Shareholder Class Action Filed Against AXIS Capital Holdings Limited by the Law Firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP
BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Nov. 5 2004 LAWFUEL – Class action, litigation, law, legal news 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 Southern District of New York on behalf of all
securities purchasers of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE: AXS) (“AXIS” and
the “Company”) from August 6, 2003 through October 14, 2004, 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 AXIS, Michael A. Butt, Andrew Cook, and John R.
Charman 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 AXIS entered into
illegal “contingent commission agreements” with insurance companies to pay so-
called “contingent commissions”; (2) that AXIS concealed these “contingent
commissions” and such “contingent commission agreements,” thereby subjecting
defendants to various violations of applicable principles of fiduciary law,
and (3) that as a result of this illegal scheme, defendants, throughout the
Class Period, materially overstated and artificially inflated AXIS’ earnings,
income, and earnings per share.
On October 14, 2004, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced
that he had charged several of the nation’s largest insurance companies and
the largest broker with bid rigging and payoffs that he claimed violated fraud
and competition laws. On this news, shares of AXIS fell $1.69 per share, or
6.53 percent, to close at $24.20 per share on unusually high trading volume on
October 14, 2004.
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
December 27, 2004 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.
Three Bala Plaza East, Suite 400
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
1-888-299-7706 (toll free) or 1-610-667-7706
Or by e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com
http://www.sbclasslaw.com
