WASHINGTON– LAWFUEL – The Law Firm Newswire – The law firm Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on behalf of its client and on behalf of other similarly situated purchasers of Pall Corporation (“Pall” or the “Company”) (NYSE:PLL) common stock between March 22, 2007 and August 8, 2007 (the “Class Period”).
The complaint charges that Pall and several of its officers with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). It alleges that Pall failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that Pall had overstated its financial results by materially understating its income tax liability; (2) that the Company had misstated its effective tax rate, and the factors affecting the Company’s effective tax rate; (3) that the Company’s financial statements were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; (4) that the Company lacked adequate internal and financial controls; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company’s financial statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
The complaint further alleges that on July 19, 2007, Pall shocked investors when it disclosed that the Audit Committee of its Board of Directors had commenced an inquiry into a possible material understatement of U.S. income tax payments, and into the Company’s provision for income taxes in certain prior periods commencing with the fiscal year ended July 31, 1999. Upon the release of this news, Pall’s shares declined $7.67 per share, or over 15.7 percent, to close on July 20, 2007 at $41.11 per share, on unusually heavy trading volume.
On August 2, 2007, Pall disclosed that it was restating its financial statements for the fiscal years 1999 through 2006, and for each of the fiscal quarters ended October 31, 2006, January 31, 2007, and April 30, 2007. The complaint alleges that the need for the restatement resulted from the Company’s understatement of U.S. income tax payments, and from its provision for income taxes. The Company stated that the taxes payable could be in excess of $130 million, exclusive of interest and penalties. Further, the Company instructed investors that they could no longer rely on the Company’s previously issued financial statements. On this news, Pall’s shares fell an additional $1.21 per share, or almost 3 percent, to close on August 2, 2007 at $39.90 per share, on unusually heavy trading volume. The following day, the Company’s shares declined an additional $1.28 per share, or 3.2 percent.
As a result of Pall’s disclosures, the complaint further alleges that Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service cut the Company’s corporate credit rating from A- to BBB, and also lowered the Company’s short-term credit rating. An article published on August 9, 2007 revealed that the downgrade reflected the significance of the tax issue, the unreliability of the Company’s previously issued financial statements, the risk of noncompliance with various lending agreements, and the uncertainty regarding the cause of the matter. On this news, Pall’s shares declined an additional $1.64 per share, or over 4.1 percent, to close on August 9, 2007 at $37.82 per share, again on heavy trading volume.
If you are a member of the class, you may, no later than October 15, 2007, request that the Court appoint you as Lead Plaintiff of the class. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their choice or may choose to remain an absent class member.
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has significant experience in prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving securities fraud. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and London, and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the nation. A copy of the Complaint can be found on the firm’s website at www.cmht.com.
The firm’s reputation for excellence has been recognized on repeated occasions by courts which have appointed the firm to lead positions in complex multi-district or consolidated litigation. Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has taken a lead role in numerous important cases on behalf of defrauded investors, and has been responsible for a number of outstanding recoveries which, in the aggregate, total in the billions of dollars.
If you have any questions about this notice or the action, or with regard to your rights, please contact either of the following:
Steven J. Toll, Esq.
Dana Frusco
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C.
1100 New York Avenue, N.W.
West Tower, Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20005
Telephone: (888) 240-0775 or (202) 408-4600
Email: stoll@cmht.com or dfrusco@cmht.com
