NEW YORK, Aug. 28, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Securities Arbitration Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes, P.A. ("K&T") (http://www.nasd-law.com), representing numerous high net-worth investors throughout the nation, advises all Salomon Smith Barney ("Smith Barney") n/k/a Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. customers who are eligible to participate in the Settlement of the In Re Salomon Analyst Level 3 Litigation ("Class Action") (No. 02 Civ. 6919 (GEL)), that they have until August 31, 2006 to opt-out of the Class.
K&T strongly encourages all customers who acquired Level 3 (Nasdaq:LVLT) stock while they maintained accounts with Smith Barney to consider securities arbitration as an alternative means to recovering their financial losses. As part of the settlement of the Class Action, Smith Barney has agreed to pay the Class $10.25 million. However, this amount represents only a fraction of Level 3's market capital losses which were in excess of $30 billion during the class period of January 4, 1999 through June 18, 2001. Empirical evidence shows that investors may achieve an overall higher rate of recovery by filing an individual securities arbitration claim.
According to the allegations in the Class Action, Smith Barney issued material misstatements and omissions regarding Level 3 research reports, and failed to disclose conflicts of interest which artificially inflated the price of Level 3. In connection with these same allegations, Smith Barney consented to the entry of a Consent Order issued by The Office of the New York State Attorney General, on or about October 23, 2003, wherein it was determined that "(Smith Barney) Issued Misleading Research Reports on Level 3... ," specifically in regards to the Level 3 research report issued on April 18, 2001. Moreover, the Consent Order found that the Smith Barney research reports regarding Level 3 "did not disclose the pressure exerted by investment banking on (Jack) Grubman not to downgrade (Level 3)," and "did not provide a sound basis for evaluating facts regarding (Level 3's) business prospects."
As such, K&T plans to assist individual investors who acquired Level 3 while they maintained accounts with Smith Barney to recover their financial losses in securities arbitration claims before the National Association of Securities Dealers and the New York Stock Exchange. K&T strongly encourages all class members of the In Re Salomon Analyst Level 3 Litigation Class Action to contact Jahan K. Manasseh, Esquire, at 888-997-9956 to discuss their legal options and/or the possibility of pursuing an individual securities arbitration claim. You may also visit us on the web at http://www.nasd-law.com.