Complaint.

On November 25, 2003, a Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint was filed, and the defendants responded by filing motions to dismiss the Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint. On March 8, 2005, the Court entered the Report and Recommendation, recommending that the motions to dismiss be allowed and that the Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint be dismissed without prejudice. On September 29, 2005, Judge Nancy Gertner granted the motions to dismiss with leave to amend the complaint. On December 16, 2005, a Second Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint was filed, and the defendants responded by filing motions to dismiss the Second Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint.

On September 3, 2003, the Court entered the Order granting the motion to consolidate several actions, granting the motion for appointment of lead plaintiff, and granting the motion for approval of lead plaintiff’s choice of lead counsel. On September 12, 2003, several New York actions were transferred to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The complaint alleges that the defendants violated section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("the Exchange Act"), and Rule 1a0b-5 promulgated thereunder, and Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act, by issuing a series of favorable research reports on AOL that were materially false or misleading in that they did not reflect Credit Suisse's true opinion of AOL and they did not disclose conflicts of interest of Credit Suisse. In particular, the reports did not disclose the practice of Credit Suisse to use its research coverage as part of its marketing efforts to gain lucrative investment banking business. According to an administrative complaint filed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on one occasion Credit Suisse issued an analyst report stating Credit Suisse believed AOL could achieve the earnings guidance AOL had given the market, when Credit Suisse in fact believed (as expressed in internal communications) that AOL could not make its numbers. The Massachusetts complaint alleges that Credit Suisse "purposely misled investors" with its analyst reports. Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP has previously filed class action securities fraud suits against Credit Suisse on behalf of purchasers of Razorfish, Inc. and Agilent Technologies, Inc. common stock. Shapiro Haber & Urmy anticipates that it may be filing similar class action complaints on behalf of investors in other companies that were also the subject of favorable research reports by Credit Suisse.

Several similar purported class action complaints were filed in the Southern District of New York, District of Massachusetts, and the Southern District of California.

INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION:
SIC Code: 7812
Sector: Technology
Industry: Computer Services


COMPANY/ISSUER NAME: AOL Time Warner Inc.
COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER: AOL
COMPANY WEBSITE: http://www.aoltimewarner.com

FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE
Jack McBride, et al. v. Credit Suisse First Boston Corp., et al.
 COURT: S.D. New York  DOCKET NUMBER: 02-CV-08596
 JUDGE NAME: Hon. Richard C. Casey
 DATE FILED: 10/28/2002  SOURCE: Business Wires
 CLASS PERIOD START: 1/16/2001  CLASS PERIOD END: 9/3/2002
 TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Complaint (Unamended and Unconsolidated)
 PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
  • Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll PLLC (Seattle WA)
      701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 6860, Seattle, WA, 98014
       (voice) 206.521.0080, (fax) 206.521.0166, lawinfo@cmht.com
  • Finkelstein, Thompson & Loughran
      1050 30th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20007
       (voice) 202.337.8000, (fax) 202.337.8090, contact@ftllaw.com
  • 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
  • Lockridge, Grindal, Nauen P.L.L.P.
      Suite 301, 660 Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast, Washington, DC, 20003-4335
       (voice) 202.544.9840, (fax) 202.544.9850,
  • Shapiro Haber & Urmy LLP
      75 State Street, Boston, MA, 02109
       (voice) 617.439.3939, (fax) 617.439.0134, info@shulaw.com
    _____________________________________________
     TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS:  5

  •  DOCUMENTS FOR THE FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT
    Class Action Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws - Jury Trial Demanded
    Type: Complaint Date on the document: 10/28/2002
    U.S. District Court Civil Docket
    Type: Docket Date on the document: 09/28/2003

    REFERENCE COMPLAINT
    In Re: Credit Suisse - AOL Securities Litigation
     COURT: D. Massachusetts  DOCKET NUMBER: 02-CV-12146
     JUDGE NAME: Hon. Nancy Gertner
     DATE FILED: 12/16/2005  SOURCE: Business Wires
     CLASS PERIOD START: 1/12/2001  CLASS PERIOD END: 7/24/2002
     TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Second Amended and Consolidated
     PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
  • The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
      350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5508, New York, NY, 10118
       (voice) 212.686.1060, (fax) 212.202.3827, lrosen@rosenlegal.com
    _____________________________________________
     TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS:  1

  •  DOCUMENTS FOR THE REFERENCE COMPLAINT
    Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint For Violations Of The Federal Securities Laws
    Type: Complaint Date on the document: 11/25/2003
    Second Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint For Violations Of The Federal Securities Laws
    Type: Complaint Date on the document: 12/16/2005
    Amended Memorandum And Order Re: Defendants’ Motions To Dismiss
    Type: Order Date on the document: 12/07/2006
    US District Court Civil Docket
    Type: Docket Date on the document: 9/26/2008

     OTHER DOCUMENTS
    U.S. District Court Civil Docket
    Case Name and/or Number: Jack McBride, et al. v. Credit Suisse First Boston Corp., et al.
    Type: Docket Date on the document: 10/29/2004

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