WOW! A slew of Class Action lawsuits is now being hurled at Cisco..
-Ian.
——— http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB987811491680455021.html April 20, 2001
Holder Suit Alleges Cisco Violated Securities Laws By Dan Goodin Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
A San Diego law firm said it filed a shareholder suit against Cisco Systems Inc., alleging that the company violated securities laws by disseminating false and misleading information about Cisco’s products, financial results and prospects.
The firm Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach said it filed the suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seeking class-action status on behalf of Cisco investors. The complaint alleges that John Chambers, the company’s chief executive officer, and other top executives misled investors over an 18 month period from August, 1999 to early February of this year. In all, the executives made $595 million by selling Cisco stock over the period by more than $80 a share, according to the suit.
Cisco officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Cisco’s stock has since plummeted as spending on networking equipment has slid and management missteps have come to light. On Monday, Cisco warned it would deliver lower-than expected profits and would have to write off more than $2.5 billion in inventories. At 4 p.m. on Friday, Cisco closed at $19.15, up 24 cents, on the Nasdaq Stock market.
“It’s one of the most and egregious instances of insider trading by corporate executives that we’ve ever encountered,” said William Lerach, one of the attorneys who filed the suit.
Some of the allegations in the 54-page suit focus on the San Jose, Calif., company’s practice during the 18-month period of lending Internet providers and local phone companies money on the condition they buy routers and other gear made by Cisco. The arrangement allowed Cisco to log earnings for every quarter of that time even as it misjudged customer demand and shipped defective or incomplete products, the lawsuit, the suit alleges.
“Defendants’ misconduct has wiped out over $400 billion in market capitalization as Cisco stock has fallen 84% from its Class Period high of $82 per share as the truth about Cisco, its operations and prospects began to reach the market,” the suit alleges.
Write to Dan Goodin at dan.goodin [at] wsj [dot] com
—— http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010421/2029.html Saturday April 21, 2:15 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
Law Offices Of Charles J. Piven, P.A. Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Cisco Systems, Inc.
BALTIMORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 21, 2001–Law Offices Of Charles J. Piven, P.A. today announced that a private securities action requesting class action status has been initiated on behalf of purchasers of the following securities during the following period:
CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. (NASDAQ: CSCO – news)
All persons or entities who purchased the common stock of Cisco Systems, Inc. during the period August 10, 1999 through and including February 6, 2001.
No class has yet been certified in the above action. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. If you purchased the stock listed above during the class period, you have certain rights. To be a member of the class you need not take any action at this time, and you may retain counsel of your choice.
If you were a purchaser of the stock listed above during the period indicated and want to discuss your legal rights, you may e-mail or call Law Offices Of Charles J. Piven, P.A. who will, without obligation or cost to you, attempt to answer your questions. Law Offices Of Charles J. Piven has been involved in securities litigation for over ten years. You may contact Law Offices Of Charles J. Piven, P.A. at The World Trade Center-Baltimore, 401 East Pratt Street, Suite 2525, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, by email at pivenlaw1 [at] erols [dot] com or by calling 410/986-0036.