RADNOR, Pa., Feb. 25 2005 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network — The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United
States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of all
securities purchasers of Visteon Corp. (NYSE: VC) (“Visteon” or the “Company”)
between January 23, 2004 and January 31, 2005, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this
notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please
contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Darren J. Check,
Esq.) toll-free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at
info@sbclasslaw.com.
The complaint charges Visteon, Peter Pestillo, Michael Johnston, Glenda J.
Minor, Daniel R. Coulson and James Palmer with violations of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the
Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse
facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1)
that the Company continued to maintain unprofitable product lines, such as
glass and powertrain systems, even when faced with declining North American
auto sales and rising raw-material costs; (2) that the Company was overly
dependent on Ford Motor Co. (“Ford”), as 70 percent of Visteon’s revenue came
from Ford; (3) that the Company failed to adequately control costs; (4) that
the Company improperly accounted for certain retiree health care and pension
benefits, and income taxes and as a result Visteon had to reverse $9 million
in expense reductions for U.S. post-retirement life and health care costs and
to adjust the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets by $17 million; (5)
that as a result of the foregoing the Company’s financial results were in
violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) and were
materially inflated at all relevant times; and (6) that as a consequence of
the above, the defendants had no reasonable basis for positive statements
about Visteon’s financial condition.
On January 31, 2005, Visteon announced preliminary fourth quarter and full
year results for 2004. For the full year 2004, Visteon recorded a net loss of
$1.489 billion, or $11.88 per share. In addition, Visteon’s management has
recommended the review and preliminary restatement of the Company’s financial
statements for 2002, 2003 and the first three fiscal quarters of 2004. News
of this shocked the market. Shares of Visteon fell $0.51, or 6.43 percent, on
January 31, 2005 to close at $7.42 per share.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is
represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class
actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin &
Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has
recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high
net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin &
Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit
http://www.sbclasslaw.com.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than
April 26, 2005 move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you
so choose. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of
other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed
lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s claim is
typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will
adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more
class members may together serve as “lead plaintiff.” Your ability to share
in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to
serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Schiffrin & Barroway, or other
counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
CONTACT: Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP
Marc A. Topaz, Esq.
Darren J. Check, Esq.
280 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087
1-888-299-7706 (toll-free) or 1-610-667-7706
Or by e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com
