BALA CYNWYD, Pa., May 28, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of all purchasers of CornerStone Propane Partners LP ("CornerStone" or the "Partnership") (NYSE:CNO) (Pink Sheets:CNPP) securities from November 2, 1999 through February 11, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
The complaint charges CornerStone and certain of its officers and directors with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. Throughout the Class Period, defendants issued a series of material misrepresentations to the market between November 2, 1999, and February 11, 2003, which served to artificially inflate the price of CornerStone securities. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, the Partnership was faced with the crisis of having to renegotiate its capital credit lending agreements, which were set to expire on November 30, 2001. Faced with this situation of needing to obtain capital credit or face liquidation, the Partnership issued statements that failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (1) that the Partnership had materially overstated its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"), net income and earnings per unit; (2) that the Partnership lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Partnership; and (3) that as a result, the value of the Partnership's EBITDA, net income and financial results were materially overstated at all relevant times.
On February 11, 2003, the Partnership revealed in its 8-K filed with SEC that it had to restate its financial results for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 due to the Partnership's knowledge of known errors in reporting its financial results for fiscal years 2000 and 2001. In response to this announcement, the price of CornerStone securities declined precipitously.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/currentcases.cfm.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than July 28, 2003, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca