NEW YORK, March 6, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Kirby McInerney & Squire, LLP, www.kmslaw.com, reminds investors that securities class action lawsuits were filed on behalf of investors in the following securities during the periods set forth below by the law firm of Kirby McInerney & Squire, LLP. Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, investors have a narrow window of time (as set forth below) to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in these lawsuits:
CORPORATION CLASS PERIOD
Elan Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ELN) 01/02/01 - 01/29/02
(Lead Plaintiff deadline is 04/05/02)
Contact: Melissa Fleming at mfleming@kmslaw.com
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) 11/28/01 - 1/28/02
(Lead Plaintiff deadline is 04/05/02)
Contact: Diem Tran at dtran@kmslaw.com
NVIDIA Corp. (NYSE:NVDA) 02/15/00 - 02/14/02
(Lead Plaintiff deadline is 04/21/02)
Contact: Orie Braun at obraun@kmslaw.com
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC) 07/19/01 - 1/29/02
(Lead Plaintiff deadline is 04/02/02)
Contact: Orie Braun at obraun@kmslaw.com
Specifically, the complaints filed in these actions allege:
ELAN CORPORATION, PLC: defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as a result of Elan's publication -- as detailed below -- of materially false and misleading financial results during the Class Period. On January 29, 2002, after the market closed, The Wall Street Journal issued a detailed expose about Elan's accounting practices. The report detailed instances of Elan creating revenue out of thin air by establishing an Elan-controlled entity for research and development purpose, funding the entity through a multi-million dollar "investment" and then immediately taking back the "investment" in the form of a "licensing fee", which Elan then recorded as revenue. The Wall Street Journal quoted the SEC's former chief accountant, who described the practice as a "charade." On January 30, 2002, following the release of the Wall Street Journal report, Elan's ADR price fell nearly 17% in a single day, to trade at $29.25 per ADR, some 34.7% below the $44.80 per ADR at which the ADRs had closed just days earlier, on January 17, 2002.
J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO.: defendants violated Sections 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint charges that on the first day of the Class Period, J.P. Morgan recklessly misrepresented its risk and loss exposure related to its transactions and dealings with the Enron Corporation as being approximately $900 million. J.P. Morgan later admitted that, in fact, its total Enron related exposure was actually about $2.6 billion, or almost three times the earlier figure. Shortly thereafter, J.P. Morgan wrote down $1.13 billion in nonperforming assets, specifically related to losses generated by its dealings with Enron.
NVIDIA CORP.: defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The violations, as the complaint alleges, stem from the issuance of allegedly false financial statements during the class period, which had the effect -- during the class period -- of artificially inflating the price of NVIDIA's shares while two NVIDIA executives received $66 million from insider sales. Then, on February 14, 2002, NVIDIA announced that the SEC had requested that NVIDIA conduct a review of how it had accounted for "certain past transactions"; and that, as a result, NVIDIA might be forced to restate previously-announced financial results. In reaction to such news, NVIDIA's shares fell from $62.16 on February 14, 2002 to $53.55 per share two trading days later.
PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC.: defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in connection with the issuance of false and misleading and financial results. On January 29, 2002, PNC announced that it would restate its second and third quarter financial results, and revise its recently-announced fourth quarter results, in order to correct -- at the request of the Federal Reserve -- certain accounting procedures PNC had used in connection with off-balance sheet transactions. When this restatement was disclosed, PNC shares fell $5.79, or nearly 10%, to close at $56.08 per share. On June 30, 2001, defendants' gross overvaluation of the private placement investments was disclosed when defendants revalued nine such private placement investments originally valued at $28.6 million on December 31, 2000 to a total of $9.00 and marked down an additional 2 holdings by precisely 50% or 75%. During the class period, the Fund's value decreased by approximately 75%.
Pursuant to Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, if you are a member of the proposed classes described above, you may, no later than the deadlines listed above, request the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff. 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 seek appointment as a lead plaintiff.
Kirby McInerney & Squire, LLP, specializes in complex litigation, including securities class actions. Kirby McInerney & Squire has repeatedly demonstrated its expertise in this field, and has been recognized by various courts which have appointed the firm to major positions in consolidated and multi-district litigation. The firm's efforts on behalf of shareholders in securities litigation have resulted in recoveries totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, and its achievements and quality of service have been chronicled in published decisions. More information about the firm, class actions in general, or about the role of the lead plaintiff in a securities class action can be obtained at Kirby McInerney & Squire's Website at www.kmslaw.com, or you can contact the firm at:
Ira Press, Esq. Melissa Fleming, Paralegal KIRBY McINERNEY & SQUIRE, LLP 830 Third Avenue, 10th Floor New York, New York 10022 Telephone: (212) 317-2300 or Toll Free (888) 529-4787
More information on these and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca