BALA CYNWYD, Pa., June 30, 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 Southern District of Flordia on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. ("Pediatrix" or the "Company") (NYSE:PDX) from April 17, 2002 through June 23, 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 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 a series of material misrepresentations to the market between April 17, 2002 and June 23, 2003, thereby artificially inflating the price of Pediatrix common stock. The Complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (1) that the defendants engaged in fraudulent "upcoding" in its billing practices while telling the investing public that its billing practices were legitimate; (2) by virtue of having improperly received and recorded as revenue payments to which Pediatrix was not entitled, Pediatrix materially inflated several key indicators, including operating income, net inpatient revenue per admission, EBITDA and EBITDA margins; (3) that these unsafe and unsound business practices materially misrepresented the Company's business operations and financial performance by enabling the defendants to post better financial results; and (4) that as a result, the Company's stock price was artificially inflated.
On June 24, 2003, the Company issued a press release with the headline: "Pediatrix Notified of Billing Inquiry." Therein, the Company announced that it had been advised by the U.S. Attorney's Office that it was conducting a civil investigation into Pediatrix's Medicaid billing practices nationwide. Additionally, the Company announced that the U.S. Attorney's Office intended to make a document and information request, informally or by subpoena, within the next few weeks.
Market reaction to the news was swift. Pediatrix's shares fell 24% or $9.90 per share, on unusually high trading volume, to close at $32.20 per share.
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 August 29, 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.