NEW YORK, April 30, 2008 (Lawfuel) — Schiffrin Barroway Topaz &
Kessler, LLP and Labaton Sucharow LLP filed a class action lawsuit on
April 29, 2008 in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Illinois, on behalf of purchasers of the securities of
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (“Lehman Brothers” or the “Company”)
(NYSE:LEH) between September 13, 2006 and July 30, 2007, inclusive (the
“Class Period”). The complaint names Lehman Brothers, Richard S. Fuld,
Christopher M. O’Meara, and Joseph M. Gregory as defendants
(collectively, “Defendants”). The complaint alleges that during the
Class Period, Defendants violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
by issuing various materially false and misleading statements about
Lehman Brothers’ financial well-being, business operations and
prospects, which had the effect of artificially inflating the market
price of the Company’s securities.
Notice is hereby given that in light of the voluntary dismissal and
termination of Reese v. O’Meara, No. 1:08-cv-01119 (N.D. Ill. filed
Feb. 22, 2008), the action filed yesterday is now the first-filed
action against defendants. Accordingly, Lead Plaintiff papers must be
filed with the court no later than 60 days from this notice, or June
30, 2008.
If you are a member of this class you can view a copy of the complaint
and join this class action online at
http://www.labaton.com/en/cases/upload/Lehman-Bros-Complaint/pdf
The complaint alleges, inter alia, that Defendants failed to fully
disclose the nature and extent of the Company’s exposure to losses
incurred from trading in subprime mortgage-backed derivatives and that
the Company failed to timely writedown its positions in these
securities. On July 10, 2007, Lehman Brothers announced that it had
“unrealized” losses of $459 million in the quarter ended May 31, 2007
from mortgages and mortgage-backed assets in its inventory. On the same
day, it was reported that Standard & Poor’s indicated that it may cut
ratings on $12 billion of bonds backed by subprime mortgages, a move
that would significantly cut into the Company’s trading profits, since
it is Wall Street’s largest underwriter of mortgage bonds. As a result
of the news, Lehman Brothers’ stock fell $3.76 per share on July 10,
2007 on unusually high trading volume. Throughout the remainder of the
Class Period, Lehman Brothers continued to downplay the risks
associated with owning these mortgage-backed securities, and the nature
and true extent of the Company’s exposure to subprime-related assets
and financial positions. On July 26, 2007, it was reported by Bloomberg
that the risk of owning Lehman Brothers’ bonds “soared” and its share
price plunged “as concerns escalated that investment banks will be hurt
by losses from subprime mortgages and corporate debt.” The report
detailed the soaring cost of credit-default swaps used to bet on Lehman
Brothers’ creditworthiness, signaling a significant deterioration in
investor confidence. On this news, Lehman Brothers’ shares fell an
additional $3.16 per share on July 26, 2007, again on unusually heavy
trading volume. Finally, on July 31, 2007, Bloomberg reported that “…
Lehman Brothers (is) as good as junk” because the prices of
credit-default swaps for the Company equated to a Ba1 rating, implying
that the Company’s credit ratings were below investment grade. On this
news, the Company’s shares fell an additional $2.80 on heavy trading
volume.
Plaintiff is represented by the law firms Schiffrin Barroway Topaz &
Kessler, LLP and Labaton Sucharow LLP. Schiffrin Barroway and Labaton
Sucharow are two of the country’s premier national law firms that
represent individual and institutional investors in class action,
complex securities and corporate governance litigation.
If you bought Lehman Brothers securities between September 13, 2006 and
July 30, 2007, inclusive, you may qualify to serve as Lead Plaintiff.
Lead Plaintiff papers must be filed with the court no later than June
30, 2008. If you would like to consider serving as lead plaintiff or
have any questions about the lawsuit, please contact one of our
representatives or Andrei Rado, Esq. of Labaton Sucharow, at
800-321-0476, or Darren J. Check, Esq. of Schiffrin Barroway at
888-299-7706.
