NEW YORK, Jan. 5, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Goodkind Labaton Rudoff & Sucharow LLP reminds investors that the deadline for purchasers of Medquist Inc. ("Medquist" or the "Company") (Pink Sheets:MEDQ) to move for lead plaintiff in the securities fraud class action is rapidly approaching. The lawsuit was filed against Medquist, Brian J. Kearns and Davis A. Cohen ("Defendants"). If you purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded securities of Medquist between April 23, 2002 and November 2, 2004, inclusive, (the "Class Period") and wish to be a lead plaintiff in the case you must move to serve as a lead plaintiff by filing a motion in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey no later than January 7, 2005.
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.glrslaw.com/get/?case=Medquist .
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. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Defendants issued a series of materially false and misleading statements regarding the financial condition of the Company. More specifically, the complaint alleges that Defendants statements were materially false and misleading because the Company's financial statements for 2002 and 2003 were the result of fraudulent financial manipulations, including ambiguous billing to clients which resulted in the overstatement of the Company's revenue and earnings by a material amount. Moreover, the complaint alleges that the Defendants indicated that Company's financial statements complied with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") when they did not.
On November 2, 2004, Medquist announced that on October 29, 2004, the Company's Board of Directors concluded that the Company's previously issued financial statements, including the 10-K reports for 2002 and 2003, as well as the encompassed Forms 10-Q for the corresponding periods, and all earnings releases and communications should no longer be relied upon. These statements by the Company followed the conclusion of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, that the way Medquist billed for services created ambiguities in how client accounts were calculated. This in turn led to incorrect billing and inflated revenues. Shares of Medquist traded to approximately $13.00 per share in reaction to the news, nearly 53% below the Class Period high of $29.13 per share.
If you bought Medquist securities between April 23, 2002 and November 2, 2004, inclusive, you may qualify to serve as Lead Plaintiff. 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