NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Abbey Gardy, LLP commenced a Class Action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on behalf of a class (the "Class") of all persons who purchased or acquired securities of Veeco Instruments, Inc. ("Veeco" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:VECO) between November 3, 2003 and February 10, 2005 inclusive (the "Class Period").
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. The Complaint names as defendants Veeco, Edward H. Braun and John F. Rein, Jr.
The Complaint alleges that since the Company's acquisition of TurboDisc, Defendants had (a) improperly valued the inventory and accounts payable at TurboDisc in order to make the acquisition look more attractive to the market; (b) falsely recognized revenue at TurboDisc during the Class Period; and (c) improperly overvalued the Company's deferred tax assets. The Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them:(1) that improper accounting procedures were in place at the Company's TurboDisc division; (2) that these improper accounting procedures caused the Company to materially overstate its net revenue for the first three quarters of 2004 by at least $7.5 million; (3) that the Company's financial statements were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"); (4) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Company; and (5) that as a result, the value of the Company's net income and financial results were materially overstated at all relevant times.
On February 11, 2005, the Company announced that "Veeco is conducting an internal investigation of improper accounting transactions recorded at its TurboDisc division, causing a postponement in the release of Veeco's earnings." News of this shocked the market and shares of Veeco dropped $1.83 to $16.96 per share, or approximately 10%.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired Veeco securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Veeco securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. If you purchased Veeco securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than April 18, 2005 request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiffs.'' Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
Abbey Gardy, LLP has been retained as one of the law firms to represent the Class. The attorneys at Abbey Gardy, LLP have extensive experience in securities class action cases, and have played lead roles in major cases resulting in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars to investors. If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact: