Securities Arbitration Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes, P.A. Announces that WorldCom Investors Have 49 Days to "Opt Out" of Class Action Lawsuit -- WCOEQ, MCWEQ, MCIAV


NEW YORK, Jan. 2, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes, P.A. (_K&T_) (http://www.nasd-law.com) is pursuing individual securities arbitration claims worth hundreds of millions of dollars against major brokerage firms on behalf of high net worth investors and WorldCom (Pink Sheets:WCOEQ, Pink Sheets:MCWEQ, Pink Sheets:MCIAV) employees whose portfolios were concentrated in WorldCom stock and who do not wish to participate in the class action federal lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York (Case # 02 Civ. 3288 DLC). The deadline for opting out of the class action is February 20, 2004.

The brokerage firms named in the class action include: Salomon Smith Barney, Inc. n/k/a Citigroup Global Markets Inc.; JP Morgan Chase & Co.; Banc of America Securities LLC; Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. f/k/a Deutsche Bank Alex Brown Inc.; Chase Securities Inc. n/k/a J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc., Lehman Brothers, Inc., Blaylock & Partners, L.P.; Credit Suisse First Boston Corp., n/k/a Credit Suisse First Boston LLC; Goldman, Sachs & Co.; UBS Warburg LLC ; ABN AMRO, Inc.; Utendahl Capital Partners L.P.; Tokyo-Mitsubishi International plc; Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale n/k/a WestLB AG; BNP Paribas Securities Corp.; Caboto Holding SIM S.p.A; Fleet Securities, Inc.; and Mizuho International plc.

Securities law experts contend that it makes economic sense to opt out of a class action if you have a very large claim. For small claimants, however, the cost of pursuing an individual lawsuit may be larger than the amount that they could recover. Investors also need to be aware of the statute of limitations for filing these types of claims.

K&T authored a detailed study on the appropriate path for securities dispute resolution against Wall Street brokerage firms. A link to the study is available at the firm's website, (http://www.nasd-law.com), under "The Process" heading at the end of the first paragraph.

The study focuses on the following points:



 1. The Emergence of Arbitration as a Means of Securities Dispute
    Resolution
 2. Factors Leading to Class Action Litigation
 3. Large Class Action Settlements Tend to Skew Average Recovery Rates
 4. The Real Statistics for Arbitration Awards
 5. Claims that Fare Best in Arbitration
 6. Consider Using Arbitration When Your Losses Exceed $100,000
 7. Mediation as an Alternative Path for Dispute Resolution

K&T has offices in California, Florida and New York and represents investors throughout the nation before NYSE and NASD arbitration panels. If you wish to discuss this announcement or have information relevant to our securities arbitration claims, please contact Lawrence L. Klayman, Esquire of Klayman & Toskes, P.A., 888-997-9956 or visit us on the web at, http://www.nasd-law.com .



            

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