NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The law firm of Wechsler Harwood LLP announces that a class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on August 12, 2002, on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Aon Corporation ("Aon" or the "Company") (NYSE:AOC) between May 4, 1999 and August 6, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The Complaint alleges 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 May 4, 1999 and August 6, 2002, thereby artificially inflating the price of Aon securities. Throughout the Class Period, as alleged in the complaint, defendants issued numerous statements and filed quarterly and annual reports with the SEC which described the Company's earnings and financial performance. The complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (i) that the Company had materially overstated its net income by $27 million in 1999, $24 million in 2000, and $5 million in the first quarter of 2002; (ii) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Company; and (iii) that as a result, the value of the Company's net income and financial results were materially overstated at all relevant times.
On August 7, 2002, before the market opened for trading, Aon shocked the market when it announced, among other things, that: (a) it had failed to meet analysts' expectations on its earnings for the second quarter by a wide margin; (b) because of the slumping financial markets, it had canceled a spinoff of its insurance underwriting businesses to shareholders; and (c) the SEC had began an investigation of its accounting and was questioning several items in the Company's accounts, including the reporting of investment write-downs, the timing of some costs and a reinsurance recoverable item and the decision not to consolidate certain special purpose vehicles. Aon also stated that, if the SEC says it is necessary, it will have to restate its earnings for the past three years. Following this report, shares of Aon fell $6.43 per share to close at $14.77 per share, a one-day decline of 30.3%, on volume of more than 20 million shares traded, or more than twenty times the average daily volume.
If you bought the securities of Aon between May 4, 1999 and August 6, 2002, you may, no later than October 7, 2002, 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. 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 serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Wechsler Harwood Halebian & Feffer LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whhf.com) has more information about the firm. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following:
Wechsler Harwood LLP
488 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor
New York, New York 10022
Toll Free Telephone: (877) 935-7400
Patricia Guiteau, Wechsler Harwood Shareholder Relations
Department: pguiteau@whhf.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca