BALA CYNWYD, Pa., May 6, 2003 (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 Central District of California on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Avery Dennison Corp. ("Avery" or the "Company") (NYSE:AVY) from July 24, 2001 through April 14, 2003, 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 charges Avery and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). More specifically, the complaint alleges that Avery failed to disclose that its financial results during the Class Period were a product of a tacit and illegal anti-competitive scheme with its leading competitor, UPM-Kymmene, OYJ ("UPM"), whereby the Company and UPM manipulated the labelstock supply market.
The complaint further alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued false and misleading statements to the marketplace that artificially inflated the price of Avery's shares. The statements disseminated by the defendants during the Class Period failed to disclose and indicate (1) that Avery was engaged in an illegal anti-competitive scheme with UPM to drive a more stable price environment within the labelstock industry; (2) that the Company's financial results were a product of its anti-competitive behavior; (3) that the Company knew that its anti-competitive behavior could possibly subject the Company to regulatory scrutiny in the future if such anti-competitive behavior was discovered; and (4) that its financial results would be materially impacted if the Company were forced to stop its anti-competitive behavior.
On April 14, 2003, the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") issued a press release wherein it announced that it intended to file a civil antitrust lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago to block UPM from acquiring Morgan Adhesives Company ("MACtac"). Among the reasons given for filing the suit, the DOJ stated that its investigation had revealed that the merger between UPM and MACtac was one in which Avery and UPM sought to coordinate. Additionally, on April 14, 2003, Avery announced that the DOJ had started a criminal investigation into competitive prices in the labelstock industry and would shortly issue a subpoena to the Company in connection with that investigation. On April 15, 2003, the DOJ filed its complaint against UPM. Therein, the DOJ alleged that UPM and Avery were in "positions of marketplace dominance and had significant incentives to engage in explicit competitive coordination." The DOJ also alleged that evidence of competitive coordination was enhanced by a "longstanding strategic paper supply relationship" between UPM and Avery. The DOJ further alleged that "the supply relationship provided UPM and Avery with the motivations, opportunities, and means to coordinate on price, monitor adherence, punish cheating, and engage in side payments that could be hidden in label paper transactions."
News of Avery's anti-competitive behavior shocked the market. On April 15, 2003, Avery's stock fell $4.19 on unusually high trading volume to close at $55.94.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/currentcases.cfm.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than July 7, 2003, 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 information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.