NEW YORK, March 19, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Law Firm of Wechsler Harwood LLP announced today that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of Nortel Networks Corporation (NYSE:NT) (TSE:NT) ("Nortel" or the "Company") publicly traded securities during the period between January 29, 2004 and March 15, 2004, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the firm's website at (http://www.whesq.com).
The complaint charges Nortel, Frank A. Dunn, Douglas C. Beatty and Michael J. Gollogly with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. More specifically, the complaint alleges that, shortly before the start of the Class Period, Nortel advised investors that it would be restating its financial results for 2000, 2001 and 2002 and the first and second quarters of 2003. Then, after reporting solid fourth quarter results at the beginning of the Class Period that far surpassed analysts' expectations, the Company shocked investors by announcing that it would be restating its financial results yet again, this time for the just-reported fourth quarter of 2003. Subsequently, in a clear indication of the severity of the Company's problems, the Company announced that it would be placing defendants Beatty and Gollogly on paid leave of absence, pending the completion of the Company's independent review being undertaken by its audit committee. Following this announcement, shares of Nortel common stock fell $1.19 per share, or 18.5%, to close at $5.24 per share on extremely high trading volume.
If you bought Nortel publicly traded securities between January 29, 2004 and March 15, 2004, inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than May 17, 2004. If you are a member of this class, you can join this class action online at (http://www.whesq.com). Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through Wechsler Harwood or other counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
Wechsler Harwood, which has extensive experience in prosecuting investor class actions involving financial fraud, has prosecuted securities, antitrust and consumer class actions for over 10 years. For more information about Wechsler Harwood LLP, please visit its website at www.whesq.com.
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 David Leifer at Wechsler Harwood Shareholder Relations Department: dleifer@whesq.com.