NEW YORK, Aug. 6, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman & Gross LLP (www.pomerantzlaw.com) has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Charter Communications, Inc. ("Charter" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:CHTR) and two of the Company's senior officers on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Charter during the period between November 9, 1999 and July 17, 2002 (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit charges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by engaging in misleading accounting practices and issuing materially false and misleading financial statements regarding the nature of Charter's revenue and earnings, all of which served to artificially inflate the Company's stock price.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period Charter portrayed itself as a company growing revenues. To continue to portray itself as a growing company, defendants used misleading accounting practices to artificially inflate Charter's revenue and the number of subscribers for the Company's basic cable services, as well as failed to appropriately account for installation costs.
On July 18, 2002, when Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen expressed concerns about potentially misleading accounting practices by the Company, Charter's stock price fell dramatically. On that day, Charter's stock dropped more than thirteen percent (13%), falling from the previous day's close of $4.06 per share to $3.50 per share in one day. A subsequent article in the August 12, 2002 issue of Forbes discussed a Credit Suisse First Boston report described how Charter handles the impact of "churn" (cable's costs for labor and advertising) on the Company's balance sheet by improperly capitalizing a significant amount of its installation labor costs over an extended time period.
If you purchased the securities of Purchase during the Class Period, you have until September 30, 2002 to ask the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff for the Class. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, to discuss this action or have any questions, please contact Andrew G. Tolan, Esq. of the Pomerantz firm at 888-476-6529 (or (888) 4-POMLAW), toll free, or at agtolan@pomlaw.com by e-mail. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address and telephone number.
The Pomerantz firm, which has offices in New York and Chicago, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 50 years later, the Pomerantz firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca