Centerline Holding Company - Securities Class Action

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Stanford Law School

Centerline Holding Company Summary: The original Complaint alleges that Defendants Centerline and certain of its officers and directors issued a series of materially false and misleading statements about Centerline's business model and financial condition, including statements concerning its portfolio of tax-exempt first mortgage bonds, which generated the majority of the Company's revenues and supported the Company's $1.68 per share annual dividend. Defendants' statements concealed from the investing public that Defendants were in the midst of structuring a sale of the Company's mortgage revenue bond portfolio to a third party. On December 28, 2007, Centerline shocked the financial markets with a press release announcing that the Company had sold its "$2.8 billion tax-exempt affordable housing bond portfolio" to a third party and, in the process, transformed the Company's business model to a pure asset management firm. As a result of this transaction, the Company disclosed that it would be slashing its annual dividend from $1.68 per share to only $0.60 per share. Even more shocking was the revelation that Defendants had entered into a related party transaction with a company owned by certain of the Defendants called The Related Companies, L.P. ("TRCLP"), whereby TRCLP agreed to provide Centerline $131 million in financing, in exchange for 12.2 million shares of newly-issued convertible preferred stock that will pay Company insiders an 11% dividend. In reaction to this news, the price of Centerline stock plummeted from $10.27 per share on December 27, 2007, to close at $7.70 per share on December 28, 2007, representing a 25% single-day decline, on unusually heavy trading volume of 4,152,688 shares.

On May 5, 2008, the Centerline Investor Group was appointed lead plaintiff and Berger & Montague P.C. and Labaton Sucharow LLP were appointed co-lead counsel. On July 7, 2008, the lead plaintiffs filed a Consolidated Class Action Complaint. The defendants responded by filing a motion to dismiss the Consolidated Class Action Complaint on August 21, 2008. On January 12, 2009, District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin issued the Opinion and Order granting the defendants' motion to dismiss the Consolidated Class Action Complaint in full. The lead plaintiffs had thirty days to file an Amended Complaint.

On March 13, 2009, the lead plaintiff filed an Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint. On April 30, 2009, the defendants responded by filing a motion to dismiss the Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint. On August 4, 2009, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin signed the Opinion and Order #97840, granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss. Further, according to the Order, because Lead Plaintiff has already been given the opportunity to remedy the deficiencies in the Complaint, leave to re-plead is denied. On August 7, 2009, judgment was entered and the case closed. On September 2, 2009, the plaintiffs filed a Notice of Appeal in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to an article dated June 11, 2010, in a brief, five-page summary opinion issued on June 9, 2010, the Second Circuit affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of the subprime-related securities class action lawsuit that had been filed against Centerline Holding Company and certain of its directors and officers.

INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION:
SIC Code: 6500
Sector: Financial
Industry: Investment Services

COMPANY/ISSUER NAME:	Centerline Holding Company
COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER:	CHC
COMPANY WEBSITE:	http://www.centerline.com

FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE

Mark K. Goldstein, et al. v. Centerline Holding Company, et al.

COURT: S.D. New York	DOCKET NUMBER: 08-CV-00505
JUDGE NAME: Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin
DATE FILED: 01/18/2008	SOURCE: Notice of Filing
CLASS PERIOD START: 03/12/2007	CLASS PERIOD END: 12/28/2007
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Complaint (Unamended and Unconsolidated)
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Abraham, Fruchter & Twersky (New York, One Pennsylvania Plaza) One Pennsylvania Plaza, Suite 1910, New York, NY, 10119 (voice) 212.279.5050, (fax) 212.279.3655, JFruchter@FruchterTwersky.com Berger & Montague PC 1622 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19103 (voice) 800.424.6690, (fax) 215.875.4604, investorprotect@bm.net Brodsky & Smith, LLC (former Pennysylvania) 11 Bala Avenue, Suite 39, Bala Cynwyd, PA, 19004 (voice) 610.668.7987, (fax) 610.660.0450, esmith@Brodsky-Smith.com Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (Melville) 58 South Service Road, Suite 200, Melville, NY, 11747 (voice) 631.367.7100, (fax) 631.367.1173, info@csgrr.com/ Kahn Gauthier Swick, LLC (NY) 12 East 41st Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY, 10016 (voice) 212.920.4310, (fax) 212.696.3730, info@kglg.com Labaton Sucharow LLP 140 Broadway, New York, NY, 10005 (voice) 212.907.0700, (fax) 212.818.0477, info@labaton.com Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler, LLP (Radnor) 280 King of Prussia Road, Radnor, PA, 19087 (voice) 610.667.7706, (fax) 610.667.7056, info@sbtklaw.com Wolf Popper, LLP 845 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10022-6689 (voice) 877.370.7703, (fax) 212.486.2093, IRRep@wolfpopper.com _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 8

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: 01/18/2008
Stipulation And Order
Type: Order		Date on the document: 03/03/2008
Stipulation And Order Subsituting Counsel
Type: Order		Date on the document: 03/20/2008
Opinion And Order
Type: Order		Date on the document: 05/05/2008

REFERENCE COMPLAINT

In Re: Centerline Holding Company Securities Litigation

COURT: S.D. New York	DOCKET NUMBER: 08-CV-00505
JUDGE NAME: Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin
DATE FILED: 03/13/2009	SOURCE: Docket
CLASS PERIOD START: 03/12/2007	CLASS PERIOD END: 12/28/2007
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: First Amended and Consolidated
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Berger & Montague PC 1622 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19103 (voice) 800.424.6690, (fax) 215.875.4604, investorprotect@bm.net Labaton Sucharow LLP 140 Broadway, New York, NY, 10005 (voice) 212.907.0700, (fax) 212.818.0477, info@labaton.com _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 2

DOCUMENTS FOR THE REFERENCE COMPLAINT
Consolidated Class Action Complaint for Violation of Federal Securities Laws
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 07/07/2008
Opinion and Order
Type: Order		Date on the document: 01/12/2009
Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint For Violation Of Federal Securities Laws
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 03/13/2009
Opinion and Order
Type: Order		Date on the document: 08/04/2009
Judgment
Type: Other		Date on the document: 08/07/2009
Notice of Appeal
Type: Notice		Date on the document: 09/02/2009
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 11/18/2010

OTHER DOCUMENTS
Class Action Complaint - Jury Trial Demanded
Case Name and/or Number: Peter Frank, et al. v. Centerline Holding Company, et al.
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 01/30/2008
Class Action Complaint for Violations of Federal Securities Laws - Jury Trial Demanded
Case Name and/or Number: Lori Weinrib, et al. v. Centerline Holding Company, et al.
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 02/04/2008
Class Action Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws - Jury Trial Demanded
Case Name and/or Number: Thomas Lyons, et al. v. Centerline Holding Company, et al.
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 02/11/2008
Class Action Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws - Jury Trial Demanded
Case Name and/or Number: Deborah Dechter, et al. v. Centerline Holding Company, et al.
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 02/15/2008
Summary order
Case Name and/or Number: In Re: Centerline Holding Company Securities Litigation
Type: Order		Date on the document: 11/18/2010

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