Sunrise Senior Living, 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

Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. Summary: Plaintiffs filed a Stipulation of Settlement on February 27, 2009, outlining a $13.5 million agreement to release defendants of pending claims. According to the firms annual report for year 2008, the majority of the settlement will be funded by insurance.

The consolidated complaint, which extends the dates of the class period from the original, was filed on June 6, 2008. Defendants moved for dismissal on August 11, 2008.

On February 23, 2007, a consent motion for the extension of time to respond to complaint and a proposed Order were filed and entered. As the case continues, several motions to consolidate cases, for the appointment of lead plaintiffs and lead counsels were filed on March 19, 2007. However, on May 07, 2007, a minute Order granting the motion for extension of time to respond to complaint was entered. In addition, a proposed Order in regards to the appointment of lead plaintiffs, lead counsels and to consolidate cases was entered on June 08, 2007. As a result, on July 31, 2007 the judge entered an order consolidating all related cases and appointing United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 880 as lead plaintiff. According to another minute Order entered on May 02, 2008, the lead plaintiffs should file a Consolidated Amended Complaint by June 06, 2008.

According to a press release dated January 16, 2007, the complaint charges Sunrise and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Sunrise provides residential and other services to retirees and elderly persons through facilities it develops and constructs and then manages, often through joint ventures.

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, its stock option plans, its compensation practices and its financial results. As a result of these false statements, Sunrise's common stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching a high of $39.68 per share on March 29, 2006. The individual defendants took advantage of Sunrise's falsified financial results, the artificial inflation of Sunrise's stock and the manipulation of its stock option plans by selling shares of their Sunrise stock for illegal insider trading proceeds of over $34 million, while Sunrise's top officers pocketed millions more in unjustified bonus payments enhanced in part by Sunrise's falsified profits. The complaint alleges that defendants had previously manipulated the Company's stock option plans so as to enrich themselves by "backdating" or "spring-loading" the stock options they were granted.

The complaint further alleges that on May 9, 2006, Sunrise disclosed a delay in reporting its first quarter 2006 results to allow a review of its financial statements, and on July 31, 2006, Sunrise revealed it would be forced to restate its financial statements going back several years - at least to 1999 - and that its prior financial statements could no longer be relied upon. Sunrise also admitted it could not file current period financial statements for the first, second and third quarters of 2006 and that when it restated its financial results, at least $100 million of previously reported profits from its joint ventures and real estate sales would be eliminated. As these revelations unfolded, Sunrise's stock fell from $39.62 on May 8, 2006 to as low as $24.40 on July 31, 2006.

INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION:
SIC Code: 8050
Sector: Healthcare
Industry: Healthcare Facilities

COMPANY/ISSUER NAME:	Sunrise Senior Living, Inc.
COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER:	SRZ
COMPANY WEBSITE:	http://www.sunriseseniorliving.com

FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE

United Food And Commercial Workers Union Local 880 - Retail Food Employers Joint Pension Fund, et al. v. Sunrise Senior Living, Inc., et al.

COURT: D. District Columbia	DOCKET NUMBER: 07-CV-00102
JUDGE NAME: Hon. Reggie B. Walton
DATE FILED: 01/16/2007	SOURCE: Notice of Filing
CLASS PERIOD START: 08/04/2005	CLASS PERIOD END: 06/15/2006
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Complaint (Unamended and Unconsolidated)
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Entwistle & Cappucci LLP 299 Park Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY, 10171 (voice) 212.894.7200, (fax) 212.894.7272, info@entwistle-law.com Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (D.C.) 1100 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 730, Washington, DC, 20036 (voice) 202.822.6762, (fax) 202.828.8528, info@lerachlaw.com Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (San Diego) 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA, 92101 (voice) 619.231.1058, (fax) 619.231.7423, _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 3

DOCUMENTS FOR THE FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT
Class Action Complaint for Violation of Federal Securities Laws - Demand for Jury Trial
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 01/16/2007
Stipulation And Order Extending Time To Answer, Move, Or Otherwise Respond
Type: Order		Date on the document: 2/23/2007
Memorandum Of Law In Further Support Of The Motion Of The City Of Miami General Employees' & Sanitation Employees' Retirement Trust And The Oklahoma Firefighters Pension And Retirement System For (1) Appointment As Lead Plaintiffs; (2) Approval Of Their Selection Of Counsel As Co-Lead Counsel For The Class; And (3) Consolidation Of All Related Actions
Type: Memorandum		Date on the document: 4/12/2007
Stipulation And [Proposed] Order Regarding Filing Of Consolidated Amended Complaint And Briefing Thereon
Type: Order		Date on the document: 5/2/2008
US District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 6/3/2008

REFERENCE COMPLAINT

In Re: Sunrise Senior Living, Inc.

COURT: D. District Columbia	DOCKET NUMBER: 07-CV-00102
JUDGE NAME: Hon. Reggie B. Walton
DATE FILED: 06/06/2008	SOURCE: Docket
CLASS PERIOD START: 02/26/2004	CLASS PERIOD END: 07/28/2006
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: First Consolidated
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo (FL) 515 North Flagler Drive - Suite 1701, West Palm Beach, FL, 33401 (voice) 561.835.9400, (fax) , Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP (New York, NY) 1285 Avenue of the Americas, 33rd Floor, New York, NY, 10019 (voice) 212.554.1400, (fax) 212.554.1444, blbg@blbglaw.com _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 2

DOCUMENTS FOR THE REFERENCE COMPLAINT
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 7/31/2007
Consolidated And Amended Class Action Complaint Of Lead Plaintiffs Oklahoma Firefighters Pension And Retirement System And City Of Miami General Employees’ & Sanitation Employees’ Retirement Trust
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 6/6/2008
Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement
Type: Settlement		Date on the document: 02/27/2009
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 2/27/2009

OTHER DOCUMENTS

Case Name and/or Number:
Type:		Date on the document:

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

�