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| 2001 News and Press Releases |
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HEADLINE ARCHIVED:
Lost And Found
By: Carrie Coolidge
Forbes Magazine. Monday, October 1, 2001
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Excerpt: Did accounting hanky-panky tank your stock? Here's how to get some money back. The corporations that were paying so much ransom money to the plaintiff bar probably thought they would get lasting relief from the 1995 reform act covering class action securities litigation. It was not to be. After an initial dip the volume of litigation resumed its upward march. New cases dropped from 321 in 1994 to 196 in 1996. But last year saw 307 new lawsuits, and this year should break 1994's record, says James M. Newman, publisher of the industry newsletter Securities Class Action Alert. The money is bigger. While 112 cases were settled in 1999 for a total of $1.8 billion, last year there were 156 cases settled for a record-breaking $4.3 billion. (Remember, it takes several years from filing to finale.)If you are a high-tech entrepreneur, an investment banker or an accountant, look on these statistics with despair. As an investor, however, you should put aside your misgivings and figure out how to get your piece of the settlement loot. There are 18 pending suits expected to be settled in the next 12 to 18 months, each for more than $500 million, involving some of the biggest companies around--AT&T, Coca-Cola, Lucent, Ford Motor, among others.
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