NEW YORK, Nov. 8, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Abbey Gardy, LLP commenced a Class Action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of a class (the "Class") of all persons who purchased securities of the Syncor International Corp. ("Syncor" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:SCOR) between April 25, 2001 and November 5, 2002 inclusive (the "Class Period").
The Complaint names as defendants Syncor, Monty Fu, Chairman of the Board, Robert G. Funari, President and Chief Executive Officer, Moses Fu, Director of Syncor Overseas Ltd. and William Forester, Chief Financial Officer and Sr. Vice President of the Company. The case number is 02-08575(CBM). 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 during the Class Period thereby artificially inflating the price of Syncor securities. The Complaint alleges that, among others, the following press releases and SEC filings were materially false and misleading: April 25, 2001, press release, the March 31, 2001 Form10-Q, July 24, 2001 press release, June 30, 2001 Form 10-Q, October 24, 2001 press release, September 30, 2001 Form 10-Q, February 20, 2002 press release, 2001 10-K, April 24, 2002 press release, March 31, 2002 Form 10-Q, July 30, 2002,press release, October 11, 2002 press release. These press releases and public filings were materially false and misleading in that they failed to disclose that throughout the Class Period, the Company's Chairman of the Board and the director of its Asian division were making illegal payments to Syncor's overseas customers. Before the market opened on November 6, 2002, the Company shocked the market by announcing that it was conducting an internal investigation into illegal payments to its overseas customers and had contacted the Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission, and that its previously announced acquisition by Cardinal Health, Inc. was in doubt. As a result of this news, Syncor's stock price dropped sharply in pre-market trading to $22.50 per share, down $13.42 per share from its previous closing price of $35.92, and NASDAQ halted trading of Syncor's stock pending a satisfactory response to its request for additional information from the Company. When trading resumed the price of Syncor's stock dropped $8.52 to $27.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired Syncor securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Syncor securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. If you purchased Syncor securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than 60 days from November 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 plaintiffs." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
Abbey Gardy, LLP has been retained as one of the law firms to represent the Class. The attorneys at Abbey Gardy, LLP have extensive experience in securities class action cases, and have played lead roles in major cases resulting in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars to investors. If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact Nancy Kaboolian, Esq. of Abbey Gardy, LLP at (800) 889-3701 or email Nkaboolian@abbeygardy.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca