NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Goodkind Labaton Rudoff & Sucharow LLP filed a class action lawsuit on September 7, 2004 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Oregon, on behalf of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded securities of Lattice Semiconductor Corp. ("Lattice" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:LSCC) between April 22, 2003 and April 19, 2004, inclusive, (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed against Lattice and Cyrus Y. Tsui and Stephen A. Skaggs ("Defendants").
If you are a member of this class you can view a copy of the complaint and join this class action online at http://www.glrs.com/index.cfm/hurl/SectionID=96/getGlobalID=23744
The complaint alleges that Defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. Specifically, the complaint alleges that in knowing or reckless disregard of the truth and/or as part of their ongoing efforts to continue the illusion of Lattice's growth in the semiconductor industry, Defendants issued and or participated in the issuance of materially false and misleading statements and financial information. More specifically, the complaint alleges that during the Class Period Defendants: 1)materially understated its accounts payable balance; 2) overstated earnings by a material amount; 3) falsely represented that the Company's financial results during the Class Period had complied with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP").
Beginning on January 22, 2004, Lattice began to issue press releases indicating that it had potentially overstated its deferred income account. Shares began to tumble in reaction to the news, falling from $12.36 on January 22, 2004 to close at $11.73 the following day. Shares traded as low as $10 the following week. Then on March 18, 2004, Lattice issued a press release indicating that it anticipated restating its first, second and third quarters of its 2003 financial statements as it had likely overstated the Company's Deferred Income Account, an account that represents the Company's judgment as to the potential gross margin on inventory held by the Company's distributors. On March 24, 2004, Lattice finally released its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2003. The restatement reduced 2003 revenue by approximately 7% over the nine-month period and increased the Company's net loss by an additional $9 million. In its March 24, 2004 press release the Company attributed the restatement to "inappropriate accounting entries made, by an individual in the Company's finance department and deficiencies in the design and operation of internal accounting controls related to the deferred income account." Shares of Lattice continued to sink, falling to $8.95 on April 19, 2004 when it finally amended its Form 10-Q, representing a decline of approximately 27.5% since the overstatement was first announced.
Plaintiffs are represented by the law firm of Goodkind Labaton Rudoff & Sucharow LLP. Goodkind Labaton is one of the country's premier national law firms that represent individual and institutional investors in class action, complex securities and corporate governance litigation. The firm has been a champion of investor rights for over 40 years and has been recognized for its reputation for excellence by the courts. Goodkind Labaton was recently ranked fourth in total recoveries in 2003 among the top 50 plaintiffs' law firms by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the world's leading provider of proxy and corporate governance services. Notably, Goodkind Labaton recovered over half a billion dollars for its clients last year.
If you bought Lattice securities between April 22, 2003 and April 19, 2004, inclusive, you may qualify to serve as Lead Plaintiff. Lead Plaintiff papers must be filed with the court no later than sixty days from today. If you would like to consider serving as lead plaintiff or have any questions about the lawsuit, please contact one of our representatives or Christopher Keller, Esq. at 800-321-0476.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.