BALA CYNWYD, Pa., May 16, 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 District of Massachusetts on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of J. Jill Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:JILL) ("J. Jill Group" or the "Company") from February 12, 2002 through December 4, 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 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 February 12, 2002 and December 4, 2002, thereby artificially inflating the price of J. Jill Group securities. The Complaint alleges that defendants issued a series of materially false and misleading statements concerning the Company's operations and financial results. In particular, the Complaint alleges that defendants' statements were materially false and misleading because defendants failed to disclose and misrepresented: (a) that the Company's same-store sales growth -- a operating metric that is important to investors in retailing stocks but which was not highlighted by the Company during the Class Period -- was declining as demand for the Company's products weakened; (b) that the Company was amassing a material amount of product which was of diminishing value and would have to be discounted in promotional campaigns, thereby causing the Company to experience declining financial results; (c) that the Company was not collecting taxes in certain States where it made Internet sales and also had a retail store. As a result, the Company was exposed to the heightened risk that it would be subject to regulatory scrutiny; and (d) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' earnings projections and positive statements about the Company were lacking in a reasonable basis and were therefore materially false and misleading.
On December 5, 2002, prior to the open of the market, J. Jill Group shocked the market by announcing that it was revising its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2002. The Company reported that it expects fourth quarter diluted earnings per share to range between $0.25 and $0.30. In response to this announcement, the price of J. Jill common stock declined from $23.01 per share to $16.52 per share, a decline of 28%, on extremely heavy volume. Prior to the end of the Class Period, J. Jill insiders sold more than $17 million of their personally-held stock to the unsuspecting public.
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 14, 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