BALA CYNWYD, Pa., March 1, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- 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 Eastern District of Virginia on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Advanced Switching Communications, Inc. ("Advanced Switching" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:ASCX) from October 5, 2000 through February 12, 2002, 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 Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 by issuing a materially false and misleading Prospectus and Registration Statement ("Prospectus") in connection with the Company's initial public offering ("IPO"), and that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between October 5, 2000 and February 12, 2002, thereby artificially inflating the price of Advanced Switching securities. On October 5, 2000, Advanced Switching completed its IPO pursuant to a Prospectus in which it represented that it had signed a $24 million contract with Qwest Communications, Inc. ("Qwest"), that it's a-4000 product was being shipped and that its A-4500 product would be available in 2001.
In fact, as alleged in the complaint, at the time of the IPO, the Prospectus concealed that Advanced Switching's largest customer was having significant problems with Advanced Switching products, another significant customer had informed the Company it was over-inventoried and that the agreement with Qwest was contingent on Advanced Switching complying with terms the Company could not complete. Moreover, the Company had not even started on the A-4500 such that it was impossible that this product would be available in 2001. Later, subsequent to the IPO, defendants issued statements which asserted that customers were deploying the A-4000, which, as alleged in the complaint, did not occur, and that Advanced Switching offered DS-O to OC-192 capability which, in fact, the Company had not been able to offer.
On February 5, 2001, the Company issued a press release announcing that it would be liquidated, which as alleged in the complaint, was essentially an admission that it had been a complete failure as a public company because the A-4500 had not been made available in 2001 and the Qwest contract had failed due to Advanced Switching's inability to meet the terms of the contract. Finally, on February 12, 2002, the Company announced that a major customer had asked for a $17 million refund due to a defective product being shipped.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP, which has significant experience and expertise prosecuting class actions on behalf of investors and shareholders. For more information on Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign-up to participate in this action online, please visit www.sbclasslaw.com.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than April 22, 2002, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements.
More informaiton on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca