NEW YORK, April 27, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Goodkind Labaton Rudoff & Sucharow LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, on behalf of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded securities of BearingPoint, Inc. ("BearingPoint" or the "Company") (NYSE:BE) between August 14, 2003 and April 21, 2005, inclusive, (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed against BearingPoint, Randolph C. Blazer, Robert S. Falcone and PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP ("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.glrslaw.com/get/?case=BearingPoint
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, by issuing materially false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period regarding the Company's financial performance. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose that (i) BearingPoint's reported financial results were inaccurate and could not be relied upon; (ii) BearingPoint's internal controls were inadequate to ensure the reliability of its publicly reported financial results; (iii) BearingPoint had materially overstated (and failed to write down) the value of the goodwill associated with certain of its foreign acquisitions in its publicly reported financial statements long after it had become apparent that the value of such assets was impaired; and (iv) as a result of failing to timely write down the value of BearingPoint's goodwill, BearingPoint had reported artificially high earnings in its publicly reported financial results.
On April 20, 2005, BearingPoint announced that it had determined that it would have to take a mammoth write down of its goodwill in a sum that is estimated at $250 to $400 million. BearingPoint also stated that its previously issued 10-Q's for each of the first three quarters of fiscal year 2004, its Form 10-K for the six-month transition period ended December 31, 2003, and Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2003 should not be relied upon because of errors in those financial statements and would have to be restated. Additionally, it would miss the deadline for filing its 2004 annual report. On this news, shares of BearingPoint plummeted from a close of $7.77 per share on April 20 to close at $5.28 on April 21, constituting a drop of over 32% in a single day.
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 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 BearingPoint securities between August 14, 2003 and April 21, 2005, inclusive, you may qualify to serve as Lead Plaintiff. Lead Plaintiff papers must be filed with the court no later than June 24, 2005. 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.