HOUSTON, Nov. 9, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Houston, Texas-based securities trial law firm, The Emerson Firm, announced that it filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Houston based Tidel Technologies, Inc. ("Tidel" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:ATMS) between April 6, 2000 and February 8, 2001 inclusive (the "Class Period"). A copy of the Complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be obtained from The Emerson Firm.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Tidel falsely touted its sales of automated teller machines, or ATMs, at a "record" pace. These materially false and misleading statements allowed the Company to begin trading on the Nasdaq national trading system, which would have been impossible without the Company's false and misleading statements and the consequent artificial inflation of the Company's stock price. When Tidel finally disclosed that its largest customer's orders would be at "substantially reduced levels for the quarter ending March 31, 200l," Tidel's stock price declined precipitously. The lawsuit alleges that Tidel knew during the time period but did not disclose that its largest customer was in the process of switching to a competitor and reducing orders.
The claims asserted arise under Sections 10 and 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Named as defendants in the suit are Tidel; James T. Rash, Tidel's Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chairman of Tidel's Board of Directors; Mark K. Levenick, Tidel's Chief Operating Officer and a Director of Tidel; James L. Britton III, a Director of Tidel; and Jerrell G. Clay, a Director of Tidel.
If you bought Tidel securities between April 6, 2000 and February 8, 2001, you may, no later than December 31, 2001, request that the Court 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.
This lawsuit has been filed by lawyers with substantial experience in representing investors in securities fraud class action lawsuits such as this. Mr. Emerson is licensed to practice in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas where this lawsuit is filed. If you would like to serve as lead plaintiff in this lawsuit or have any questions on how you may be able to recover the losses you have incurred, please e-mail, telephone or fax The Emerson Firm:
THE EMERSON FIRM John G. Emerson, Jr. 2600 S. Gessner, Suite 600 Houston, Texas 77063 Phone: (713) 331-3680 FAX (713) 789-0033 e-mail: jge@emersonfirm.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found at www.primezone.com/ca.